Crop Management
Equipment manufacturers are building disc cultivators stronger so that they last longer at higher speed
FARGO, N.D. — The speed of high-speed disc cultivators seems to be getting faster and faster every year. One good example is the 45-foot Kwik-Till, which is designed to work at 15 m.p.h. The Kwik-Till vertical tillage machine is built by Norwood Sales in Cooperstown, N.D. It’s been on the market for six years, and […] Read more
Crop Management
GPS on centre pivot
FARGO, N.D. — Irrigation farmers have pumped fertility and crop protection through their pivots for decades. Most dryland farmers have come to depend on GPS for mechanical prescription application for about a decade. But seeing a GPS unit at the end of an irrigation leg can prompt a person to scratch his head. By its […] Read more
Spring combining not the end of the world
Farmers say sometimes it’s better to call it quits in the fall and get back in the field in the spring
Millions of acres of crop remain unharvested across the Prairies, and while there is still time for good harvest conditions, it’s a safe bet winter harvest is going to be occurring again this year. “Unfortunately, the last three falls we’ve had snow we’ve had to deal with one way or another. Two years ago was […] Read moreCalcium chloride: does it work with CIS?
Tire experts say the sloppy slush isn’t intended to work with central inflation systems because of its corrosive nature
LANGHAM, Sask. — Central inflation systems are coming on strong with tire companies designing special CIS tires and equipment manufacturers offering CIS as a factory option. But what about calcium chloride? How does CIS fare with ballasted tires filled with the sloppy slushy? Saskatchewan farmer Paul Heglund recently asked us that question in an email. […] Read more
Sunflower seen beating StatsCan production estimates
Sunflowers in southern Manitoba are starting to come off and early indications point to very good quality. Ben Friesen, manager of the sunflowers, flax and bird food division, at The Scoular Company based in Winkler, Man., said although only a few samples have come in, what he’s seen so far is promising. Sunflower growers normally […] Read more
CBOT soybeans trending higher, with meal
Soybean and corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade both saw some strength over the past week, and could see some additional upside, according to an analyst. Harvest delays due to poor weather and speculative short-covering accounted for some of the recent strength in the futures, according to Sean Lusk, director of the commercial […] Read more
Yields pleasantly surprise Manitoba soybean growers
Manitoba’s soybean crop was looking like a train wreck in mid-August. Soybeans need rain in early August for pod fill, but most of Manitoba was in the middle of a drought. Plus, there was a week of blazing temperatures in the second week of August with daily highs reaching 37 C. Many growers and soybean […] Read more
Millers likely to see tighter oat supplies
Oat prices are on the rise as millers attempt to secure supplies amid a difficult harvest. “As of right now, it will be tight for everybody. The thing is there’s so much still to be harvested. If they get it off it might not be the best. Some of it will be OK. Anything in […] Read more
Taking control of the soil one strip at a time
WOODSTOCK, Ont. — Strip-till has been lurking on the fringe of Ontario agriculture since the provincial agriculture ministry and universities began promoting the practice through research in the 1980s. In the 1980s and 1990s “there was some grower up-take, but certainly not a large amount. But I think nowadays with some of the newer machines […] Read more
Tillage no longer a dirty word, or not as dirty
Manufacturers today don’t feel they’re soiling their reputations by introducing a new cultivator
FARGO, N.D. — The days are gone when tillage was a bad word and no-till was the prairie mantra. Farmers touring the recent Big Iron show in Fargo were treated to a heaping helping of fresh new cultivators. The surge in new tillage equipment was sparked by generally wet conditions, along with the need to […] Read more
