PTx Trimble, formed in 2024 by AGCO and Trimble, has launched “OutRun”, which it describes as “the first commercially available autonomous retrofit grain cart solution on the market”.
The innovation has already been awarded the prestigious Davidson Prize at Commodity Classic 2025 in Denver, Colorado.
The award, presented by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), recognizes breakthrough innovations in agricultural engineering that improve efficiency, sustainability and productivity.
OutRun was recognized for its ability to help farmers maximize yield and combat the labor shortage many farmers are facing around the world.
Andrew Sunderman, vice president of product and customer experience, PTx, says: “OutRun was designed as a cost-effective way to help farmers with labor issues, allowing operators to run both the combine and the grain cart during critical harvest times.
“As the latest in PTx Trimble’s commitment to its retrofit-first strategy for autonomy, OutRun allows farmers to use autonomous technology to harvest at the optimal time to maximize yield without needing to find experienced grain cart operators, saving time and expenses.”
OutRun is a self-contained retrofit kit that currently enables autonomous grain cart operation on John Deere 8R or 8000R tractors with IVT and will be commercially available on Fendt models in 2026.
The grain cart can be staged or be called for unloading without the need for another driver. Once full, the combine operator can then send the grain cart to a predefined truck unload zone for manual unloading.
The Davidson Prize is named for J.B. Davidson, the father of modern agricultural engineering. ASABE and AEM created the Davidson Prize to celebrate extraordinary innovation and impact in agricultural, food and biological systems.
A maximum of three prizes are awarded each year, selected from the 10 top-scoring AE50 winners and representing the best of the year’s newly introduced products. Winners are projected to have a significant impact on agricultural production, efficiency or safety.
These award-winning products represent the diversity of engineering and technology, as well as the variety of companies that continue to bring advanced technology and exciting improvements to the marketplace.
AGCO and its leading brands have won four Davidson prizes in the last five years, a testament to the AGCO teams who are innovating daily for farmers around the globe.
