The machine travels fruit tree rows on its own to manage weeds; it was designed to reduce how much herbicide is used
GUSS Automation expanded its lineup of autonomous orchard sprayers with the launch of the Herbicide GUSS. Chase Schapansky, the company’s chief technology officer, said orchard spraying is an obvious use for automated equipment because it’s difficult to find people who want to do the work. “It’s an undesirable job and not the safest job (because […] Read moreMachinery — page 41
Trimble invests its way into the autonomous ag sector
Company puts money into Monarch Tractor and Sabanto, both either building or equipping autonomous implements
Trimble Ventures has made investments over the last year into two start-ups that specialize in autonomous farming equipment. Last fall it invested in Monarch Tractor, an American company that builds autonomous electric compact tractors, and it recently invested in Sabanto. Sabanto equips tractors with autonomous technology to perform in-field operations. The company built a fleet […] Read more
Lawyer: Devil in the detail with delayed drill delivery
If a manufacturer or dealer reneges on the delivery date of an implement, any kind of implement, does the farmer have legal recourse? Mathieu Lafreniere with Smith Neufeld Jodin LLP in Steinbach, Man. said this is an issue farmers face, more so now than maybe at any time in the past. Lafreniere said there can […] Read more
Can companies cancel contracts?
On Oct. 4, Trevor Blair, @TrevorBlair12, tweeted that SeedHawk cancelled the drill he was expecting for spring seeding. In the Twitter thread he said he wasn’t given an explanation on why his order was canceled, but he was told all the dealer’s orders from SeedHawk were cancelled. Trevor Hardy at Brandt Agriculture in Watrous is […] Read more
Masters of the broken supply chain
If SeedMaster accountants, salespeople, engineers and senior executives aren’t in their offices this winter, check the factory floor. They’ll be turning wrenches, welding, running hydraulics lines and assembling new drills. Working in the plant is a typical winter day on the job for SeedMaster managers says Tim Criddle, the company’s global sales director. Having spent […] Read more
Used farm equipment to remain pricey
The price of new and late model farm equipment will continue to be elevated going into 2023. As the loonie’s value falls in relation to the American dollar, assets manufactured outside of Canada cost more. “Especially when you’ve got a piece of equipment that you put on order, at some point they’re (dealers) going to […] Read more
Skid-mounted water tank hastens spraying
FARGO, N.D. – With a bit of planting planning, Land Skid can eliminate one truck from your seeding operation. Your semi spots the 2,500-gallon tank in the field, then returns to other tasks. Key to the Land Skid efficiency is the way your semi-tractor picks up and drops off the tank in 20 minutes. The […] Read more
Sunflowers like specialized headers
A number of companies were at the recent Big Iron Show in Fargo with headers that claim to boost sunflower profits
FARGO, N.D. — Although sunflowers can be successfully harvested with a conventional header, a specialized sunflower header will always put more seeds in the tank, according to a North Dakota State University website. A variety of special sunflower headers were inspected by sunflower growers at the Big Iron Show in September. Hamilton Systems in Drayton, […] Read more
Self-propelled big round baler hits the field
Vermeer’s self-propelled version replaces pull-type balers and dedicated tractors and puts up more bales per hour
SASKATOON — Long ago, tractor was king. It pulled and powered swathers, combines, balers and sprayers. When self-propelled arrived, the baler became the final pull-type holdout. Well, the baler has finally caught up. Vermeer launched its ZR5-1200 self-propelled big round baler two years ago. With so many farm shows cancelled because of COVID, the new […] Read more
Drone sprayer triples the air power
Crop duster system uses three autonomous drones at a time to spray 1,000 acres a day on broad acre prairie crops
FARGO, N.D. — Most experts have written off using drones for aerial application on broad acre prairie crops. A drone cannot compete with a 1,600 horsepower Air Tractor carrying 800 gallons. A few manufacturers have obtained registrations for orchard-scale spray drones, but government approval for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with a heavy Air Tractor type […] Read more
