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 moreMachinery — page 68
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
BFGoodrich tires return to the farm
BFGoodrich is returning to the farm with its new Implement Control tire designed for pull-behind implements. And more agricultural tires are coming later this year. BFG has set its sights on carrying a total line of farm tires, according to David Graden, ag manager for Michelin in the United States and Canada. “This is just […] Read more
Farmers focus on tire pressure-compaction link
Tires will start to lose sidewall deflection and bite characteristics if pressure drops much from the current recommendations
Agriculture tire technology advances slowly but surely. With those advances, farmers become more of aware of what they have to gain through better tire management. Scott Sloan, agricultural product manager for Titan/Goodyear Farm Tires, says the relationship between tire pressure and compaction is now in the forefront of most farmers’ minds. He says tire pressure […] Read more
Case made against right-to-repair
The Western Equipment Dealers Association rejects proposed right-to-repair legislation as ‘unnecessary and divisive’
WINNIPEG — Farm groups and a number of non-farm groups are pushing governments to pass right-to-repair legislation. Industry is pushing back, saying that companies are addressing farmers’ concerns about repairing equipment. Chief among farmer concerns is expensive new equipment that comes to a halt in the field when a computer malfunctions. Farmers attending Crop Connect […] Read more
Employees buy into farm equipment maker
The workers used an employee benefit plan that gives them ownership interest in the company for whom they work
As of Jan. 1, Loftness Specialized Equipment became 100 percent employee-owned. Using an American financial tool called an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), the 85 employees bought all Loftness shares. Located in Hector, Minnesota, Loftness manufactures a big list of farm equipment. The ESOP they used is an employee benefit plan that gives workers ownership […] Read more
