Top 10 agricultural machinery worth looking forward to in 2024

There are long-lasting agricultural machinery, such as tractors, which serve as the power source of thousands of agricultural machinery. However, there are hot changes in the agricultural machinery market every year. For users, these agricultural machinery may be tools for wealth creation. For agricultural machinery production enterprises and distributors, these agricultural machinery can make a lot of money for enterprises. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the hot topics in the industry. Zhang Ruimin said, "No successful enterprise, keep the enterprise of the times.", What is also mentioned is the importance of opportunities, so what are the agricultural machinery worth looking forward to in 2024?
1、 Electric tractor
The large-scale electrification of the agricultural machinery industry cannot be achieved without tractors. At the same time, many enterprises first think of electric tractors when developing electric agricultural machinery, as can be seen from the 2023 Wuhan National Conference.
At the Wuhan National Conference, electric tractors can be divided into two technical routes: hybrid and pure electric. Hybrid models are mainly composed of electric motors and CVT transmissions, such as Dongfanghong, Wode, Yingxuan, Liugong, Kaite and other enterprises, such as Dongfanghong HB2204, Wode DK2804, Yingxuan Heavy Industry YX3004-8HEV, Liugong should be LT3504. Of note is the 1E-Power series hybrid powertrain launched by Yuchai; Pure electric models are less common than hybrid models, such as the Luoyang Lutong 80 Ma Li pure electric tractor, which uses battery cells from CATL, Zhongke Yuanli 1404-ET/604-ET, and Zoomlion Heavy Industry CA504ET.
The exhibition is a wind vane, and the electrification of the agricultural machinery industry will also be influenced by the automotive and construction machinery industries. Currently, construction machinery is fully electrified, and the electrification of agricultural machinery is significantly lagging behind that of automobiles and construction machinery. The electric industry chain of the automotive and construction machinery industries can be used by agricultural machinery, which will accelerate the electrification process of agricultural machinery.
It is expected that electric agricultural machinery, especially electric tractors, will become a hot topic in the industry in 2024. On the one hand, more enterprises will launch electric tractors into the experimental stage, and on the other hand, some electric tractors will enter small-scale sales. It is optimistically predicted that the newly introduced subsidy policy will support the pilot of electric tractors.
2、 Grain corn combine harvester
There are two methods of segmented harvesting and direct grain harvesting in China. Due to various constraints, most corn in China has not been able to achieve mechanized direct grain harvesting for a long time. Therefore, mechanical picking (or manual)+mechanical threshing (or manual)+natural drying has become the mainstream. However, segmented harvesting has many intermediate links, high labor costs, uncontrollable factors, and a high probability of loss and mold, Grain harvesting can complete multiple tasks such as scion, straw crushing, peeling, and threshing in one go. For agricultural production with labor shortages, direct grain harvesting is of great significance.
There are several types of threshing methods for grain combine harvesters, corresponding to different threshing mechanisms: tangential flow+progressive flow, tangential flow+transverse axis flow, small longitudinal axis flow, medium longitudinal axis flow, large longitudinal axis flow, double longitudinal axis flow, tangential flow+longitudinal axis flow, tangential flow+double longitudinal axis flow, etc.
There are so many ways of threshing, which can be summarized as horizontal and vertical flow. The biggest difference between vertical and horizontal flow is that horizontal flow is more suitable for harvesting wheat that is easy to thresh, but it is not effective for other crops with high water content or that are not easy to thresh. The biggest advantage of vertical flow is the long threshing drum, large threshing area, long process time, clean threshing, and less grain loss.
Almost all grain corn combine harvesters are vertical axial flow models. On the one hand, in recent years, the planting area of grain corn in Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, and the Yellow Huaihai region has been increasing, and farmers are also quickly accepting direct grain harvesting. On the other hand, the grain harvester can harvest multiple crops, with short investment return time and high cost-effectiveness. Of course, the subjective initiative of enterprises cannot be ignored. From the Wuhan National Conference, As well as the information revealed at the recent annual business meeting of corn machine companies, it can be inferred that the 2024 grain corn machine will be a key model promoted by many enterprises.
