Crop Management
Your new truck is a Clydesdale, dragging a muddy plow during the week and pulling a Budweiser wagon on Sunday
You just picked up your new F550 or Ram 5550 quad-door 4×4, and it’s equipped to be the heavy-duty draft horse you’ve contemplated for years, except for one thing — wheels. The new truck looks like a true Clydesdale through and through, but the original equipment manufacturer wheels kind of suck. You had your mind […] Read more
Crop Management
Seed terminator installed on combine
An Australian now farming in Canada is using the hammer mill to reduce his dependence on herbicide applications
A Saskatchewan producer brought in a Seed Terminator from Down Under to test its pulverizing abilities on prairie weed seeds this harvest. “Nick Berry, who is also my first cousin, invented it,” said Josh Lade. “We were both pretty apprehensive on how it was going to go, like the tough conditions are a lot different […] Read more
High-tech Haulmaster takes data on-the-go
Thousands of hours of testing went into this data-gathering GPS cart that tracks grain from combine to storage
The new generation Haulmaster Grain Cart from Elmer’s Manufacturing has ushered in a host of technological innovations to streamline harvest. Elmer’s engineers have remade the Haulmaster with a totally new frame and tank design that provides a better balance of height, length and width. To improve combine access, tank walls on all new carts are […] Read more
Autonomous smart cart no dummy
The autonomous AutoCart got a workout in Mike Friesen’s corn field this fall, hooked up to a new generation Haulmaster cart and driverless tractor — and the system really does work. That’s the opinion of Friesen, vice-president of Elmer’s Manufacturing in Altona, Man., builder of the Haulmaster grain cart. Smart Ag in Ames Iowa selected […] Read more
Arctic Gateway working to restore shipments from Port of Churchill
Work is underway at restoring the Port of Churchill to its former glory. Omer Al-Katib, spokesperson for Arctic Gateway Group Limited Partnership, said this includes work on grain storage, the wharf and new grain cleaning equipment. “The port fell into a state of disrepair as the port was not being fully utilized over the last […] Read more
Sask. short-line railway expands into grain buying
Great Western Railway Ltd. is Saskatchewan’s newest grain dealer. The short-line railway has formed an affiliated company — Great Western Commodities Ltd. — which will buy grain from producers in southern Saskatchewan and sell to buyers in Canada, the United States and overseas. GWR operates on more than 700 kilometres of railway in southwestern Saskatchewan. It does […] Read more
Researchers rev up engine of photosynthesis
Carbon-capturing ‘engines’ found in blue-green algae may help plants capture CO2 more efficiently and boost yields
CHILLIWACK, B.C. — For millions of years, plants have been converting carbon dioxide, water and sunlight into energy for growth through photosynthesis. The process is controlled by the enzyme Rubisco, which fixes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Photosynthesis sets, or limits, the level of crop yield. Now, plant biologists at the Australian National University are […] Read more
A really high high-clearance sprayer
If a 90-inch gap between your sprayer underbelly and the Earth’s crust isn’t enough, then you’d better get an airplane
High-clearance sprayers are reaching great new heights as they’re called upon to dribble nitrogen and spray fungicide and other crop protection products on corn as well as work in tall horticultural crops. Steve Simon of Simon Innovations is head and shoulders above original equipment manufacturers and other aftermarket lift kit companies with his high-clearance lifters […] Read more
Colour your guessing glass gauge gone
The high-clearance sprayer represents the most advanced agricultural technology that we have today — except for that obsolete guessing glass gauge we depend on to sight-estimate liquid volume in the tank. It’s time to get rid of the clear sight gauge. Most farmers and custom applicators agree that the sight gauge takes the word “precision” […] Read more
Lime falls out of soil scientist’s limelight
Continuing long-term research plots dating back to 2003 question the value of liming to enhance crop production in poor soils
Lime, often thought of as a cure for phosphorus deficient soil, may not be as effective as previously assumed, according to researchers. However, without phosphorus, plants wither and die. Although plants require phosphorus, there is often a “withdrawal limit” on how much their roots can extract from the soil. Soil-bound phosphorus is often in a […] Read more
