【460期】精准农业专利深度对比:中、美、德、韩全球专利质量与未来走向

在精准农业赛道，专利数量往往被视作科技实力的直观参考。各国专利申请量、授权率、研发方向差异，真实反映出全球农业科技截然不同的发展逻辑。本文聚焦中、美、德、韩四国精准农业专利数据，从申请体量、授权转化率、技术布局、头部企业知识产权储备等维度展开对比，同时解析工业机器人企业跨界布局农业专利的行业趋势，为从业者客观厘清全球精准农业专利真实竞争格局。

注：第一部分为英文文章及音频，第二部分为中英双语文章，后附重点词汇注解

（本文仅用于学习用途，For non-commercial educational use only）

英文文章及音频：（655 Words）

China Leads Precision Ag Patent Filings by a Wide Margin. The Grant Rate Tells a Different Story

From:iGrow News

China's 66,095 precision ag patent filings in 2024 represent more than five times the volume of the United States' 12,484. That gap is frequently cited as a measure of Chinese competitiveness in agricultural technology. The grant rate complicates that reading. Of those 66,095 filings, just 247 had been granted as of March 2026, when the iGrow Intelligence data was extracted — a conversion rate of 0.4%.

A significant share of Chinese patent filings are utility model patents, which carry a lower novelty standard than invention patents and are not examined for prior art before grant. For businesses assessing freedom-to-operate risk or competitive IP exposure in precision agriculture, the number that matters is not 66,095 but 247.

Where Patent Quality Is Higher

South Korea filed 2,845 precision ag patents in 2024 and had 1,227 of them granted — a 43.1% grant rate. That puts South Korea close to the United States in terms of absolute granted output (1,742 grants), despite filing at roughly one-fifth the volume. Korea's granted IP spans seven of the eight sub-segments tracked by the report, with particularly high grant rates in Farm Management Software (40%) and AI/ML (22.2%). The iGrow Intelligence report notes that this breadth of IP is less widely discussed than China's filing volume or Germany's quality reputation.

Germany's 911 filings produced a 6.1% grant rate. Amazonen-Werke, one of the more active German filers, holds 3,515 total precision ag patents with a 25% all-time grant rate, concentrated in Sensors and IoT rather than autonomous vehicle development. That focus reflects the company's background in variable rate spreading and application rate control, and appears to result in IP that is commercially relevant and more defensible. Germany's approach — fewer, more carefully prosecuted applications — contrasts with China's higher-volume, lower-conversion model. Neither approach is inherently superior; they reflect different national filing strategies and patent office dynamics.

The OEM Leaders in Precision Ag IP

Among companies primarily in the agricultural equipment business, Deere and CNH Industrial hold the largest precision ag patent portfolios. Deere has 13,309 total patents with a 30.1% all-time grant rate. CNH has 12,930 with a 34.3% rate — the highest among the major OEM patent holders. CNH Belgium NV, the European holding entity used to consolidate much of CNH's IP following a divisional restructuring, records a 46.1% all-time grant rate.

Both companies were active filers in 2024 — Deere submitted 454 applications, CNH 206. Both also transferred large numbers of patents between group entities in the September 2024 to February 2025 period, which the report links to the post-Agritechnica IP consolidation cycle.

Fanuc Corp (8,510 total patents), LG Electronics (5,580), and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (4,502) all appear in the precision ag patent rankings. Each holds patents formally classified under agricultural CPC codes by patent office examiners. The iGrow Intelligence report notes this reflects a broader migration of industrial robotics IP into the agricultural domain, driven by technical similarities between factory automation and field automation. For companies in the precision ag robotics space, these firms are worth monitoring both as potential licensing partners and as potential sources of IP friction.

