Drone chopper | Battery-powered machine scouts fields slowly, precisely and costs half as much
If the $75,000 US price tag on a gas-powered field-scouting AutoCopter G15 is too expensive, the company has just released a battery-powered version called SuperScout for about half the price. The original AutoCopter G15, which was introduced three years ago, has a six-foot rotor span and is powered by a small two-cycle en-gine. It has […] Read more
Ron Lyseng
Stories by Ron Lyseng
Another ton makes dollars, not cents
Titan Trailers | Thin-wall aluminum trailers are lighter and are built without a steel frame
A peak behind the upholstery panels of a Cessna 180 will shed some light on how to design a grain trailer capable of carrying an extra ton. Airplanes, like grain haulers, make more money if they weigh less. An extra 2,000 pounds carrying capacity in a hopper bottom trailer means an extra 30 to 40 […] Read more
Alberta-built roller condenses bag problem
Machine wraps 250 foot bags | Customer demand results in new device from Lethbridge company
Rolling up spent grain bags for transport is a bigger than usual problem this year as producers continue moving last year’s crop. Kirchner Machine in Lethbridge has designed a bag roller that may solve the problem. Dwayne Kirchner said his company has sold 100 rollers, with the pull type being the most popular. He said […] Read more
Lip service saves crop, wear and tear
Crop material that should be feeding directly into the front concaves of a Case IH Flagship, 7230, 8230 or 9320 might be jumping the grates without the operator suspecting a thing. A new modification is designed to put that crop material onto the front grates where it belongs. Improvements in farm machinery often happen by […] Read more
Balance fertilizer rate, grain prices for optimal returns
Producers considering reduced nitrogen rates this spring because of lower commodity prices should not reduce rates by the same percentage that they expect prices to fall. The Manitoba Nitrogen Rate of Return Calculator makes this crystal clear. Using multiples of 10 to simplify the example, let’s start with wheat at $10 per bushel grown with […] Read more
Combine operators test lip feed modification
Ray Hittinger had less than 1,200 hours on his Case IH 8120 combine two years ago when he noticed premature wear on the H-frame. “We had really high wear on the frame. It definitely wore out before its time,” said Hittinger, who farms north of Edmonton. Hittinger was the second owner of the combine, and […] Read more
Uniformity goal of N-Shooter injection system
Streaming liquid from tank to shank | Pump keeps distribution of anhydrous ammonia uniform, resulting in uniform crop
BRANDON — Where conventional anhydrous ammonia systems might have 25 percent coefficient of variation left to right on side hills, N-Shooter claims a one percent CV across the toolbar in all situations. “When you have a coefficient of variation of one percent from shank to shank, you know that you’ll have uniform distribution of nitrogen […] Read morePressure system relieves worry
BRANDON — The ability to pump more nitrogen into the soil in a single pass is why many producers are switching to anhydrous ammonia. “For sure, the biggest reason we went to NH3 and the N-Shooter was productivity,” said Bryan Thiessen. “NH3 lets me just about double the product I put down. It’s 82 percent […] Read more
Individual rate and row control for older planters
Corn growers who want individual row control without the expense of a new planter can make it happen with an aftermarket electric motor drive. The Graham Electric Planter Drive (EPD) is available as a retrofit for all brands and model years of planters sold in North America, including finger type and vacuum type. The modification […] Read more
Propane injection gives turbo boost
Propane burns better | More power translates into less diesel fuel and cleaner burning equipment
BRANDON — Diesel engines need extra help working under full load, which is all of the time for combines and 75 percent of the time for tractors. Conventional engineering uses the turbocharger to help the engine produce extra power. However, Maxquip from Alberta has developed technology to enhance the turbo boost with propane. DieselFlex, its […] Read more
