Novice welders often wonder if they really need both AC and DC. They’re confused when they look at the different combinations on the buzz box stick welding machine. The simple answer is no, you really don’t need AC and DC. The basic AC machine can produce a good weld if it’s used right. It reliably […] Read more
Production
AC/DC: for those about to weld
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Lighting a tonne of wheat straw on fire produces much less energy than if it is allowed to smoulder under the right conditions. That’s the physics lesson upon which Raymond Dueck is building his new business. The Manitoba entrepreneur has developed a technology to extract a large amount of usable energy from a tonne of […] Read more
Entrepreneur eyes expansion
EXTRACTING the most heat from a straw bale is no longer a big deal for Raymond Dueck. His Biomass Energy System Technologies device already does that so his new challenge is to extract money from the heat generated by the system. “There is clearly a lot of energy available in straw. And there are all […] Read more
Carbon credit cash depends on opener
BRANDON – Cash for carbon credits seems like a sweet deal for zero till farmers, but the wrong openers on seeding equipment might stamp “stop payment” on the cheque. Atom Jet of Brandon has dusted off its drawing board and designed a fully carbon credit compliant opener. “The carbon credit programs are coming in and […] Read more
Calculate nitrogen
A soil test might tell farmers what their crops will need, but will it pay to fertilize to that level? A new calculator will help provide the answer. Manitoba’s agriculture department will soon offer a spreadsheet calculator that will give producers a place to start when deciding how much nitrogen to apply. The program shows […] Read more
Alternative crops field tested
Student projects usually end up on a high shelf in the dark corners of a school library. ot so for Jesse Nykoliation and Nelson Ridgeway’s graduation project. The students, who studied land and water management at Brandon’s Assiniboine Community College, put together a blueprint for how producers could grow willow, switchgrass and poplar in riparian […] Read more
Location, location, location
One of the most critical tasks for any farmer is to place seed and fertilizer at the right spot in the ground. The season depends on what happens when steel meets soil. And sometimes, in the quest for a better understanding of seed and fertilizer placement, the distinction between farmers, researchers and industry blurs. Many […] Read more
Researchers have different rows to hoe
Agriculture Canada researchers will put 10, 12, 14 and 16 inch row spacings under the microscope this summer at the department’s research farm in Indian Head, Sask. Research scientist Guy Lafond says the trials will continue for a number of years. “The real driver behind this is how to best capture the value of tall […] Read more
Row spacing critical to yields
Dry conditions prompt a wide range of row spacing strategies. At Agriculture Canada’s Semiarid Prairie Ag Research Centre in Swift Current, Sask., scientists are studying nine and 18 inch spacings as part of their work on a technique called clumped seeding. “But it’s not really what we think of as a row spacing test,” said […] Read more
Nutrient management top factor in higher yield
Wayne Smith is an internationally recognized agronomist. His work is sometimes controversial in agronomy circles. Farmers across the globe share the same conviction when asked to finger the main culprit limiting their yields, but an Australian agronomist says they are wrong. “Water isn’t your problem,” Wayne Smith told producers attending an Edmonton agronomy conference earlier […] Read more