Patent Filings as a Potential Company Health Indicator

The iGrow Intelligence report identifies a pattern worth flagging, though the authors note it needs verification across a larger sample. In several cases from the 2019–2022 cohort, companies stopped filing patents around 12 months before experiencing financial difficulties or restructuring. Franka Emika GmbH, for example, ceased filing roughly a year before bankruptcy. Climate Corp stopped filing in the same year Bayer restructured the business. The pattern is not conclusive, but it may be worth tracking alongside other indicators when monitoring early-stage company health.

中英双语文章：

中国精准农业专利申请量遥遥领先，但授权率却呈现截然不同的局面

China Leads Precision Ag Patent Filings by a Wide Margin. The Grant Rate Tells a Different Story

来源：iGrow News

2024 年中国精准农业专利申请量达 66095 件，是美国 12484 件申请量的五倍以上。这一巨大差距常被用来衡量中国在农业科技领域的竞争力。但专利授权率却让这种简单的体量对比失去参考意义。iGrow 情报机构截至 2026 年 3 月提取的数据显示：在 66095 件申请中，仅 247 件获得授权，授权转化率仅为0.4%。

China's 66,095 precision ag patent filings in 2024 represent more than five times the volume of the United States' 12,484. That gap is frequently cited as a measure of Chinese competitiveness in agricultural technology. The grant rate complicates that reading. Of those 66,095 filings, just 247 had been granted as of March 2026, when the iGrow Intelligence data was extracted — a conversion rate of 0.4%.

中国相当一部分专利申请为实用新型专利，这类专利的新颖性标准低于发明专利，且授权前不做现有技术检索审查。对于想要评估精准农业领域自由实施风险、以及知识产权竞争风险的企业而言，真正有参考价值的不是 66095 件申请量，而是247 件授权专利。

A significant share of Chinese patent filings are utility model patents, which carry a lower novelty standard than invention patents and are not examined for prior art before grant. For businesses assessing freedom-to-operate risk or competitive IP exposure in precision agriculture, the number that matters is not 66,095 but 247.

专利质量更高的国家地区

Where Patent Quality Is Higher

2024 年韩国精准农业专利申请量 2845 件，其中 1227 件获得授权，授权率高达 43.1%。尽管其申请总量仅为美国的约五分之一，但授权专利总量（1227 件）已十分接近美国（1742 件）。

韩国授权专利覆盖报告统计的八大细分领域中的七个，其中农场管理软件授权率 40%、人工智能 / 机器学习授权率 22.2%，表现尤为突出。iGrow 情报报告指出：相比于中国庞大的专利申请量、德国公认的专利质量口碑，韩国这种全面的知识产权布局很少被外界关注。

South Korea filed 2,845 precision ag patents in 2024 and had 1,227 of them granted — a 43.1% grant rate. That puts South Korea close to the United States in terms of absolute granted output (1,742 grants), despite filing at roughly one-fifth the volume. Korea's granted IP spans seven of the eight sub-segments tracked by the report, with particularly high grant rates in Farm Management Software (40%) and AI/ML (22.2%). The iGrow Intelligence report notes that this breadth of IP is less widely discussed than China's filing volume or Germany's quality reputation.

德国 2024 年精准农业专利申请 911 件，授权率 6.1%。德国头部申请企业亚马逊农机公司，累计持有 35155 件精准农业相关专利，历史整体授权率 25%；专利布局集中在传感器与物联网领域，而非农业自动驾驶设备研发。这一布局特点源于企业在变量撒肥、精准施药控制领域的技术积淀，其专利具备更高的商业落地价值与法律稳定性。德国模式是少而精、严谨审慎推进专利申请，与中国申请量大、授权转化率低的模式形成鲜明对比。两种模式并无绝对优劣，只是反映了各国专利申请策略、专利审查机构运行规则的差异。

Germany's 911 filings produced a 6.1% grant rate. Amazonen-Werke, one of the more active German filers, holds 3,515 total precision ag patents with a 25% all-time grant rate, concentrated in Sensors and IoT rather than autonomous vehicle development. That focus reflects the company's background in variable rate spreading and application rate control, and appears to result in IP that is commercially relevant and more defensible. Germany's approach — fewer, more carefully prosecuted applications — contrasts with China's higher-volume, lower-conversion model. Neither approach is inherently superior; they reflect different national filing strategies and patent office dynamics.

