Crop Management
Fans and dryers | Automation means propane-fuelled generator requires less monitoring
FARGO, N.D. — The late spring and wet fall have many farmers wishing for electricity to power fans and dryers at their remote bins scattered across the Prairies. Master electrician Alan Johnson of Glyndon, Minnesota, says producers should consider propane as a viable fuel when buying generators for remote locations. Johnson displayed one of his […] Read more
Crop Management
VIDEO: Disc gangs dominate cover crop tillage demo
WOODSTOCK, Ont. — Designs incorporating two gangs of offset discs followed by rolling harrows dominated the cover crop tillage demonstration at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show earlier this month However, the demonstration featured a wide range of choice in terms of equipment weight, horsepower requirement, depth control, disc and bearing design and price. Ontario agronomist Pat […] Read more
Video: Biomass opens door for new machines
Choppers, grinders, mowers | Manufacturers introduce equipment to handle feedstock for use in ethanol plants, compost or livestock bedding
WOODSTOCK, Ont. — Farm equipment manufacturers have been beefing up their equipment to handle biomass. “This baler is well suited to the toughness of this material,” Glen Farris of Agco said while pointing to a Massey Ferguson 2270XD on display at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock Sept. 10. The machine, built in Hesston, Kansas, […] Read moreField trials: with data in hand, it’s time to analyze
Last winter, I wrote about how to set up a field trial to receive useful data when assessing a new practice on your farm (Field trial testing tells tales for on-farm agronomy, Jan. 9, 2014.) Hopefully many of you were able to set up trials on your farm that will answer a question about the […] Read more
Narrow track machine ready for big jobs
High power model | Agco boosts power with new 500 horsepower Fendt 1000 series
MARKTOBERDORF, Germany — Farmers have traditionally turned to articulated tractors when they needed to put power to the ground and into implements. However, a new fixed frame tractor with a 500 horsepower engine is taking aim at that territory, as well as creating a powerful option for row-crop producers. Agco’s Fendt line is better known […] Read more
New herbicides need more than quick rinse
Concentrated chemical residue | Failing to wash sprayer and booms inside and out is ‘a good way to reduce your yield’
WOODSTOCK, Ont. — New herbicide formulations, registrations and blends are mixing up trouble in boom land. It isn’t what farmers are intentionally spraying that is causing the problems. Instead, it’s what is coming out of the nozzles that farmers don’t know about. “There was a time not too many years ago that if you did […] Read more
Manufacturers adjust to new market
MILWAUKEE, Wis., WADENBRUNN, Germany — Trends in agriculture are global. The ebb and flow of commodity markets mean what happens in North America is much the same as what happens in Europe and Australia. For machinery manufacturers, the past five years have provided welcome relief from the poor farm margins of the preceding decade. Record […] Read more
Wet swathing canola offers production perks
60 percent on main stem | Canola council says growers should hold off as long as possible to allow crop to mature
Swathing unevenly developed canola in wet conditions has a bright side. It can mean fewer losses and better quality. “Swathing on those really hot, dry days is not ideal because it can lead to higher green seed content. Whereas swathing under these cooler, cloudier, even in a light rain shower isn’t a bad thing because […] Read more
The Case for going bigger at harvest
Bigger tank, heavier engine increases harvest capacity
Size seems to be the biggest factor in the equation of harvest efficiency and Case just bumped up the numbers big time. The Axial-Flow 7240, 8240 and 9240 combines have the industry’s largest grain tanks at 410 bushels and largest fuel tanks at 297 and 317 U.S. gallons, according to Case IH. “As producers continue […] Read moreGlyphosate-resistant weed marching north
Palmer amaranth | Canadian producers warned of potential threat
A weed that has devastated cotton and soybean crops in the southern U.S. has crept into South Dakota, 500 kilometres from the Canadian border. North Dakota State University weed scientists reported this summer that Palmer amaranth, which can grow to four metres in height and can have a stem the diameter of a baseball bat, […] Read more
