Agricultural engineering is changing rapidly, with electronics, software, sensors and artificial intelligence increasingly complementing traditional mechanical engineering skills. That was the message from Volker St\u00f6cklin of German machinery manufacturer RAUCH Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH during a Young Professionals Network (YPN) session at LAND.TECHNIK AgEng 2026 in Dresden.<\/p>\n
Speaking to young engineers and conference delegates, St\u00f6cklin outlined how the family-owned company, which has more than 100 years of history, is adapting its engineering and product development to meet changing market demands.<\/p>\n
Employing around 420 people, generating approximately \u20ac100m in annual revenue and holding 170 active patents, RAUCH specialises in fertiliser and municipal spreaders, as well as seeding technology.<\/p>\n
St\u00f6cklin highlighted the increasing importance of combining mechanical engineering fundamentals with mechatronics, embedded software, sensors, image analysis and AI. However, agricultural machinery presents particular challenges, with components and electronic systems required to operate reliably in demanding conditions involving fertiliser, dust and weather.<\/p>\n
The company's 65m by 20m test hall incorporates 88 measuring devices, collecting fertiliser distribution data every 10 milliseconds. This information supports simulation work, machine development and the refinement of control algorithms.<\/p>\n
AI is already contributing to product development. Topology optimisation has reduced pressure losses in an air duct by 50\u201360%, while image analysis in the company's fertiliser chart application helps users assess spreading performance. The app has approximately 100,000 users.<\/p>\n
Addressing the next generation of agricultural engineers, St\u00f6cklin emphasised the importance of developing a strong technical foundation while remaining open to learning across disciplines. He encouraged students to understand the complete machine system, consider the practical needs of farmers and view AI as a supporting tool rather than a replacement for engineering judgement.<\/p>\n
RAUCH hosts around 10 students annually and has supported more than 200 over the past 20 years, with student projects contributing to real engineering developments and providing a route into employment.<\/p>\n
His central message was that curiosity, practical understanding and a willingness to work across disciplines will be essential attributes for tomorrow's agricultural engineers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Agricultural engineering is changing rapidly, with electronics, software, sensors and artificial intelligence increasingly complementing traditional mechanical engineering skills. That was the message from Volker St\u00f6cklin of German machinery manufacturer RAUCH Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH during a Young Professionals Network (YPN) session at LAND.TECHNIK AgEng 2026 in Dresden. Speaking to young engineers and conference delegates, St\u00f6cklin outlined how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sns_share_botton_hide":"","vkExUnit_sns_title":"","_vk_print_noindex":"","sitemap_hide":"","_veu_custom_css":"","veu_display_promotion_alert":"common","vkexunit_cta_each_option":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5],"tags":[95],"class_list":["post-952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-young-professionals-network","tag-vdi-land-technik-ageng-2026"],"veu_head_title_object":{"title":"","add_site_title":""},"yoast_head":"\n