精准农业领域头部设备厂商知识产权格局

The OEM Leaders in Precision Ag IP

在主营农业装备的企业中，约翰迪尔和凯斯纽荷兰拥有规模最大的精准农业专利组合。约翰迪尔：累计专利 13309 件，历史整体授权率 30.1%。凯斯纽荷兰：累计专利 12930 件，历史整体授权率 34.3%，在主流农机原厂厂商中授权率排名第一。经过业务分拆重组后，凯斯纽荷兰在比利时的控股子公司整合了集团大部分知识产权，其专利历史授权率高达 46.1%。

Among companies primarily in the agricultural equipment business, Deere and CNH Industrial hold the largest precision ag patent portfolios. Deere has 13,309 total patents with a 30.1% all-time grant rate. CNH has 12,930 with a 34.3% rate — the highest among the major OEM patent holders. CNH Belgium NV, the European holding entity used to consolidate much of CNH's IP following a divisional restructuring, records a 46.1% all-time grant rate.

两家企业 2024 年均保持高专利申请活跃度：约翰迪尔提交 454 件专利申请，凯斯纽荷兰提交 206 件。2024 年 9 月至 2025 年 2 月期间，两家企业均在集团内部主体间大规模转移专利，报告认为这与德国国际农业机械展后的知识产权整合周期高度相关。

Both companies were active filers in 2024 — Deere submitted 454 applications, CNH 206. Both also transferred large numbers of patents between group entities in the September 2024 to February 2025 period, which the report links to the post-Agritechnica IP consolidation cycle.

发那科（累计 8510 件）、LG 电子（5580 件）、川崎重工（4502 件）均跻身精准农业专利排行榜。三家企业的专利均被专利审查机构依照农业合作专利分类（CPC）正式归类为精准农业范畴。iGrow 报告分析，这一现象源于工业机器人技术正向农业领域跨界渗透——工厂自动化与田间自动化的技术原理高度相近。对布局农业机器人赛道的企业而言，这类工业机器人巨头既是潜在的技术授权合作方，也可能成为未来知识产权纠纷的潜在来源，值得持续关注。

Fanuc Corp (8,510 total patents), LG Electronics (5,580), and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (4,502) all appear in the precision ag patent rankings. Each holds patents formally classified under agricultural CPC codes by patent office examiners. The iGrow Intelligence report notes this reflects a broader migration of industrial robotics IP into the agricultural domain, driven by technical similarities between factory automation and field automation. For companies in the precision ag robotics space, these firms are worth monitoring both as potential licensing partners and as potential sources of IP friction.

专利申请量：可作为企业经营健康度的潜在参考指标

Patent Filings as a Potential Company Health Indicator

iGrow 情报报告发现了一个值得关注的规律（研究团队表示仍需更大样本验证）：在 2019–2022 年的企业样本中，多家企业在陷入财务危机、业务重组前约 12 个月，就已停止新增专利申请。例如：弗兰卡艾米卡机器人公司在破产前约一年，便不再提交专利申请；气候科技公司停止专利申请的同年，其母公司拜耳对该业务板块启动重组。该规律虽暂不具备绝对定论，但在研判初创企业、科技企业早期经营风险时，可与其他经营指标搭配参考。

The iGrow Intelligence report identifies a pattern worth flagging, though the authors note it needs verification across a larger sample. In several cases from the 2019–2022 cohort, companies stopped filing patents around 12 months before experiencing financial difficulties or restructuring. Franka Emika GmbH, for example, ceased filing roughly a year before bankruptcy. Climate Corp stopped filing in the same year Bayer restructured the business. The pattern is not conclusive, but it may be worth tracking alongside other indicators when monitoring early-stage company health.

