INDIAN HEAD, Sask. – Prairie farmers have known about GreenSeeker technology for six years, but the in-crop nitrogen sensor was calibrated for Kentucky growing conditions. This has prevented Canadians from showing much interest until recently. The installation of GreenSeeker variable rate controllers on a handful of high clearance sprayers in 2005 has put genuine calibration […] Read more
Production — page 112
GreenSeeker calibrated for the Prairies
Accurate scales essential to calibrate yield monitor
BALCARRES, Sask. – All the test strips, yield monitoring and field mapping in the world aren’t worth a hoot unless the monitor is calibrated correctly, and calibration requires accurate scales. Keith Stephens understood that long before he bought a fully wired global positioning system monitoring-mapping combine this summer. He knew he would either face long […] Read more
New Products
Wood burning furnace The Classic outdoor wood-burning furnace by Central Boiler is a heating alternative that burns wood and other renewable fuels, providing heat for homes, barns and other farm buildings. The system consists of an outdoor furnace that can be installed up to 150 metres away from the building to be heated. The furnace’s […] Read more
Where has all the nitrogen gone?
INDIAN HEAD, Sask. – Depending on soil zone and source, the amount of unused nitrogen ranges from 30-70 percent of what goes into the soil. For farmers footing the fertilizer bill, nitrogen not used by the crop is a big economic loss. For scientists charged with tracking greenhouse gases, it’s a perplexing question that demands […] Read more
Whacker whips life out of lentil
MOOSE JAW – Broadleaf weed control in lentils is notoriously difficult, even in conventional cropping systems using herbicides. In organic lentils, mechanical control is the only option. Before certifying as organic, Cal Cowan from Moose Jaw had used a weed wick, a Roundup-soaked rope pulled above his lentils, to control weeds. “When we went organic, […] Read more
New Products
Steering by satellite Auto-Guide satellite-based steering systems from Agco Global Technologies can now be installed on some models of Agco DT series tractors including the DT180A, DT200A, DT220A and DT240A. The auto-guide system consists of a complete kit, including a TopDock that mounts on the cab roof and an in-cab Auto Guide terminal. The package […] Read more
Accumulator picks bales fast
MORTLACH, Sask. – As a manufacturer of drill markers and other equipment, Greg Haukaas is always on the lookout for new products to add to his lineup. “We’re about five miles north of the government hay fields and we saw the people down there, when they were rolling up their bales to be hauled at […] Read more
Two 860s better than one
BALCARRES, Sask. – Keith Stephens puts a lot of peas and lentils into rotation on his 1,700 acre farm, but not many cereal acres. Until this year, he has harvested all the crops with the same 1984 Massey Ferguson 860 that he bought in 1986. “It takes a long time to get through the peas […] Read more
Hopped-up combine suits farm
BALCARRES, Sask. – When Keith Stephens went hunting for an extra 860 for his cereal fields, he was also on the lookout for information about installing a modern GPS mapping system on his old 1984 Massey 860. He found it all in one machine at Dennis McIntosh’s farm near Melfort, Sask.: a 1983 Massey that […] Read more
Enjoyment as important as economics
BALCARRES, Sask. – When the Stephens family built its new house 10 years ago, the cost was the same as a new combine. Keith Stephens spends about 200 hours a year maintaining the old combine. The house serves Keith, his wife Wendy, son Ian and daughter Danielle 365 days of the year. It wasn’t much […] Read more
