Fendt 516 Vario wins TotY 2026 in the ‘MidPower’ category
(ltr) Torsten Dehner (Senior Vice President & General Manager Fendt & Valtra), Eric Hansotia (Chairman, President and CEO of AGCO), Dr Dominic Esser (Director Sales Fendt EME), Christoph Gröblinghoff (Chairman of the Fendt Management Board), Thorsten Meyer zu Bergsten (Team Leader Product Marketing Fendt Tractors), Christoph Mayer (Platform Lead Engineer Tractors Fendt), Dieter Dänzer (Managing Director NITT & Jury Member Tractor of the Year) and Roland Schmidt (Vice President Fendt Marketing)
The new top model Fendt 516 Vario from the completely redesigned fourth generation of the Fendt 500 Vario series brings technologies such as VarioDrive and the fully integrated tyre pressure control system to the 130 hp performance class for the first time. With numerous support systems such as trailer brake assist, reverse fan and newly developed drawbar lighting, the series impressed the jury.
Fendt 516 Vario
Reasons given by the jury
“Compact dimensions meet premium technology in the Fendt 516 Vario Gen4, powered by a 5 litre AGCO Power CORE50 engine delivering 164 hp (up to 174 hp with DynamicPerformance) and 792 Nm of torque under the FendtiD low-rpm concept. The Vario CVT transmission (TA 120) provides seamless speed control from 20 m/h up to 50 km/h, maintaining 40 km/h at just 1,300 rpm. The eLS hydraulic system delivers up to 155 l/min of flow, with up to seven valves, electronic linkage, and full Headland Management. Cab comfort features include hydraulic front axle suspension, optional pneumatic cab suspension, and an ultra-low 69 db noise level. The jury highlighted the 516 Varios' balance of efficiency, comfort, an versatility as a reference to the mid-power class.”
Christoph Gröblinghoff (Chairman of the Fendt Management Board)
"The Fendt 516 Vario brings technologies such as VarioDrive and the tyre pressure control system to this compact tractor class for the first time. With a payload of 4.9 tonnes and a new generation of front loader, it has been developed for versatile use on the farm, in grassland and in the field. I am delighted that we have won our 17th Tractor of the Year award for this tractor, as it means that the jury recognises the completely new development of this machine,‘ says Christoph Gröblinghoff, Chairman of the Fendt Management Board. ’The Tractor of the Year Award is an important award for us and a great acknowledgement of the excellent work of our development team, who have been working on these machines for many years.”
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About the Tractor of the Year Award
The Tractor of the Year award has been presented once a year since 1998. Since 2006, the award ceremony has been held alternately at EIMA and Agritechnica. In 2020, an award was presented in the ‘Sustainable’ category for the first time. Since 2025, the Tractor of the Year has been awarded in six categories. The independent jury consists of 26 journalists from 26 European countries.
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Fendt ForageQualityCam for Fendt Katana receives Agritechnica Innovation Award Silver
(ltr) Hubertus Paetow (President of the German Agricultural Society, DLG), Katalin Csehi (Platform Lead Engineer, Fendt Forage Harvester), Christoph Gröblinghoff (Chairman of the Fendt Management Board) and Dr. Markus Demmel (Chairman of the VDI Max Eyth Society for Agricultural Engineering)
On the same day, the DLG presents the ForageQualityCam for the Fendt Katana forage harvester with the Agritechnica 2025 Innovation Award in silver.
Fendt now offers an exclusive retrofit ForageQualityCam for the Fendt Katana, allowing the processing quality to be monitored directly from the forage harvester cab. The ForageQualityCam uses a camera and AI-supported image analysis to determine the quality of crop processing in real time. The camera looks at the crop flow in the discharge chute and delivers 13 images per second to an external high-performance computing unit. This analyses the quality of the grain processing based on the images using a specially trained algorithm. The analysis results are transmitted in real time to a dedicated monitor in the forage harvester cab. This allows drivers to check the quality of the grain processing and, if necessary, immediately adjust the forage harvester settings, in particular the cracker settings, to optimise the result.
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‘The ForageQualityCam from Fendt represents a milestone in real-time quality analysis of processed material. It supports and assists the driver with a powerful optimisation and safety tool, increases throughput and reduces wear and tear as well as fuel consumption,’ said the DLG expert commission in its statement.
(ltr) Katalin Csehi (Platform Lead Engineer, Fendt Forage Harvester) and Dr Josef Mayer (Managing Director for Research and Development, Fendt)
"The Fendt Katana is a central component of our product strategy. In silage production, particular importance is attached to optimal grain processing. This means that kernel breakdown determines digestibility and fodder efficiency. With the camera and AI analysis, we can measure this in real time. This provides greater transparency for contractors and farmers, thereby supporting their daily work‘, says Dr Josef Mayer, Managing Director of Research and Development at Fendt. ’This silver medal rewards the result of global collaboration between engineers and recognises the work of the pre-development and development teams, as well as that of the employees in the forage harvester production facility in Hohenmölsen."
About the Agritechnica Innovation Awards
Since its establishment, Agritechnica has awarded gold and silver medals to technical innovations for practical use. Even before Agritechnica was founded, these medals were awarded as part of the DLG exhibition. In the course of the increasing internationalisation of the world's leading trade fair for agricultural technology, the name of the medals was changed from ‘DLG Medal’ to ‘Agritechnica Innovation Award’. In 2025, the DLG Commission awarded one gold and 22 silver medals.
