Crop Management
It took only four days of intensive study to change the way Joe Wecker farms, to make his operation more profitable and ultimately to change his whole outlook on the world. “Ag courses come and go, but this one was special. I had read an article about Graeme Sait and his Nutrition Farming seminar. I […] Read more
Crop Management
Crary returns with giant 45-foot air reel
Big headers outgrew the time-honored Crary Air Reel system, but they’re back thanks to farmer demand
FARGO, N.D. — Crary started building air reels in the mid-1980s and they proved popular in most crops and most harvest conditions. Then combine heads started growing… and growing… and Crary technology became obsolete. Heads at 40 and 45 feet are now considered normal. To span that width, manufacturers started splitting the head in the […] Read more
New aftermarket tracks restore original combine gearing
FARGO, N.D. — The benefits of installing rubber tracks on combines are well known. However, the big knock on aftermarket tracks is that they screw up your gearing and limit your road speed. On many farms, the upside of rubber tracks in the field trounced the downside of reduced transit speed on the roads. Farmers […] Read more
Understand your soil biology
Graeme Sait says farmers who have a better understanding of the biological activity in their soil also have a better chance of earning a better living from that soil. Sait, co-founder of Nutri-Tech Solutions, is one of a growing number of scientists advocating a more natural approach to food production. That doesn’t necessarily mean organic […] Read more
Sask. short line expands into grain buying
Great Western Railway Ltd. is Saskatchewan’s newest grain dealer. The short-line railway confirmed last week that it 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 […] Read more
Canada joins support for gene editing
The federal government has come out in favour of gene editing. Or, more accurately, the Government of Canada believes gene edited crops can help farmers produce “safe and affordable food, feed, fibres, and energy in the 21st century.” The quote comes from a statement released in early November and was delivered during a World Trade […] Read more
Farmers embrace front mount booms
Locating the boom directly over the steering axle improves the turning response, which is useful in tight fields
It was a big day for front boomers when red Miller Nitros received blue New Holland paint. When Nitro became Guardian, it instantly gave front boomers a large dealer network. Now that another major manufacturer has entered this expanding market, it gave the front boom trend a further node of respectability, according to Bob Moore […] Read more
One machine performs all tasks in single pass
A big red beet harvester from Agrifac in the Netherlands is a 12-row machine that is completely self-contained
FARGO, N.D. — Agrifac brought its big red Hexx Traxx beet harvester to show off at the Big Iron equipment show in Fargo this year. The technically marvelous machine from the Netherlands performs all harvest operations in a single pass. European growers switched over to self-propelled beet harvesters 35 years ago, with Agrifac leading that […] Read more
Conveyor trailer unloads 4,000 pounds per minute
This aluminum Agrilite trailer reduces producers’ fill time by 300 percent, thanks to its 10-foot conveyor reach
CORRECTION – 1300 CST November 8, 2018 – This story originally stated the conveyor trailer was capable of unloading 4,000 bushels per minute. The correct rate is 4,000 pounds per minute. FARGO, N.D. — They named the show Big Iron, with special emphasis on “iron,” but there’s always some aluminum and stainless steel that sneaks […] Read more
Rutting and compaction are gifts that keep on giving
The weather has finally made a turn for the better. That means there will be hundreds of combines heading to the fields over the next couple of weeks. Farmers are anxious to get the remaining crops in the bins, regardless of field conditions. This opens us up to a couple of soil conditions that may […] Read more
