Precision agriculture has been a focus for Sean McColley throughout his career in farming industries and is looking forward to bringing that experience to his new role.
Mr McColley has been appointed the Advanced Farming Systems (AFS) product manager for Case IH Australia and New Zealand.
"It's been a challenging time to learn the ropes as COVID-19 restrictions have curbed travel and made meetings and contact with customers, colleagues and dealers more difficult," he said.
Based in Toowoomba, Mr McColley's immediate priorities include raising awareness among customers of AFS Connect, a connectivity system that integrates elements of Case IH AFS technology to link farm, fleet and data and now allows Case IH owners to make better decisions based on both real-time and historic data generated by their machines.
"When I saw the role advertised one of the things that excited me about it was the chance to work so closely with this new AFS Connect technology.
"I was keen to be involved with the transition to this new technology and the machines at the centre of it and the game-changing benefits AFS Connect offers our customers," he said.
Mr McColley grew up on a Moree cotton farm before spending nine months in Tennesee in the US attending the ACSA International Cotton Institute where he honed his skills as a cotton classer and marketer.
On his return to Australia in 1997 he joined Weil Brothers in Moree and then relocated to Toowoomba a few years later to establish a base for the company.
Working in precision agriculture with a Toowoomba-based machinery dealership followed and then Mr McColley spent nine years travelling the world with Precision Cotton Technologies, marketing a water management system in a variety of different markets.
Preparing to spread the word on AFS Connect, Mr McColley said it was exciting to see where precision agriculture is heading, particularly given how far it's come in a relatively short time.
"I've certainly seen it evolve over time, from when auto steer first came out to now when we're doing a lot more with machine data so customers can make better, more timely, cost-saving decisions," he said.
"Technology like AFS is just part of farming these days and is certainly driven by what the customer wants and needs, which manufacturers like Case IH are listening to and investing in."
"It's about ensuring customers know what they already have within their machinery and encouraging them to use it to its potential.
"It's too big an investment not to be using the technology you already have access to," he said.
"The message is it's easy to use, it's designed to be farmer-friendly and it's aimed at streamlining and guiding decision-making that maximises efficiency, productivity and profits."