Between you and me, my favorite find at this year’s Husker Harvest Days was Abigail Hodges’ sugar cookies. Sweet, but not overly so, the Lincoln, Neb. student’s baked goods were as decedent as they were beautiful. Their show-inspired designs and perfect, soft consistency remained throughout the three-day show. As I write this, those sugar cookies linger on my palate.
Conveniently, we have an in. Her sister, Elizabeth Hodges, is among our six intrepid new-products reporters who annually trudge through rain, heat or hail to every one of the 500-plus vendor booths to find the latest ag equipment offerings.
It’s a challenging and rewarding endeavor, made sweeter this year by Hodges Cookies. Bravo, Abigail. This year, those wonderfully colorful and delicious sugar cookies powered our reporters on their trek through ideal September weather. A bright sun rose and fell on the 2025 farm show in Grand Island, Neb.
Besides Abigail’s cookies, we found a plethora of innovative ag tech that can optimize your farm business’s efficiency, reduce downtime and increase profit.
If you, like the Farm Progress reporters, wandered the showgrounds this year, our findings probably won’t come as a surprise. For those who didn’t — perhaps because harvest prep coincided with the event — we’ve got you covered.
Read on for several new product highlights from the 2025 Husker Harvest Days:
Irrigation sensor system. TowerWatch by Lindsay epitomizes irrigation technology’s latest advancements. To meet the water needs of modern farmers, irrigation brands are focusing research into keeping center pivots up and running. TowerWatch is a sensor-based system that identifies center-pivot alignment faults and pinpoints the problematic tower.
“The sensors on each of the towers immediately sends a notification to FieldNet that the center pivot isn’t in alignment,” says Andy Castillo, tech editor, “Instead of having to slog through corn or soybeans, it’ll find exactly which tower is at fault, saving time, a lot of effort and, hopefully, reducing the downtown on your pivot.”
Compatible with any brand pivot, sensors can be added to both new and existing machines. Additionally, the system can identify problematic areas in a field and create heat maps documenting failure patterns. The hardware costs about $480, with an additional $120 to FieldNet’s annual subscription cost.
Electric mower. The fully autonomous Segway Navimow X315 electric mower is capable of maintaining up to half-acre residential lawns. It eliminates the need for boundary wires through advanced positioning technology. While not designed for the farm yard, it holds benefits for weary farmers, says Kevin Schulz, editor of The Farmer.
“Farmers are busy. The last thing to do after a long day is mow the lawn,” says Schulz. “It’s got a little headlight on it, so it can sense things and go all night. If it’s too wet, if it has rained, its sensor will tell it not to go hit the field or hit the lawn.”
And if, after mowing all night, the X315 runs out of juice at the other end of the yard, it will automatically return home to its charging port. Leveraging RTK positioning and artificial intelligence, the 9-inch cutting width machine can avoid toys, house structures and other objects. The Navimow X315 costs about $2,299. Progressively larger models can maintain up to 2.5 acres.
Hog trailer. Merritt Trailers’ latest High-Spec Hog-Friendly Trailer is designed to make loading easier. Subtle-inclined ramps and funnel gates guide the animals into the right position the first time, and thoughtful features to “batten down” the trailer during cold, winter months, says Lauren Balcom, a reporter with Husker Harvest Days.
“This unit caters to the sensitive temperature needs of hogs and swine,” she says, noting its design for optimal airflow. “It has these black side panels here that will slide in during the winter, because hogs are pretty temperature-sensitive.”
Corn head line. Brazilian ag machinery brand Vence Tudo brought its corn head line to Husker Harvest Days for the first time. Available in 8, 12, and 16 row configurations, the machines are designed to leave bigger shred to help with decomposition. Chris Six, a writer at Missouri Ruralist, says Vence Tudo is “one of the leading farm equipment manufacturers in Brazil,” manufacturing grain carts, planters, drills and corn heads.
“These are from Brazil, coming to America for the first time,” he says. “They are only available through Warusa Services in northern Indiana.”
Roof vent. Chief’s Manway Roof Vent is an innovative bin roof ventilation system that provides 1.8 times more airflow compared to traditional designs. That enhanced airflow reduces the amount of vents needed — one for every 10 feet compared to four vents per sheet. That means fewer holes to cut, which can compromise a bin’s structural integrity. Fewer vents also reduce the chance for storm or ice damage.
“This design right here is angled, so that way it sheds snow,” says Jennifer M. Latzke, editor of Kansas Farmer, about the vent’s 30-degree roof angle. “That means no more catching snow and ice on the roof of your bins and having problems.”
Livestock trailer. Available in lengths from 28 to 40 feet, Hillsboro’s Endura XD prototype livestock trailer is versatile and highly customizable. Its triple-axle design and galvanized subframe make it strong enough to carry a full load of horses — more than Sarah McNaughton-Peterson, editor of Dakota Farmer, currently owns. But that’s easily remedied.
“How many horses can you fit? More than we have, so maybe we have to buy a couple more,” McNaughton-Peterson says. “They’ve got a really nice tongue-and-groove floor with very aggressive traction points. Animals aren’t going to slip around.”