Cross flow
Mixed flow dryers are up to 30 percent more fuel efficient than conventional screen dryers. That efficiency relates to how air flows through the dryer, and that depends on dryer design. “In a conventional cross-flow, the air flows perpendicular to the grain. The grain column is vertical and the air flow is horizontal,” said Lee […] Read more
Ron Lyseng
Stories by Ron Lyseng
Smaller headers designed for easier handling
Bigger headers might be more efficient in the field but they are a nuisance when farmers are trying to manoeuvre them
New Holland’s new Durabine 413 disc header for the Speedrower Plus self-propelled windrower has a cutting width of 13 feet, one inch, a size designed to provide manoeuverability, fast dry-down and close cutting. The 413 is a response to farmers’ requests for a smaller windrower, a market niche that was not being filled, said Josh […] Read more
Manitoba on-farm trials examine seed treatments
If seed treatments are marketed as an insurance, should growers buy insurance against a pest they don’t have?
The on-farm-network agronomy program is a dig-in-the-dirt activity of Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers. The digging and root checking is performed in pursuit of pink nodules on legume roots. Among other things, a root check can tell the grower whether the seed treatments and inoculants of his choice are working. For 2023, MPSG is running […] Read more
Crop Diagnostic School held in Manitoba
The event is designed to refine the diagnostic skills of farmers and agronomists involved in field scouting and assessing crop health. This year, there were sessions on diseases, insects, weeds and soils.
Microarthropods can be your friend
Soil mesofauna can affect nutrient cycling, seed germination, root exudates and plant nutrient allocation and growth
Awareness of soil-borne bacteria benefits is growing. Prairie farmers increasingly incorporate commercially sourced biological agents in their agronomic plans. It’s an area where fresh soil research meets your seed drill. Soil mesofauna have a major impact on at least a half dozen soil processes, which in turn impact crop production: impact soil organic matter decomposition […] Read more
Drought can have an impact on soil test results
The direct damage from drought is obvious, but the real hurt might lie deeper in the soil and affect next year’s crop
The crop-killing drought that’s hanging prairie crops out to dry will have an impact on residual nutrients this fall. What can producers expect to see in their soil tests? That’s the question probed by Karl Wyant, agronomy director at Nutrien. In a phone interview, Wyant said there are several effects that growers may notice on […] Read more
Growing more crop per drop
As irrigation water allocations become more scarce, irrigation farmers battle each other and government regulators for water rights. Some parties have expressed concern about the long-term sustainability of irrigation farming. Nutrien agronomy director Karl Wyant lives in Arizona. He said working in the ag sector while living in a desert focuses one’s attention on the […] Read more
Get a bearing on disc maintenance costs
A high-speed disc from Ukraine suits prairie conditions because the farmland is similar High-speed discs have caught on in the last decade. However, premature bearing failure can be an issue, caused by speed and the violent work expected of the machine. One of the latest high-speed discs to enter the Canadian prairie market is the […] Read more
Provide triple protection for bearing seals
The Lozova Ducat uses Harp Agro Unit bearing units that provide three-level bearing protection. These bearing eliminate additional lubrication points and increase the interval of work. The Harp hubs are installed on the disc stands and the roller. There’s an additional rubber ring around the bearing that prevents axial misalignments and absorbs shock loads. The […] Read more
Precision sprayer easy on crop
Ecorobotix recently sold its first Canadian sprayers to two major Quebec vegetable growers who each crop more than 1,000 acres. They deliver fresh produce daily direct to New York and Boston. One of those growers is Guillaume Cloutier. “We use it every day,” he says. “I think we’ve sprayed about 700 acres with it so […] Read more