3、 60L plant protection unmanned aerial vehicle
Plant protection drones can be considered successful globally and have been widely used in China since 2018. However, in just three years, they have brought down ground plant protection machinery. In recent years, plant protection drones have rapidly replaced rice transplanters, rice direct seeders, and all agricultural machinery suitable for sowing.
The biggest advantage of electric crop protection drones is high efficiency, while the biggest disadvantage is relay capacity and payload. However, it is obvious that the advantage is more valuable compared to the disadvantage. Currently, unmanned aerial vehicles with a payload of 60L can achieve over 2000 acres of crop protection operations per day, which is difficult for ground machinery to achieve. Even imported large-scale crop protection machinery, due to the working environment and limitations of the ground, is difficult to achieve large-scale operation areas.
I believe many people have watched the recent new product launches of DJI and Jifei,
On the morning of November 18th, Jimu Robotics released a new product, Jimu J100 agricultural drone, which comes standard with a 45L medicine box and can be equipped with a 60L oversized medicine box, capable of carrying a 70L broadcasting box and lifting up to 60kg; On November 23rd, DJI DJI Agriculture officially released two agricultural unmanned aerial vehicles, the T60 and T25P; Jifei Technology released a new generation of Jifei P150 and P60 agricultural unmanned aerial vehicles on December 11th; On September 23rd, Tuo Chuang (Nanjing) Robotics launched two agricultural unmanned aerial vehicles, the Fengpeng 600 and Fengpeng 500. The Fengpeng 600 has a maximum load capacity of 60kg, a spraying box of 50L, and a broadcasting box of 76L, greatly improving operational efficiency. The Fengpeng 500 has a maximum load capacity of 40kg, a spraying box of 40L, and a broadcasting box of 55L.
Heavy load has become a significant selling point for crop protection and agricultural drones. The operational efficiency of agricultural drone products has been significantly improved: around 2017, the load capacity of agricultural drones was only about 7L, but now the load capacity has reached 70L. Previously, I could only work 200 to 300 acres per day, but now I can work up to 2000 acres per day.
It is obvious that the main model promoted by the plant protection unmanned aerial vehicle factory in 2024 is the 60L unmanned aerial vehicle. High efficiency and low efficiency are the first principles of competition in the unmanned aerial vehicle industry. Therefore, the hot sales of the 60L unmanned aerial vehicle in 2024 will be unquestionable.
4、 Large angle bundling machine
In 2023, the bundling machine industry has collectively fallen, and whether it is straw bundling, grass bundling machines, or feed straw bundling machines, sales have significantly declined. From the perspective of development cycle, the peak period of domestic bundling machines has come to an end.
After the end of large-scale growth, opportunities within the industry must be sought in a structured manner, and high-end products with high demand will become the next hot pursuit.
It is obvious that domestic bundling machine enterprises collectively have a positive outlook on the Dafang tying machine. Currently, about 10 companies have launched Dafang tying machines, indicating the arrival of the era of domestic Dafang tying flat replacement, such as the Huaxi Yutian 9YF-2.27 (1290XD) high-density six lane rope tying machine, the Dongfanghong 9YFA-2.2XD Dafang tying machine, the Huade Muji 001 Six Lane Rope Dafang tying machine (9YFA-2.2XD), and the Youmuda FR1290XD Dafang tying machine, Jilin Xintianlang 9YFA-2.3 type six rope large bundle.
In addition, according to rumors in the market, five or six companies are actively developing large bundling machines. For a long time, large bundling machines have been in an awkward situation in China, mainly due to the high prices of imported products. According to the agricultural machinery purchase subsidy system, the sales price of New Zealand Netherlands 9YFQ-2.2 (BB1290) in Xinjiang is 1.14-12 million yuan, and the market price of Aike Maisai Fugesen MF 2270XD is 1.7-2 million yuan, Even the second-hand Fente 1290NXD costs nearly 2 million yuan. Compared to single digit small square and round bundles, as well as large round bundles worth tens of thousands, imported large square bundles are too expensive for ordinary users to afford. The high price makes the user base of large square bundles appear narrow.
