Raven’s new PWM system puts more product on and allows for slow-moving sprayers with bigger booms
Raven rolled out a new pulse width modulation (PWM) nozzle control system called the Hawkeye 2 that supports wider sprayers, higher rates and is easier for operators to manage compared to its predecessor. “From a software and user interface standpoint we’ve really simplified things for the operator in the cab to be able to change […] Read more
Robin Booker
Stories by Robin Booker
Smart Connector plugs app into tractor
Farmers can monitor their tractor’s performance from the smartphone, including engine r.p.m. and coolant temperature
John Deere updated its TractorPlus smartphone app for compact utility tractors and it’s also offering a new Smart Connector that plugs into the tractor’s service advisor port and automatically connects the app to the tractor. The Smart Connector enables the app to connect to the tractor via Bluetooth for both IOS- and Android-based phones to […] Read more
Listening in on insects leads to identification
Sensor uses artificial intelligence and a sound detector based on a curtain of light to monitor bugs in the field
A California-based startup has developed an insect monitoring system that classifies insects by the sound they make. “When the bugs arrive, we sense them with our unique sensor, and we can tell right away the sex and species of that insect,” said Eamonn Keogh of FarmSense. “That information is pushed to the cloud and you […] Read more
Not the usual: New hot, dry foe for canola
Verticillium stripe looks like blackleg or sclerotinia, but it’s neither and its been growing in recent droughty conditions
Canola growers in Manitoba have increasingly reported verticillium stripe in their crops this summer, but it’s still unknown how much yield damage the disease can inflict. Verticillium stripe is a stem disease caused by the fungal pathogen verticillium longisporum that causes stem cross-section discolouration that can look somewhat like blackleg and bleaching of the stem […] Read more
Salford makes spreader deal with Case IH
A Valmar distribution system with a 350 cubic foot box offers high-rate capacity for larger farms and custom work
Canadian-based Salford inked a deal with Case IH to factory-install Salford spreaders on Titan chassis. Salford’s 350 cubic foot capacity spreader with a 72-foot air boom will be known as the Case IH FA 1030, and will be mounted on the Titan 4540 floater starting this fall, as well as on the Titan 3540 beginning […] Read more
Mobile field bin provides surge capacity
Manufacturer says the Vale Grain Giant helps make harvest safer by reducing truck driver panic during busy times in the field
Saskatchewan-based Vale Industries expanded its grain storage offerings to include a mobile field bin that’s based off an Australian product. Clark Behrns, engineering manager at Vale Industries, said there are multiple manufacturers of mobile field bins in Australia, which helped him and his colleagues decide the technology would also have a fit in Canada. “We […] Read more
Auto turnaround a step toward autonomous operations
Raven Industries has improved its visual guidance system (VSN) with the addition of two new features — full canopy guidance and automatic row turnaround. “Automatic row turnaround is a feature that enables that operator to program in a speed and a geometry in which they want to turn and the system will automatically detect that […] Read more
Clip the tops over the heads of the crops
Removing weed seeds and stems from standing crop might not impact yields but does affect the seed bank
When you see a wild oat patch sticking up above a crop canopy, you have to wonder if trimming off the tops would reduce the weed pressure in the field. This is what Breanne Tidemann is analyzing, with the first of her trials recently published in Canadian Agronomist. “We’ve had questions from farmers, the idea […] Read more
New Fendt tractors receive major upgrades
The 1100 Vario MT is the highest h.p. two-track to offer a CVT transmission and is the company’s largest tractor
The paint, joystick and warranty are all that differentiates the newly branded Fendt 1100 Vario MT and 900 Vario MT tractor lines from the latest Challenger models, but there have been some significant upgrades to the tractors. The 1100 Vario MT is the highest horsepower two-track tractors to offer a CVT transmission and is the […] Read more
Implement sales recover after COVID slump
Canadian combine sales are down 16.8 percent from last year, but equipment dealers saw a 41 percent increase in July
Farm equipment sales tanked in North America when COVID-19 lockdown restrictions came into effect in March, and equipment manufacturers have been digging themselves out of this sales deficit ever since. However, the sales report issued by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has shown strong sales this summer. “In May, June and July it’s been […] Read more
