Suche

Press release #Mobility
share

Bosch and BASF smart farming joint venture gets global green light

  • Official approval obtained from merger control authorities
  • Experienced senior leadership team in place and new company set for growth
  • Smart Spraying intelligence delivers precise weed identification and management
Cornelia Dürr

Cornelia Dürr

X

Cornelia Dürr

Cornelia Dürr
Spokesperson for Bosch Engineering GmbH, motorsports

Stuttgart/Cologne, Germany – The 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Bosch and BASF Digital Farming to globally market and sell smart farming technologies from a single source has now received approval by all relevant merger control authorities. The JV has been registered as Bosch BASF Smart Farming (BBSF) GmbH.

A major milestone, BBSF has since set up its headquarters in Cologne, Germany and appointed experienced managing directors BASF’s Silvia Cifre Wibrow and Bosch’s Florian Gwosdz to jointly lead the company. The company will distribute its Smart Spraying solution, which Bosch and BASF are developing and testing, to initial markets in North America, South America and Europe. Its Intelligent Planting Solution (IPS) is already commercially available in Brazil and Argentina, and will use the advanced digital agronomic intelligence of BASF’s xarvio™ crop optimization platform to enhance zone-based seeding recommendations in the near future in Brazil.

Smart configuration aiding efficiency

The Smart Spraying solution offers real-time, automated pre-emergence (“green-on-brown”) and post-emergence (“green-on-green”) weed identification and management day and night. Combining Bosch’s high-tech camera sensor technology and software with xarvio’s agronomic intelligence enables Smart Spraying in milliseconds to precisely detect weeds in crop rows and to spot apply herbicide only where needed. Its unique configuration supports a more efficient use of herbicide, with trials showing herbicide volume savings of 70% are achievable. Higher savings are also possible, with variability dependent on the prevailing field conditions and weed pressure of individual fields.

Supporting sustainability and biodiversity

“We have reached another important milestone in receiving merger control approval and have made considerable progress in the past few months. We have established the new company together, built the new team and continued to test our products successfully under different climatic conditions with various manufacturers,” says Florian Gwosdz, joint Managing Director of Bosch BASF Smart Farming. “Our Smart Spraying Solution continues to return consistent, positive test results, which clearly shows the combination of our hardware, software and advanced agronomic logic delivers.”

“With Smart Spraying, we are bringing a new digital solution to market and new approach to weed management – a volume-optimization model that increases farm profitability through a more precise and efficient use of herbicide,” said Silvia Cifre Wibrow, joint Managing Director of Bosch BASF Smart Farming. “The unique ability for Smart Spraying to see, decide and spray based on agronomic intelligence is not just financially good for farmers, but it’s good for the environment, sustainability and biodiversity.”

Bosch BASF Smart Farming remains on-track to launch the Smart Spraying solution in limited numbers by the end of this year.

Contacts:
Bosch Engineering GmbH
Cornelia Dürr
phone: +49 7062 911-1986
cornelia.duerr@de.bosch.com

xarvioTM, BASF Digital Farming GmbH
Nathan Quigley
phone: +49 151 5519 3566
nathan-sean.quigley@xarvio.com

Additional Information

Mobility is the largest Bosch Group business sector. In 2023, its sales came to 56.2 billion euros, or just under 60 percent of total Group sales. This makes the Bosch Group one of the leading mobility suppliers. Bosch Mobility pursues a vision of mobility that is safe, sustainable, and exciting. For its customers, the outcome is integrated mobility solutions. The business sector’s main areas of activity are electrification, software and services, semiconductors and sensors, vehicle computers, advanced driver assistance systems, systems for vehicle dynamics control, repair-shop concepts, as well as technology and services for the automotive aftermarket. Bosch is synonymous with important automotive innovations, such as electronic engine management, the ESP anti-skid system, and common-rail diesel technology.

BASF Digital Farming GmbH
BASF Digital Farming is at the forefront of the digital transformation of agriculture, optimizing crop production. It’s xarvio™ Digital Farming Solutions brand offers digital products based on a global leading crop modelling platform, which delivers independent, field-zone-specific agronomic advice that enables farmers to produce their crops most efficiently and sustainably. xarvio products SCOUTING, FIELD MANAGER and HEALTHY FIELDS are being used by farmers in more than 100 countries. xarvio FIELD MANAGER is used by 60,000 farmers (total area of more than 7 million ha) in 17 countries, and xarvio SCOUTING is used by more than 4 million farmers and consultants. For more information please visit xarvio.com or any of our social media channels.

BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division
With a rapidly growing population, the world is increasingly dependent on our ability to develop and maintain sustainable agriculture and healthy environments. Working with farmers, agricultural professionals, pest management experts and others, it is our role to help make this possible. That’s why we invest in a strong R&D pipeline and broad portfolio, including seeds and traits, chemical and biological crop protection, soil management, plant health, pest control and digital farming. With expert teams in the lab, field, office and in production, we connect innovative thinking and down-to-earth action to create real world ideas that work – for farmers, society and the planet. In 2020, our division generated sales of €7.7 billion. For more information, please visit www.agriculture.basf.com or any of our social media channels.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 429,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). The company generated sales of 91.6 billion euros in 2023. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. With its business activities, the company aims to use technology to help shape universal trends such as automation, electrification, digitalization, connectivity, and an orientation to sustainability. In this context, Bosch’s broad diversification across regions and industries strengthens its innovativeness and robustness. Bosch uses its proven expertise in sensor technology, software, and services to offer customers cross-domain solutions from a single source. It also applies its expertise in connectivity and artificial intelligence in order to develop and manufacture user-friendly, sustainable products. With technology that is “Invented for life,” Bosch wants to help improve quality of life and conserve natural resources. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 470 subsidiary and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. Bosch’s innovative strength is key to the company’s further development. At 136 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 90,000 associates in research and development, of which nearly 48,000 are software engineers.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com.

download

Explore more