PEORIA, Ill.— Founded in Morton, Illinois, in 1990, CSE Software and Simformotion has occupied a renovated loft in Peoria’s historical Warehouse District for over a decade. A leading ag-tech company in the Greater Peoria region, CSE is part of a local business culture that plays a vital role in providing solutions for customers by leveraging the latest technology to fit their unique needs. 

CSE and Simformotion are pioneers in simulated training software and modules for safety training. Software developed by CSE and training modules constructed by sister-company Simformotion are currently being used to educate agricultural chemical applicators to safely operate high-boys, sprayers, nurse tanks and other potentially dangerous equipment related to commercial chemical applications. In addition, the companies have developed training modules for operators of heavy construction and mining equipment employed by Caterpillar, Inc. 

“We were the first in the U.S. to offer these safety training tools,” said Stacy Burris, account manager for CSE Software. Burris explained that CSE was prompted to develop training software for agricultural chemical applicators by Don Patterson, owner of Tri-Ag, a small fertilizer dealership in Emden, Illinois. Patterson had attended the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association’s (IFCA) annual conference in Peoria and later approached CSE with the challenge of designing and producing training modules for large agricultural sprayers.

“Don was very adamant about the need for simulators for sprayer training. There was no training available at any school or facility to teach and practice the skills necessary to apply chemicals and fertilizers to fields without seating the (applicator) directly in the equipment,” said Burris. “Secondly, the lack of an ag-farm background by operator candidates makes training much more important. The desired method of learning with the present generation, from which the industry is trying to hire, is a technology-oriented method versus being trained by an experienced applicator who may not be a trained instructor.” 

Moreover, a combination of higher insurance costs and vehicle values have made it less desirable for employers to allow untrained applicators to operate agricultural vehicles on the roads. In addition, with dicamba 2, 4D chemistry on the horizon at the time, regulations required training and re-training for applicators. 

With potential liability issues associated with farm chemical applications on the rise, CSE saw that the time was right to expand its portfolio to add sprayer training software and simulators in its product line.

“We knew Don had come to the right place, because we had already proven that hands-on simulation training is key to augmenting (one-on-one personal) training, while providing safety awareness, skills assessment, cost-savings, improved production, training flexibility and sustainability,” Burris said. “I was very confident that we could help, but there was one major hurdle to overcome; as a small business owner, Don could not afford to fund this project by himself.” 

Enter Bloomington, Illinois-based GROWMARK, a regional agricultural cooperative that has grown to operate in around 40 states. A major sponsorship agreement with GROWARK, along with support from ag retailers and wholesalers, agribusiness insurance providers and ag educational centers provided the funding to bring Patterson’s — and by then, Burris’— vision to fruition. The developers then spent the next year and a half designing the software and enlisting further support and sponsorship from several industry partners who realized the value of the training software and module under design, including junior colleges and trade schools. 

“Through GROWMARK’s generous support in the design and development of what we call the FS Simulator, we got underway. We delivered the first production unit to GROWMARK’s Learning Center in July of 2017. The big ‘grand reveal’ came at the next MAGIE show, which is held in central Illinois every year. It was the first (product) we had developed for the ag industry.” said Burris. 

GROWMARK and FS began purchasing the simulators by the score. Soon, Simformotion and GROWMARK reached a reseller agreement, allowing the FS Simulator to be officially added to the cooperative’s product line. 

In addition, the simulators were embraced by the Asmark Institute, an applicator safety and certification business also located in Bloomington. Currently, CSE is working with AGCO on the development of Fendt tractor and Fendt high-clearance vehicle simulators. 

“These are both under current development,” said Burris. “Our vision is to continue building technology to support the ag industry. CSE and Simformotion have seen firsthand how it plays a role in providing essential outcomes for a wide variety of industry partners. We can continue building a stronger bridge between efficiency, safety, profitability and possibility across all sectors of the agricultural world.”

A Nov. 7 meeting at CSE headquarters was part of a series of innovation networking events held by AgTech Connect, a regional partnership of area innovators dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs with resources throughout the ag-tech ecosystem by supporting business innovation, market research and collaborative studies. Some three dozen Peoria-area innovators representing several ag-tech startups attended the meeting, which also featured presentations from central Illinois-based Precision Planting, the Center for Digital Agriculture at the University of Illinois, and the Bradley University Interactive Media Design Department.

Following the meeting, attendees were invited to operate some of the company’s training modules for sprayers and Caterpillar machine simulation equipment.