This year the AF Series combines from Case IH earned a remarkable honor: the 2025 “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska.” In the annual contest run by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, more than 40,000 votes were cast across multiple rounds, and the AF Series emerged the winner. These machines are built right in Grand Island at the Case IH plant there.

The “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska” contest is now in its fourth year. In 2022 the inaugural winner was a Kawasaki subway car built in Lincoln for New York City subway tracks. In 2023, the top honor went to Rocket Mobility’s all-terrain tracked wheelchair made in Columbus. In 2024 Valley Irrigation’s center pivot irrigation machine took the crown. That is a fascinating cross section: from transit to mobility to irrigation and now to harvesting machinery. The contest celebrates innovation, manufacturing excellence, and how Nebraska’s industries push boundaries in design, engineering, and impact.

So what makes the AF Series so cool? First, the fact that it is designed, engineered, and built by people with deep, practical knowledge of agricultural demands gives it authenticity. These combines are packed with automation and harvesting technologies intended to boost efficiency, reduce downtime, and adapt to variable crop conditions. Case IH describes these as its most powerful machines, capable of covering more acres in less time. They handle more than 180 crop types, which underscores their versatility for farmers in diverse regions globally.

Another reason the AF Series stands out is the integration of digital tools, sensors, and smart controls to manage yield, field conditions, and operator experience. When you combine raw horsepower with precision management, you get machines that are not just brute force harvesters, but high tech workhorses.

It also matters that they are built in Grand Island. That gives Nebraska manufacturing something to rally around. The factory there is producing world-class machines that compete globally. That local connection lends weight: Nebraska is not just a place where things are made, but where innovation in agriculture is alive and flourishing.

Winning the “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska” award places the AF Series in the company of machines and technologies that push their industries forward. It reminds us that cool is not just about gadgets or consumer toys. It can be about serious equipment, backbone infrastructure, and tools that help feed and sustain communities. Combines, the giants of the field, are evolving, embracing smart technology, efficiency, and adaptability in ways that warrant attention and admiration.