FARGO, N.D. – As one farmer studied the Thurston Blu-Jet strip till implement at the Big Iron farm show in North Dakota, he counted the working pieces and said: “Man, that’s a lot of machinery and it doesn’t even put my seed into the ground.”
Standing next to the farmer, Thurston vice-president Nick Jensen chuckled and said he’s heard the comment before.
His Blu-Jet won the 2007 Strip Till Product of the Year, presented by No-Till Farmers magazine. The award is based on votes by magazine subscribers who use the equipment.
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But growers who have never before seen such an implement are often puzzled by the complexity of the tillage machine.
“There’s no doubt, it is a lot of machinery,” said Jensen.
“It’s more expensive and it’s more maintenance than a normal fertilizer application implement. But it saves a heck of a lot of fuel because it does all your tillage operations and fertilizer application in a single pass. You need all that machinery in the ground because each toolbar performs so many functions.”
Greater adjustability compared to other strip till implements is a chief factor in Blu-Jet’s success thus far.
“Without the adjustments, field conditions dictate your final seedbed condition,” said Jensen.
“We designed a machine that can give you the same seedbed conditions regardless of soil and residue issues.”
The residue managers have vertical adjustment, allowing them to be more or less aggressive. The SealPro disc hillers have adjustable blade position and blade angle to produce a high or low berm. The torsion mount basket can be adjusted for higher or lower soil pressure.
Each Blu-Jet toolbar operates independently, allowing it to respond more precisely to field conditions it encounters in its path. The Blu-Jet can deliver anhydrous, liquid, dry or dual placement fertilizer in a single tillage pass.
The latest Blu-Jet mainframes are available in widths up to 60 feet. The strip till toolbars can also be retrofitted to many different existing frames, including 4 by 6 inch, 6 by 6 inch and 7 by 7 inch. This helps reduce the initial cost of moving into strip tillage.
Depending on the configuration, each Blu-Jet toolbar can have as few as one spring and five grease points needing only weekly or seasonal service. This is possible because of greaseless bushings used at many points.
For more information, contact Nick Jensen at 800-658-3127 or visit www.blu-jet.com.
