Al Lowe’s fields were so saturated last spring that water was seeping out of the hillsides and his seeding rig would slide down the side slopes. “But we kept going. If I could get the tractor through it, the seeding rig would seed and the packer would push it in,” said Lowe, who farms near […] Read more
Ron Lyseng
Stories by Ron Lyseng
Poly ropes win for strength, safety
BRANDON – Tow rope salespeople haven’t exactly been crying in their beer lately, or is that champagne they’re drinking now? Grant Sroka, also known as the Rope Man, admits business has been good as mud gives farmers an opportunity to replace their worn and unsafe tow lines with new stuff. The Edmonton-based supplier said farmers […] Read more
JD 1780 corn planter altered to tackle mud
BRANDON – Frank Prince did what he could in last year’s mud. Prince, who farms near Pipestone, Man., seeded canola at 2.4 pounds per acre, achieving 99 percent germination and yielding 40 bushels per acre. Some spots hit 60 bu. “On this one field, we seeded canola on June 15 and then got five inches […] Read more
The 820 bushel unit is on the horizon
BRANDON – The race to see who builds the biggest air cart continues to heat up as Seed Master works on its 820 bushel prototype this winter. It’s more about field efficiency than bragging rights, said Seed Master representative Ed Mann. “It could very well be that one of our competitors comes out with a […] Read more
Variable rate cart promises fewer fills, better product handling
BRANDON – When Morris Industries introduced its 650-bushel Eight Series XL cart, all variable rate models came standard with hydraulic drive metering rather than ground drive. “All four tanks are equipped for variable rate. The hydraulic motors are controlled by the monitor in the cab,” said Don Henry of Morris at the recent Manitoba Ag […] Read more
Tires provide grip to get into grain
BRANDON – Norstar Industries recently introduced an 18-inch rubber drive wheel for its U-Trough bin unload system. The new Sure Grip solid rubber tire is vulcanized directly to the wheel’s steel rim, said Michael Kroeker of Norstar, which operates in Morris, Man. As the U-Trough makes a 360-degree sweep, the drive wheel needs enough force […] Read more
The straw that broke the cycle’s back
A 50-year study confirms that farmers can safely remove straw from their fields as long as they don’t take too much. The Agriculture Canada study measured the proportion of total above ground residues removed through baling and evaluated the long-term effect of straw removal on soil quality and wheat production. Guy Lafond, a research scientist […] Read more
Knife-type applicators reduce nitrogen losses
At today’s nitrogen prices, a five percent loss of anhydrous ammonia is a hard pill to swallow. Work by agricultural engineer Mark Hanna at Iowa State University has shown that some applicators are better at anhydrous ammonia retention than others over a range of soil conditions. Shank-type units tend to lose less anhydrous ammonia than […] Read more
Coddled corn crops can’t compete
Corn plants demand perfectly uniform spacing within the row: old wives tale or agronomic fact? The debate is older than the one about angels dancing on the head of a pin, and both debates are clearly lacking in scientifically sound evidence, says researcher David Clay. Not understanding the disdain each individual corn plant has for […] Read more
Seed with speed in mud
St. XAVIER, Mont. – Last fall Tim Nessan seeded at 7.5 m.p.h. with an 80 foot drill in conditions so muddy that other drills were parked. When his two Deere no-till drills could no longer cope with the mud, Nessan hitched one of his three Big Bud tractors to a new drill of which he […] Read more