After localization, the market terminal selling price will definitely drop to less than 1 million yuan. After three years, the market bottom price will be around 500000 yuan, and the price reduction will lower the purchase threshold. We have reason to believe that 2024 is the first year of domestic large bundling machines.
5、 Corn and soybean composite agricultural machinery
Soybean and corn are important crops in China that combine various characteristics and functions such as bulk grain, oilseed, and feed. The domestic annual demand for soybeans is 110 million tons and corn is 330 million tons, meeting domestic consumption demand through net crop production, requiring nearly 1.5 billion acres of arable land. However, China only has 1.8 billion mu of arable land, and corn has already occupied 600 million mu. It is impossible to use another 800 million to 900 million mu to grow soybeans, so it is difficult to increase the self-sufficiency rate of soybeans and corn by significantly increasing the operating area. Soybeans and corn are drought resistant crops of the same season, and the conflict between the two over land has become a bottleneck problem that troubles China's grain and oil security.
Can you have both fish and bear's paw? There is a folk agricultural saying in our country: "When corn is mixed with soybeans, nine out of ten varieties are not missed.". The meaning is that intercropping soybeans in corn fields will not result in poor harvests for at least nine out of ten years, with a significant increase in yield and income. Especially in areas with less rainfall, intercropping soybeans in corn fields can achieve complementary advantages, utilize the height difference between the two crops, and achieve various advantages such as utilizing land space, ventilation, water retention, and shading.
The country has been promoting corn and soybean compound sowing since 2022. The biggest embarrassment of that year was the availability of inorganic materials, whether it was seeders or harvesters. However, after two years of preparation, even if the compound sowing area increased significantly in 2024, there would not be much problem with the supply of related agricultural machinery.
In 2024, the multifunctional corn and soybean seeders will gradually mature, and the supply and demand will increase. This is a new increment for many seeder enterprises. It is also gratifying that the corn and soybean dual-purpose harvester has been successfully launched. At the Wuhan National Conference, Jiangxi Shuangxingda Company exhibited a real corn and soybean dual-purpose harvester, with one machine equipped with a picking roller cutting table and one threshing wheel cutting table, And two completely different threshing and peeling mechanisms, this is a product with a lot of imagination, and the difficulty of design and manufacturing is quite high. I believe that with this blueprint, other harvesters will soon follow suit and launch similar models.
6、 Hilly and mountainous agricultural machinery
The biggest opportunity for agricultural machinery in hilly and mountainous areas lies in policy support. It is evident that with the rapid progress of agricultural mechanization in plain areas from the intermediate stage to the advanced stage, this backward student in hilly and mountainous areas has attracted more attention from relevant departments. In recent years, policy support for agricultural mechanization in hilly and mountainous areas has become increasingly strong.
Encouraged by policies, many enterprises have also begun to carefully examine the opportunities for agricultural mechanization in hilly and mountainous areas. In the past two years, there has been significant progress in domestic agricultural machinery in hilly and mountainous areas, and some revolutionary products have entered the market promotion period.
Enterprises such as Chongqing Weima, Chongqing Xinyuan, and Hunan Wogong have launched small tracked rotary tillers to replace micro tillers. The power is between 15-30 horsepower, and the operating efficiency is more than ten times higher than a few horsepower micro tiller, but the passability is still excellent.
In addition, there has been an invisible champion specializing in the production of agricultural machinery in hilly and mountainous areas, such as Shanxi Renda and Jilin Shunkun, which focus on the research and development of mountain corn mechanisms. Shunkun has launched revolutionary corn machines with 6-wheel and 8-wheel drive, as well as wheel shoe composite and wheel shoe exchange. Guangxi Huilai Bao Machinery has launched a product matrix of Shanniu, Shanlong, Shanlu, and Shangui series, and even Zoomlion Heavy Industry has launched multiple specialized equipment designed for hilly and mountainous areas, Such as three drive tractors.
