CARY, N.C. — John Deere announces its Quik-Knect system was selected as a 2020 AE50 Award winner by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). Each year the AE50 awards recognize the most innovative designs in product engineering in the food and agriculture industry and are chosen by a panel of international engineering experts.

The new John Deere Quik-Knect System is compatible with the 1, 2, 3 and 4 Series models of John Deere compact utility tractors. Utilizing one connector for the tractor PTO shaft and another for the implement, Quik-Knect prevents twisting or forcing to line-up the splines when attaching rear implements. Developed to help increase operator ease and enhance productivity, operators can simply slide the tractor and implement connectors together until they click into place. ASABE selected the Quik-Knect system based on its ability to save operators time while switching between implements, increasing productivity.

“We’re extremely proud of the Quik-Knect design and its ability to help our customers work faster and more efficiently,” said Keith Hendrix, product marketing manager at John Deere. “What makes this product so valuable is that it makes connecting rear implements a hassle-free task. After surveying our customers, we found that many believed this process to be to tedious, so we created the Quik-Knect system to address that issue.”

ASABE is an international scientific and educational organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems.

Each year the ASABE announces the AE50 awards and presents the award at the ASABE Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference in Louisville, Ky., in February.

In addition to the Quik-Knect, John Deere received multiple AE50 honors in 2020. Other John Deere product winners included the 2700 and 2750 Hybrid Triplex Mowers, M and R Series Commercial Walk Behind Mowers, MowerPlus Smart Connector, LS475 Liquid System and N500C Air Drill.