- 词汇盘点 -

grant、breadth、reputation、prosecute、inherently、portfolio、entity、consolidate、migration、domain、friction、conclusive

※ grant ※

Grant  英/ɡrɑːnt/ 美/ɡrænt/

v.授予；同意；承认；准予

n.拨款；补助金；授予物

【例句】

The government decided to grant additional funding for agricultural research projects.

政府决定为农业研究项目授予额外资金。

She was granted a patent for her innovative irrigation system design.

她的创新灌溉系统设计获得了专利授权。

The university received a research grant to study sustainable farming practices.

该大学获得了一笔研究拨款，用于研究可持续农业实践。

I grant that the plan is ambitious, but I believe it is achievable.

我承认这个计划雄心勃勃，但我相信它是可以实现的。

※ breadth ※

Breadth  英/bredθ/ 美/bredθ/

n.宽度；广度；广泛性；幅度

【例句】

The breadth of his knowledge in agricultural science impressed the examination panel.

他在农业科学领域的知识广度给评审小组留下了深刻印象。

The river reaches a breadth of over two kilometers at its widest point.

这条河在最宽处达到两公里以上的宽度。

The curriculum was designed to provide students with breadth as well as depth of understanding.

课程设计旨在为学生提供理解的广度与深度。

The breadth of support for the new policy surprised even its proponents.

对该新政策支持的广泛程度甚至令其支持者感到惊讶。

※ reputation ※

Reputation  英/ˌrepjuˈteɪʃn/ 美/ˌrepjuˈteɪʃn/

n.声誉；名声；名誉

【例句】

The company has built a solid reputation for producing high-quality agricultural equipment.

该公司以生产高品质农业设备而建立了坚实的声誉。

A single product recall can severely damage a brand's reputation overnight.

一次产品召回就能在一夜之间严重损害品牌声誉。

She earned an international reputation for her groundbreaking research in crop genetics.

她因在作物遗传学方面的开创性研究而赢得了国际声誉。

The university's reputation attracts talented students from around the world.

这所大学的声誉吸引了来自世界各地的优秀学生。

※ prosecute ※

Prosecute  英/ˈprɒsɪkjuːt/ 美/ˈprɑːsɪkjuːt/

v.起诉；控告；检举；从事；执行

【例句】

The authorities decided to prosecute the company for violating environmental regulations.

当局决定起诉该公司违反环境法规。

The case was prosecuted successfully, resulting in a significant fine for the defendant.

案件成功起诉，被告被处以巨额罚款。

He has prosecuted numerous complex fraud cases during his career as a district attorney.

他在担任地区检察官期间起诉了许多复杂的欺诈案件。

The research team continues to prosecute its investigation into disease-resistant crop varieties.

研究团队继续从事抗病作物品种的研究工作。

※ inherently ※

Inherently  英/ɪnˈherəntli/ 美/ɪnˈherəntli/

adv.固有地；内在地；本质上

【例句】

The process is inherently risky due to unpredictable weather conditions.

由于不可预测的天气条件，这一过程本质上具有风险。

Some chemicals are inherently unstable and require careful storage.

某些化学物质本质上不稳定，需要小心储存。

The system is inherently designed to prioritize efficiency over flexibility.

该系统在设计上本质上是优先考虑效率而非灵活性。

Inherently, all living organisms share a common genetic code.

本质上，所有生物体都共享一套共同的遗传密码。

※ portfolio ※

Portfolio  英/pɔːtˈfəʊliəʊ/ 美/pɔːrtˈfoʊlioʊ/

n.投资组合；作品集；公文包；职务范围

【例句】

The investment firm manages a diverse portfolio including agricultural technology stocks.

该投资公司管理着一个多元化的投资组合，包括农业科技股票。

She presented her design portfolio to the interview panel for the architect position.

她向面试小组展示了她的设计作品集，应聘建筑师职位。

The minister was given a new portfolio responsible for rural development.

这位部长被赋予了负责农村发展的新职务范围。

Diversifying your portfolio can help reduce financial risk during market volatility.

