It’s not always easy for farmers to find answers to their agronomic questions. The information is available in scientific journals, but access can be formidable. Even if farmers do find the articles, the scientific language can be laborious, making these publications difficult to read even for other researchers. “The information is often contradictor y, which […] Read more
Ron Lyseng
Stories by Ron Lyseng
Sprayer’s centre pivot boom hangs in the balance
The Hagie STX10 features a centre pivot-mounted boom that keeps loaded weight of the 1,000 US gallon sprayer down to 28,500 pounds. Simplifying the boom mount mechanism also eliminated many components that cost money to build, required regular maintenance and obstructed the operator’s view of the crop. The boom lift assembly attaches to a pivot […] Read more
Chemical blender put to work on site
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A new tender truck mix system gets input mixing rates right, right in the field. Mixmate automatically custom blends liquid fertilizers or crop protection products in the field, according to a prescription map and job number. “Each batch is mixed on site in the field when you need it,” said Mixmate inventor […] Read more
Getting the sample right, over and over again
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — The new Wintex 1000 Automatic uses a computer controlled probe to repeatedly hit the exact same depth for each soil sample. Built in Denmark and marketed by Precision Technologies in Iowa, the Wintex made its North American debut at InfoAg here last month. One big factor in sparking the plethora of new […] Read more
Man. insect report lists pest, virus expectations
Weather and insect populations go together like soup and marriage, horse and sandwich, love and carriage. “The weather certainly has an impact on insect populations. It affects different insects in different ways,” said John Gavloski, Manitoba provincial entomologist. The cool wet spring followed by a hot dry summer affected the 2011 insect population and is […] Read more
RapidProbe doubles soil sampling efficiency
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — The new RapidProbe soil sampling machine pulls twice as many cores per hour as a man on a quad. RapidProbe is the latest high performance soil sampler from Ag-Robotics, the company that produces the tracked on-the-go AutoProbe soil sampler. “AutoProbe was developed for large input dealers and suppliers who have a big […] Read more
Manure rules force soil sampling regulations
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – There’s a reason why advances in soil sampling technology are flying at us left and right: manure. There were a number of new soil sampling machines on display at the recent InfoAg conference in Illinois. When asked why these machines are now in such a competitive market, the consensus of the manufacturer […] Read more
New machine acts as soil lab on wheels
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.. — The new Veris MSP3 simultaneously measures electrical conductivity, soil pH and organic matter while logging the data on a GPS map. It does all this on the go at six m.p.h. Dubbed by some as a soil lab on wheels, the MSP3 had its first public showing at the InfoAg precision farming […] Read more
Agronomists use mapping function to track organic matter
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Organic matter content is an important field management factor because higher levels hold more moisture and nitrogen. “The range of OM within a field can be as much as three percent,” said Marilyn Kot of Green Acres Tech in southeastern Saskatchewan. “That represents a huge variation in the amount of nitrogen holding […] Read more
Soil EC data recorder was a Canadian first
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – While Kansas- based Veris Technologies gets the agricultural attention, few people know that a Canadian company was the first to manufacture a soil electrical conductivity instrument. Geonics Limited of Mississauga, Ont., manufactured its first electromagnetic induction geophysical instrument in 1962. It was the EM15, and since then the EM series has become […] Read more
