If a producer processes 40,000 items of data and finds only 800 are correct, is that information garbage?
CALGARY — Average yield numbers can give producers wrong information about what’s going on in their fields and lead to wrong management decisions. “Most farmers will look at the average grain yield and will try to push the envelope the next year by making some ad hoc adjustments to their management,” Colorado State University researcher […] Read more
Ron Lyseng
Stories by Ron Lyseng
The farming side of ‘blowing in the wind’
Power bills of more than $3,000 a month prompted dairy producer Ed Doody and his brothers to harness some of that “free energy” blowing in off Lake Ontario. Located near Syracuse, New York, at the top of a hill 1,700 feet above sea level and only 65 kilometres south of Lake Ontario, the Doody dairy […] Read more
The business side of ‘blowing in the wind’
A new company that specializes in directing investment capital into long-term on-farm wind turbine leases may be the answer for farmers who lack the up-front money to buy or lease a turbine. United Wind is tapping into the growing market for electricity that is generated and used on site, said chief executive officer Russell Tencer. […] Read more
Predict power potential before purchase
Buying solar or wind generation equipment is no different than buying any other farm implement; the return on investment must be right
The equipment needed to harvest solar and wind energy might cost as much as a new combine, so farmers’ research better be good. The conventional wisdom in the renewable energy industry is that a potential on-site generation system requires at least one full year of good data before making a decision. In fact, most lending […] Read more
Camera controls cultivator between rows
Row-Guard cultivates between rows on 5.9 inch centres without a twisted neck, headache, back pain or crop damage
Inter-row cultivation is no longer the exclusive domain of row croppers and organic farmers. The practice has also become a new option for producers with herbicide resistance in broad acre crops such as wheat and canola. Machinery operators who have struggled to manually keep their cultivator between rows and out of trouble are probably not […] Read more
Singulate wheat seeds to reap benefits
Farmers understand the advantages of seed singulation in corn. What if they could do the same with wheat seeds?
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. — Researchers long ago concluded that seed singulation and uniform spacing within a row of wheat plants promoted healthier higher-yielding stands that required fewer crop protection products. But is it possible? Michael Horsch says yes. The German industrialist and brains behind some of the most advanced air drills and planters in […] Read more
Driverless tractor a runaway success
Autonomous Tractor Corp. is ready to sell a true driverless system so that tractors can perform all normal field work with the added benefit of energy-efficient diesel-electric power. For about US$10,000, the company will add its fully autonomous control system to an existing tractor that’s already been converted from conventional diesel-mechanical drive to its eDrive […] Read more
Electric drive revitalizes worn out 4 x 4 tractor
Autonomous Tractor Corp.’s eDrive conversion is designed to breathe new life into old tractors that have little dollar value because of worn out drive trains. The eDrive conversion uses small diesel engines to spin generators that power electric drive motors installed down at the tractor wheels. One electric drive motor is installed in each drive […] Read more
Can potatoes be grown without chemicals?
Potatoes typically require fungicides and pesticides but with the correct rotations and lots of ladybugs, it is possible
At least one organic farmer has figured out how to grow potatoes without the usual weekly dose of chemicals. It’s a myth that potatoes demand synthetic protection, says Brent Harris of Fraserland Organic Farms in Delta, B.C. He said a healthy potato crop can be grown once the land has been in an organic system […] Read moreCows need forage, forage drives communities
When the cows leave the farm, so do jobs, businesses leave, abattoirs and kids, says Iowa farmer Tom Frantzen. Whole families pack up and eventually the communities themselves leave. Frantzen, a pioneer in organic farming since the 1990s and a leading spokesperson for biodiversity in agriculture, said when an area loses its cattle, it becomes […] Read more
