Case Study: Revolutionizing Harvest Loss Measurement with AGCO

In-Field Validation of Farmwave on FENDT Ideal Combines

Location: Brazil

Date: January – February 2026

Crop: Soybeans

Partners: Farmwave & AGCO

Executive Summary

In early 2026, Farmwave partnered with AGCO to conduct rigorous, in-field validation testing of Farmwave’s automated precision harvest loss technology on FENDT Ideal combines. Conducted during the Brazilian soybean harvest, the tests were attended by AGCO validation managers, executives, and key customers. The objective was to validate the technology's accuracy and assess its value proposition in real-world conditions. The result was not just a successful technical validation, but a paradigm shift in how agricultural professionals view harvest loss measurement.

The Challenge: The Illusion of the Hand Count

For decades, the industry standard for measuring harvest loss has been the manual hand-count method. This involves laying out a string or frame of a specific shape in the field, getting down on hands and knees in the dirt, and physically counting the lost grain.

While AGCO wanted to test Farmwave head-to-head against this traditional method, the comparison inherently highlights the limitations of manual counting:

• Statistical Insignificance: A hand count provides a mere estimate based on a single, isolated sample size in a massive field.
• Physical Toll: It requires manual labor in extreme heat and humidity.
• Time Inefficiency: It forces the harvest to stop or slow down while counts are conducted.

The Solution: Continuous, Automated Vision

Farmwave was deployed on AGCO’s FENDT Ideal machines to demonstrate the stark contrast between manual estimation and automated precision.

Where a human might take a single sample per field, Farmwave’s vision-based AI technology captures and analyzes images over 300 times per acre (or hectare). This provides a continuous, real-time data stream that no human workforce could ever replicate, delivering an exact picture of harvest loss across every inch of the field rather than a localized guess.

The Execution: Validation and Customer Advocacy

The testing environment in Brazil provided the perfect crucible for Farmwave. Running soybeans in hot, humid conditions, the technology was put to the test in front of a critical audience: AGCO’s validation engineers and executive leadership.

Crucially, the event also included FENDT customers. As Farmwave ran alongside the machines, the technology spoke for itself. Instead of Farmwave pitching the executives, the customers themselves articulated the value proposition directly to AGCO leadership, confirming the immense operational and financial benefits of real-time loss data.

The Results: The "Aha!" Moment

When the data was finalized, Farmwave proved to be just as accurate as the meticulous hand counts—but with exponentially higher data density and zero manual labor.

The turning point of the trial didn't come from a spreadsheet, but from a realization in the field. Looking at the results, and then looking back at the traditional hand-count setup—the string laid out in the dirt, the people bent over in the sweltering heat scratching through crop residue for stray beans—one of AGCO’s validation engineers summarized the success of the trial perfectly:

"I’m never doing that crap again!"

Conclusion

The Brazilian field tests proved that Farmwave not only matches the accuracy of legacy measurement methods but completely obsoletes them through scale, speed, and automation. By capturing data 300 times an acre without requiring operators to leave the cab, Farmwave transforms harvest loss from a tedious, physically demanding guessing game into a precise, actionable, and continuous metric.