We typically don’t place as much value on our lawn and garden hand tools as our power tools. Take a quick inventory of the hand tools hanging on the garage wall and multiply that number by, say, $40 or $50. All of a sudden, you’re looking at a dollar figure that probably equals the price […] Read more
Ron Lyseng
Stories by Ron Lyseng
Load above ground causes damage below
The damage is permanent once high axle loads have compacted lower subsoil to the point where it has a hardpan layer. That’s one of the conclusions reached by Penn State researchers after participating in 20 soil compaction studies throughout the northern latitudes of Europe and North America, some of which ran for 12 years. The […] Read more
Double Barrel Pit enables optimal auger capacity
Producers who have trouble keeping their 16-inch auger working at full capacity may want to consider a 22,000-bushel per hour drive-over pit. That’s the capacity of the new drive-over Double Barrel Pit from Pit Express in Quincy, Illinois. “It’s designed specifically for the 16 inch auger market,” Pit Express owner Steve Mast said about his […] Read more
Hard problems solved with tillage tools
FARGO, N.D. — The old myth about the freeze-thaw cycle breaking up hardpan is just that, according to researchers. “People used to believe there’s no soil compaction on the Prairies because of our cold winters, but that’s not true,” said Todd Botterill of Botterill Sales in Newton, Man. “Penn State studied compaction all around the […] Read more
Concave designers think inside the box
Changing concaves to match every crop and field condition might improve axial flow combine performance, but it’s a grueling time-consuming task. John Deere STS owners understand the benefits of an aggressive concave for tough conditions and a smooth concave that’s gentle on canola, but it’s hard to justify taking time to change concaves in the […] Read more
Combine owners test Sunnybrook boxes
Sunnybrook put a number of box style concaves into farmer-owned STS combines for real-world field-testing during the 2011 harvest. Each farmer had access to the four types of boxes. Shawn Abel of Calmar, Alta. , installed a box style concave on his 9750. “In wheat, we ran the 45 degree max thresh on the first […] Read more
Roof rake safely tackles dangerous snow pack
FARGO, N.D. — Keeping snow off roofs is time consuming and dangerous but also necessary to prevent structural damage and cave-ins. A 60-foot telescoping aluminum arm attached to a front end loader might solve the annual snow removal hassle. Progress Farm and Mechanical Innovations was formed in 2006 to develop new products to make farming […] Read more
Mobility key to fighting remote fires
FARGO, N.D. — It’s no fun watching a $500,000 combine go up in flames in the middle of a field while a $1 million fire truck sits helplessly on the gravel road. Farmers and rural volunteer firefighters who have experienced the frustration of trying to get firefighting equipment to isolated targets may now have an […] Read more
New Versatile satisfies wish list
Bringing a new tractor to market is a big expense, which manufacturers don’t take lightly or do often. Three years ago, Versatile saw that upcoming Tier 4 interim standards would force major changes to their big tractors. “When Cummins changed up to Tier 4 interim, it affected the intake and exhaust plus required more cooling […] Read more
Cummins, Cat work together on Versatile
It’s unusual to see two head-on competitors co-operate on a joint project in the sometimes-hostile world of ag implement manufacturing. But that’s what happened last year when Cummins mated its latest engine technology to Caterpillar’s latest transmission technology. Although Cummins and Cat are direct competitors in many machinery markets, they joined forces to provide the […] Read more
