New release is a downstream effect of Deere’s investment in Blue River application-technology company four years ago
Find a weed and kill it. Ignore the crop and don’t waste any resources on non-pests. It’s easy to do strolling through a field with a hoe or spray nozzle in hand. Doing it over five- or 10-thousand acres in a tight time window is a bigger job. Blue River Technology sprang from an idea […] Read moreMachinery — page 57
Deere upgrades its seeding and power offerings
More power with heavier frames and additional ballast and new features for seeding are available in 2022 machines
Model year 2022 will see key improvements to the John Deere lineup of farm machinery. Air seeding rigs are getting better blockage monitoring, more cab adjustments and faster changing tools in soil. John Deere announced last week that all of its air seeding units would get the RelativeFlow blockage monitoring. The system reports variations in […] Read more
MacDon adds 300 production jobs, including third shift
The company could not stand still listening to opportunity knock, looking for new and more precise farm equipment
MacDon is adding more than 300 new jobs to its main manufacturing plant in Winnipeg. The increase will facilitate the addition of a third shift at the farm equipment factory. “This means good paycheques going into 300 Winnipeg households,” said business development vice-president Gene Fraser in a phone interview. “The jobs will be in fabrication, […] Read more
Autonomous tractor captures imagination
Small machinery putting in big hours with little supervision offers farmers productivity opportunities
Dutch start-up AgXeed is developing crop production technologies that will enable farmers to perform real-world tasks through an online portal similar to a video game. Philipp Kamps, marketing manager of AgXeed said the company is creating a system that uses a digital twin of a farm where missions for autonomous equipment are created. A digital […] Read more
Maintaining the tracks improves life and performance for the long haul
There is a common misconception that track systems increase maintenance time and costs, companies say no
Track systems built for agriculture applications have come a long way during the past decade, but as with anything, they require maintenance. There used to be a larger variety of styles of tracked machines equipment manufacturers sold to farmers and they each had different maintenance demands. Now though, most track systems are similar. “Most of […] Read more
Grabbing the big stuff safely and securely
Handling tires on the farm has always been a bit risky, but today’s rubber is awkward at best, dangerous at worst
For the second year in a row the TireGrabber won first place for farm safety in the Manitoba Ag Days awards. The 2021 award was for the company’s updated product, the TireGrabber Reversible, that fits more tire sizes and types. Darcy Goossen, owner of TireGrabber, said he was asked by prospective customers for the ability […] Read more
Oxygen dissipates slurry smell
Other fun facts:
Air pumped into slurry tanks mixes the manure. Rising air bubbles promote aerobic bacteria, which digests toxins, fatty acids and ammonia. This reduces manure’s biological oxygen demand and reduces odour. That’s the concept upon which the Irish-based Dairy Power company based their Smart Manure Aeration system. Adam Steward of Dairy Power in Canada says the […] Read more
Small and mighty, these electrics spark imagination
Electric farm machinery is finding its way into a few special fields, but the broadacre future might be full of them
Electric-powered farm equipment is inevitable for many agricultural applications, especially those with many stop-and-start duty cycles. Significant advancements in electrification are needed before diesel tanks can be removed from machines like combines and high-horsepower tractors that typically run at a set duty cycle all day long. However, the technology is already available for compact electric […] Read more
Self-guided Russian combines cut 400,000 acres GPS-free
The Cognitive Agro Pilot combine follows the crop edge within a four-inch tolerance and farms reduce labour
Folks who doubt the viability of autonomous field implements should take a good look at videos showing more than 350 combines of all brands helping harvest the 2020 Russian crop. Last fall, a mix of more than 350 New Holland, John Deere, Claas and Russian-built combines were outfitted with Cognitive Agro Pilot autonomous driving systems. […] Read more
When will drivers vacate the cab?
At a price of US$10,000 there may be some prairie producers chomping at the bit to install a Cognitive Agro Pilot this year
Every prairie farmer who’s given even a passing thought to the idea of autonomous tractors has questioned whether it’s possible, or even desirable, to remove the driver from the cab. Even if the machine has the capability to be fully autonomous, the safety factor remains the biggest argument for keeping a driver in the cab […] Read more
