Cutting sprayer fill times in half would significantly improve farmers’ bottom lines, says a spraying systems engineer. Syngenta researcher Doug Baumann has developed and proofed a mathematical model showing how a producer can fill a 1,200 gallon sprayer in six to eight minutes. He said optimizing fill time is the easiest way for farmers to […] Read more
Ron Lyseng
Stories by Ron Lyseng
Organics include forage; organic beef the bonus
If you are growing forages you might as well have animals because you can’t eat it yourself, says grower
Dale Hicks said his 60-head cow herd is one small step away from being drug-free and certified organic, emphasizing that organic beef is merely a byproduct of organic grain production. “There’s no way you can grow organic grain unless you have a significant percentage of forages in your rotation,” said the farmer from Outlook, Sask. […] Read moreCalving on grass less stress
Dale Hicks was tired of pulling calves in blizzards, getting stomped by cows, hauling calf sleds in the mud in the middle of the night and losing sleep. “When you’re calving in the corral in February or March and the cows are in close quarters, all within 20 feet of each other, all skitzy and […] Read more
10-ton fertilizer cart ideal for precision farming
With four metering sections, Salford’s new PathFinder ST-10 self-steering fertilizer cart is designed for precision application. The cart made its September debut at the Farm Progress Show in Iowa. The Valmar metering system is specifically aimed at growers who want high fertilizer volumes and precision application in the same package, said Salford rep Brad Baker […] Read more
Weather report designed to help choose services, make decisions
Is there a most-trusted source for weather predictions? Does it matter whether weather predictions are accurate since there is so little you can do about it? Yes, it does matter, according to Prassack Advisors in Denver, Colorado. It matters because data management has mushroomed from simple record keeping into sophisticated systems that are part of […] Read more
Mr. Investor, meet Mr. Farmer
There’s a new group of investors out there who have a fresh look at the potential of Canadian agriculture
CALGARY — Prairie farmers have relied on borrowed money since 1812 when the first Selkirk settlers ran lines of credit to buy axes, seed and supplies from the Hudson Bay company. Since then, sources of farm credit have expanded to include banks and credit unions, along with federal and provincial governments. As land and input […] Read more
Post puller puts plenty of power into pasture cleanup
The Danuser Intimidator provides 21,000 pounds of grabbing-pulling power for moving fence posts, trees, root balls, boulders and other obstacles. The Missouri company says its new puller is a true land-clearing, obstacle-removing tractor attachment. Spokesperson Kelsey Dunavant said it is the first post puller the company has built. “We introduced it about a year ago, […] Read more
Fertilizer capacity the new bottleneck at seeding time
Putting fertilizer in the ground has become the new bottleneck as farms become larger and seeding operations more complex. As a result, more growers have been forced to buy dedicated applicators. Drill manufacturers point to their larger air tanks, saying fertilizer capacity is keeping pace with seed capacity on the latest drills. However, the drill […] Read more
Patience can pay off
CALGARY — It’s a big job finding investors who will put millions of dollars of patient capital into a farm expansion scheme they’ve never seen in person. “Patient capital is money that can sit somewhere for a long time to create value,” says Joelle Faulkner, founder and chief executive officer of Area One Farms, a […] Read more
Tribine: not your daddy’s combine
As combine architecture maxed out at Classes 9 and 10 because of weight, farmers started paying serious attention to the soil compaction benefits of the uniquely radical Tribine prototypes. After four prototype versions, the fifth generation production model Tribines started rumbling out of the Kansas factory this month. By splitting the traditional combine platform into […] Read more