使你的投资组合多元化有助于在市场波动期间降低财务风险。

※ entity ※

Entity  英/ˈentəti/ 美/ˈentəti/

n.实体；独立存在物；组织；机构

【例句】

The newly formed entity will oversee all agricultural research initiatives in the region.

新成立的实体将监督该地区所有农业研究倡议。

A separate legal entity was created to manage the intellectual property rights.

一个独立的法律实体被创建来管理知识产权。

The United Nations is an international entity dedicated to maintaining global peace.

联合国是一个致力于维护全球和平的国际实体。

Each business entity must register with the local authorities before commencing operations.

每个商业实体在开始运营前必须向当地当局注册。

※ consolidate ※

Consolidate  英/kənˈsɒlɪdeɪt/ 美/kənˈsɑːlɪdeɪt/

v.巩固；合并；整合；加强

【例句】

The company plans to consolidate its three regional offices into a single headquarters.

该公司计划将其三个地区办事处合并为一个总部。

Regular review helps consolidate learning and improve long-term retention.

定期复习有助于巩固学习并提高长期记忆。

The military operation aimed to consolidate control over the disputed territory.

军事行动旨在巩固对有争议领土的控制。

We need to consolidate our gains before expanding into new markets.

我们需要巩固已有成果，然后再向新市场扩张。

※ migration ※

Migration  英/maɪˈɡreɪʃn/ 美/maɪˈɡreɪʃn/

n.迁移；迁徙；移民；转移

【例句】

Seasonal migration of agricultural workers follows the harvest cycles across regions.

农业工人的季节性迁移跟随各地区的收获周期。

Data migration to the new cloud platform was completed without any loss of information.

向新云平台的数据迁移已完成，没有任何信息丢失。

The migration of rural populations to urban areas has transformed China's demographic landscape.

农村人口向城市地区的迁移改变了中国的人口结构。

Bird migration patterns are being altered by climate change and habitat loss.

鸟类迁徙模式正因气候变化和栖息地丧失而改变。

※ domain ※

Domain  英/dəˈmeɪn/ 美/doʊˈmeɪn/

n.领域；范围；域名；领土；地产

【例句】

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming every domain of human activity.

人工智能正在迅速改变人类活动的每一个领域。

The website's domain name was registered for a period of five years.

该网站的域名注册了五年期限。

The research falls within the domain of environmental science rather than pure chemistry.

这项研究属于环境科学领域，而非纯化学领域。

The king's domain extended across vast territories in medieval Europe.

在中世纪欧洲，国王的领土横跨广袤的地域。

※ friction ※

Friction  英/ˈfrɪkʃn/ 美/ˈfrɪkʃn/

n.摩擦；摩擦力；不和；冲突

【例句】

Friction between the two departments slowed down the project implementation.

两个部门之间的不和减缓了项目实施进度。

Reducing friction in machinery improves energy efficiency and reduces wear.

减少机械中的摩擦可提高能源效率并减少磨损。

The policy changes created some friction among long-standing employees.

政策变动在一些资深员工中造成了一些冲突。

Lubricants are used to minimize friction between moving parts in engines.

润滑剂用于最小化发动机中运动部件之间的摩擦。

※ conclusive ※

Conclusive  英/kənˈkluːsɪv/ 美/kənˈkluːsɪv/

adj.结论性的；决定性的；确凿的

【例句】

The investigation failed to produce conclusive evidence linking the suspect to the crime.

调查未能产生将嫌疑人与犯罪联系起来的结论性证据。

We need conclusive data before we can recommend this new fertilizer to farmers.

在向农民推荐这种新肥料之前，我们需要确凿的数据。

The DNA test provided conclusive proof of the animal's pedigree.

DNA测试提供了该动物血统的结论性证明。

No conclusive agreement was reached during the preliminary negotiations.

在初步谈判期间没有达成决定性的协议。

- END -

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