There is no doubt that in 2024, the national and agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policies will still strongly support the agricultural mechanization industry in hilly and mountainous areas, and agricultural machinery enterprises truly rooted in hilly and mountainous areas will enjoy the dividends of the policies.
7、 4-row cotton picker
The cotton planting area in Xinjiang is about 35-37 million mu, which is the main battlefield of cotton pickers. In 2023, the number of cotton pickers will reach 10000. If 70% of the area is suitable for machine cotton picking, the average operating area of a cotton picker is 2600 mu. At the current cotton picking price of 120-150, a cotton picker can earn less than 500000 yuan per year. Based on the author's experience, cotton pickers, a high-value agricultural machine, if the machine payment is not repurchased within 5 years, Investment has no value.
The high profit margin will attract strong competitors to join, and Wode has played a role as a catfish in the Xinjiang cotton picking machine market. The bloody era of cotton picking machines has arrived, and the violent era of cotton picking machines and machine picking is coming to an end. In the future, cotton picking machines will be more destined to have investment return rates and cost-effectiveness. Even if imported models have absolute advantages in technology and quality, if they cannot recover costs for a long time, It is meaningless in terms of investment.
The development direction of cotton pickers will move towards multi-level, with 4 and 5 rows appearing between 3 and 6 rows of balers. In 2023, Boshi Ran launched a 4-row self-propelled cotton picker 4MZD-4A, which can achieve 80% of the operating effect of 6-row balers in the picking season of 2023. 4-row balers can combine the advantages of 3 and 6 rows, with smaller size and stronger adaptability. Of course, the price is also advantageous compared to 6-row balers. In fact, many places in Xinjiang, Especially in the southern Xinjiang region, there is a greater need for models between rows 3 and 6 that are neither large nor small.
After many years of sales, the domestically produced 6-row packed cotton harvester may become the next hot product, which will form a strong replacement for the 3-row and 6-row products.
8、 Corn no till planter
The agricultural machinery that can help farmers save money and help operators earn money is invincible, and the corn no till seeder also has this feature.
No till sowing refers to the process of completing side deep fertilization, seed bed treatment, precision seeding, soil covering, and heavy compaction in one go without the need to treat straw or rotary tillage before sowing, which saves time, effort, and money, and achieves higher quality and yield than traditional precision tillage.
Conservation tillage is related to the long-term development of Northeast China. After more than a decade of promotion, Black Dragon Land has proven the correctness and necessity of conservation tillage through output and ecological improvement.
The most critical equipment in the planting mode of conservation tillage is the no till planter. It can be said that without the no till planter, conservation tillage is just empty talk. In 2024, the country and local governments will still vigorously promote conservation tillage, and the area of conservation tillage will be planned to increase. The no till planter will also receive attention and support from subsidy policies.
9、 Power driven rake
The annual sales of domestically driven rakes are currently within 5000 units, and may even be 3000 units. However, the power driven rakes have huge market potential in China, which has attracted many enterprises to join.
The end of the universe is Tieling, and the end of the rotary tiller is a power driven rake.
In 2022, the sales volume of rotary tillers in the domestic market was 250000 units, which is not something that we do not want to report as subsidies. Due to the small subsidy amount, many buyers find it troublesome to purchase them directly. Rotary tillers are a special type of agricultural machinery with special needs under the background of "part-time agriculture". It can be said that in cultivation, it is "just a superficial attempt". On the surface, it saves power and improves cultivation efficiency, but in reality, it sacrifices yield and income, So true large-scale high-value agriculture is unlikely to use rotary tillers as machinery.
Of course, there are other objective conditions that determine that rotary tillers will be replaced by other tools, such as severe soil compaction and salinization. The reason why hydraulic deep plows are used in Xinjiang and the horsepower of tractors is increasing is because the soil compaction is very severe, and rotary tillers can no longer deal with rocky land. In the Yellow, Huai, and Hai regions, the soil is also becoming increasingly compacted.
At present, the agricultural machinery that can be used to deal with compaction and replace rotary tillers are power driven rakes, as well as compound work tools such as rake seeders derived from power driven rakes. It can be imagined that