Until the last decade, farmers bought equipment developed for dry prairie.
However, Mother Nature turned the tables on us, so the mantra of “one-pass seeding” changed to “one-pass seed bed preparation.”
Moisture preservation is no longer the name of the game. Manufacturers are adapting to the new demand for implements that handle wet prairie conditions.
For example, Bourgault recently introduced two new field preparation machines in time for spring seeding: the SPS 360 Soil Prep System and the XR 770 eXtended Range Harrow.
The new soil preparation machine was spawned by decades of wet seeding conditions.
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“Although no-till is the norm across the majority of the prairie grain region, a significant portion of the region has moved from a drier trend to a wetter trend. As a result, farms have added tillage back into the farming process,” said the company’s Jason Kirsch.
“Tillage is a necessary tool to reclaim low overgrown areas, prepare a seed bed in rutted fields, reduce high residue conditions and address weed pressure from field horsetail, foxtail barley and the like.”
He said the company is also finding a need for solutions where saturation has become common.
“Tillage can help in increasing aerobic activity in the soil for the upcoming crop,” he said.
“Farms are doing a great job of addressing this tillage requirement by selectively tilling fields or by choosing the tillage option that meets the need.
“This is apparent as the amount of tillage in southern Alberta and Montana has been in select areas, whereas, to the east, in the Red River Valley, no-till has been and continues to be used selectively.”
The SPS 360 employs cutting coulters, heavy-duty shanks, harrows and rolling baskets. Together, the tools cut, distribute and incorporate residue while busting clumps, re-levelling and firming the soil. It’s available in 40-foot and 50-foot working widths.
The notched 20-inch diameter straight coulters, which size the straw, are on 12-inch centres. They are mounted on hydraulically actuated rockshafts with rubber torsion elements to transfer the force required in cutting heavy straw. The rubber mounts provide shock absorption when hitting rocks. The coulters can be lifted and locked out when not required.
The shank trips are also on 12-inch centres in line with the coulter disks to minimize residue hanging on the shanks. The shank section hydraulic trip springs provide up to 1,000 pounds trip force. This capacity, combined with a rigid frame, ensures consistent penetration in the hardest soil conditions, should dry soils become an issue.
The machine is designed to accommodate anhydrous ammonia and liquid fertilizer without modification. An optional air kit for granular application is available for both 6000 and 7000 series air seeders. The trips can be lifted and locked out during operation.
The harrow sections are arranged in four-foot to eight-foot wide sections with reinforced mounts to cope with aggressive higher speed operation. The parallel harrow arm maintains the angle of the harrow gang as the height is adjusted. The operator has a choice of three-bar heavy-duty harrows equipped with .5 by 20 inch tines or four-bar standard harrows with 7/16 by 16 inch tines.
The finishing section uses 14-inch diameter rolling baskets to level the soil, leaving a firm uniform soil surface. The basket surface has eight one-inch diameter rods on a spiral profile. The in-cab hydraulic control allows the operator to adjust down force in the field on the go or lift the baskets completely.
The SPS 360 is built on a six-inch by four-inch frame engineered to take the abuse of working at speeds up to 8.5 m.p.h., where the system performs the best. Parallel arm front casters and rear walking axles increase strength and obstacle clearance. The flotation tires are 21.5 x 16.1. Rear main frame tires are 16.5 x 16.1 for improved load rating in transport.
The XR 770 eXtended Range Harrow introduces an engineering initiative that sets it apart from other harrows. In-cab Adjustable Down Force uses hydraulics to provide down-force or up-force to each harrow section.
The operator creates a uniform field finish even in extreme contoured fields. ADF ensures that the down force of each harrow section is constant regardless of contour position, is isolated from other adjustments and is easily adjustable by the operator.
The 770 can provide the different kinds of field finish delivered by anything from a light harrow to a heavy harrow but all with the same machine.
It expands the range of field conditions in which it can operate and still do a good job.
The ability to work in tougher conditions extends the working hours and acres covered per day.
The 770 has an eight-inch by eight-inch fixed height frame with independent 10-foot wide sections connected to the booms with parallel arms. There are seven rows of .5 by 22 inch tines spaced to create 1.4 inch spacings. Farmers can choose between carbide treated tines on the first two rows or on the entire unit.
Each 10-foot harrow section has 26 inches of independent vertical travel for uniform results in ex-treme contouring land. The main frame tires are high flotation 21.5 x 16.1. There are 13.5 x 15FI duals on the wings, mounted in-board to avoid field hazards.
Hydraulically controlled boom wheels let the operator reduce the distance needed to fold and unfold the unit. An optional hydraulic jack lets the operator line up the harrow tongue to the tractor hitch.
The XR 770 is available in 70-foot and 90-foot working widths. The design builds off the durable cart, boom, auto-fold system and double acting cable design of the Bourgault 7200 Heavy Harrow.
