Crop Management
FARGO, N.D. — It’s no fun watching a $500,000 combine go up in flames in the middle of a field while a $1 million fire truck sits helplessly on the gravel road. Farmers and rural volunteer firefighters who have experienced the frustration of trying to get firefighting equipment to isolated targets may now have an […] Read more
Crop Management
Mobility key to fighting remote fires
Field experience: a few machines I remember well
I was born and raised on a small mixed farm and started out working on other peoples’ farms. I studied farm machinery in technical school and after graduation in 1970, moved to Steinbach, Man., to work at an Allis and Massey Ferguson dealer. After three years there I became a regional service representative for Massey. […] Read more
Ensure equipment in good order for better canola crop yields
BROOKS, Alta. – This year’s canola crop is in the bin but it’s never too early to start thinking about the next crop, says Troy Prosofsky of the Canola Council of Canada. The agronomy specialist for southern Alberta is spending part of his winter telling growers how to improve their crop stand to increase the […] Read more
Increase in crop acres expected after last year’s floods
Pulse and special crops acreage is expected to bounce back from last year’s flooded out mess but won’t return to the glory days. Stat Publishing editor Brian Clancey is forecasting 6.7 million acres of the crops, up from 5.64 million last year but well below the 2008-10 average of 7.83 million. “Competition for acreage has […] Read more
Oversupply may see flax prices tumble
Flax prices are on the way down, say a buyer and a market analyst. Keystone Grain was paying growers $16.50 per bushel for their flax two months ago. Late last week, the price was barely touching $15 and it could be down to $13.50 by Christmas. Prices are falling because of overproduction in the Black […] Read more
Colour sorter key to sales; reaping top doallar for crop
Colour sorters will become necessary pieces of equipment if rural seed cleaning plants are to survive, says an official of an Alberta seed cleaning plant. Beaver County deputy reeve Ron Parham said a new colour sorter has extended the life of the county’s 1950s-era seed cleaning plant in Holden for several more years. “If you […] Read more
New Versatile satisfies wish list
Bringing a new tractor to market is a big expense, which manufacturers don’t take lightly or do often. Three years ago, Versatile saw that upcoming Tier 4 interim standards would force major changes to their big tractors. “When Cummins changed up to Tier 4 interim, it affected the intake and exhaust plus required more cooling […] Read more
Cummins, Cat work together on Versatile
It’s unusual to see two head-on competitors co-operate on a joint project in the sometimes-hostile world of ag implement manufacturing. But that’s what happened last year when Cummins mated its latest engine technology to Caterpillar’s latest transmission technology. Although Cummins and Cat are direct competitors in many machinery markets, they joined forces to provide the […] Read more
Different solar heating systems practical for home, office
Harnessing the sun’s heat to supplement commercial and domestic energy needs is nothing new but is often viewed as a luxury for the wealthy environmentalist. This perception may soon become a thing of the past. Ewan Pollock of Cansolair Marketing in Saskatoon sells the Cansolair RA 240 Solar Max heated air generator unit. He believes […] Read more
Electrification back in style on the farm
HANOVER, Germany — Electricity is coming to a field near you, but it won’t need a mile of extension cord. The only power on a tractor has traditionally been the 12 volts coming off the alternator. However, new machinery designs are turning to electricity to deliver energy to operations once the mandate of hydraulics, power […] Read more
