Michelin’s ag portfolio grew last month with the introduction of the VF SprayBib in three sizes, the VF FloatXBib plus radial airless skid-steer tires in two sizes and two treads. The SprayBibVF is a very high flexion tire for high-clearance sprayers. It’s designed to strike a balance between a narrow tire to avoid crop damage […] Read more
Machinery — page 67
Getting on board the fast track with 20 m.p.h. air drill
Camso has introduced a new high speed track set and a new mid-roller for Steiger Quadtrac. The Quebec manufacturer introduced Ag TTS Angle high speed tracks for air drills and planters. The tracks increase field mobility and reduce soil compaction. They can travel on the road at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. […] Read more
Arm getting too cranky? Go full electric
It takes 50 to 60 crank arm rotations to get the legs on a trailer’s landing gear to touch ground. This exposes the driver to a variety of musculoskeletal injuries. The damage typically occurs to shoulders, knees, back and upper body. The repetitive cranking motion impacts muscles, tendons and joints, especially with aging drivers. And […] Read more
Modern planter for older field power
Planter manufacturers are turning a new focus on designing narrow-transport machines suitable for small fields, no-till, transport on narrow roads and for growers lacking high-power tractors. Throughout the industry, there’s a realization that bigger isn’t always better or even wanted. Many corn and soybean growers do planter-applied fertilizer with a split-row configuration and narrow transport. […] Read more
War’s labour shortage prompted the stook sweep
A more efficient way was needed to pick up stooks during the Second World War — resourceful farmers figured it out
Farmers are intensely familiar with ingenuity. Their survival depends on it. Take the Second World War. It absorbed much of the manpower on which the farming industry depended. The effects were profoundly felt in northern agricultural areas, where the harvest season is compressed by the onset of early winter. Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta […] Read more
Combine a game-changer for prairie farmers
The earliest combines were pulled with huge teams of 20 horses, but by 1948 the author’s father was using a tractor
A young farmer in Alberta, Harold Hathaway, had just written a letter to his parents, now living in Vancouver. He would rather pull nose hairs with a vise grip than write a letter, but he had managed to fill up two pages by regaling the latest changes in farming. The recently discovered letter, dated Oct. […] Read more
Keep tires in good shape over winter
Wash equipment thoroughly before parking in a cool, dry place; tires shouldn’t sit in chemicals, hydraulic fluid, fuel or oil
Implement tires are a major expense, which is why farmers over the years have tried so many storage tricks to prolong tire life and prevent the impact of winter storage. Some of the most common methods include parking tires on wood, taking weight off the tires by raising the machine, covering tires with a sheet […] Read more
Tractor makes attachment hook-up automatic
The Syn Trac from Austria can dock and decouple all attachments with a push of a button and without leaving the cab
Hannover, Germany — A tractor platform being developed by Austria startup Syn Trac automatically unhooks and hooks up to attachments without having to wrestle with hydraulic lines, wires or the power take-off. “On the front and back of the unit there’s an automatic docking system, which connects everything including the driveshaft, six hydraulic functions, and […] Read more
LoRaWAN helps ride the smart-farming wave
This type of network can overcome the challenges of monitoring the environment and infrastructure in rural locations
The technical and financial barriers to entry of smart farming have decreased drastically over the past few years. Smart farming refers to managing farms with modern information and communication technologies, which can provide efficiency gains for farmers. A major component of a smart farm is monitoring the environment and infrastructure, but this can be challenging […] Read more
No easy answer for soil compaction
Cover crops can build soil structure, which is considered a defence against compaction, but they are not always feasible
Increasing soil organic matter is one of the best ways to prevent soil compaction, said Marla Riekman, soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. “Building soil structure is your best defence against soil compaction,” Riekman said. “It’s (organic matter) creating both food and homes for microbiology that’s helping to build soil structure as well. It’s helping […] Read more
