For over 35 years, members of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) have recognized and honored the most innovative advancements in engineering in the areas of agriculture, food and biological systems with the AE50 Award. The Products selected save producers time and reduce cost and labor, all while improving safety. 

To be eligible for the award, each development — which could be a component, machine, structure, system, end product or procedure — must embody the application of new technology or the innovative application of an older technology. The technology must be new to the entire industry, not to an individual company. Each year, an international panel of industry experts in technology, design and product development gather to evaluate the entries and select up to 50 products for recognition. Below is a selection of the 2025 winners. Full coverage of the winners can be found on No-TillFarmer.com.  

Unverferth Air Command Section Control for Pro-Force Dry Fertilizer Spreaders

The Air Command section control system for the Unverferth Pro-Force dry fertilizer spreader uses pneumatics to redirect fertilizer from the belt-over-chain conveyor for precise 4 section control. This innovative system saves the user money by not over-applying valuable dry fertilizer in the field and has a faster return on investment for the purchaser due to the simplistic design. A hydraulically operated blower fan pressurizes the air manifold and when a valve assembly opens, air flows through, redirecting fertilizer to the other sections. When this happens, the belt-over-chain conveyor automatically slows…