The Second World War pushed millions of Europeans and Asians into a deep, muddy bog of despair and starvation. In many regions of the world, fields were rutted and marked by bombs and trenches. It would be years before the machinery and manpower of agriculture might be back to normal. Leaders of the allied nations […] Read more
Production
No. 21 propelled more than itself
Massey marks 70th
It’s not fair to compare the original Massey-Harris No. 20 combine, arguably a Class 1 and introduced 70 years ago, to the latest Class 8 Massey Ferguson, the 9895. However, it is fair to say the Massey 20, the world’s first self-contained combine, set a precedent that changed agricultural production forever. Earlier self-propelled combines were […] Read more
Readers identify Ro Ho
“It works as you walk,” proclaimed a 1929 rural newspaper ad for the Ro Ho. In the July 17 edition of The Western Producer, we asked for reader help in identifying an unidentified but useful gardening implement that has been a staple for market gardeners Bill and Jean King of Outlook, Sask., for many years. […] Read more
Big tanks gain momentum
HEADINGLY, Man. – Steadily increasing nitrogen prices are making it more important than ever that farmers who want to save on input costs have next year’s fertilizer delivered the fall before. That need has caused more large vertical tanks to pop up across the Prairies. According to Chris Thompson at Polywest, the largest polyethylene tank […] Read more
Camelina emerging as the other yellow gold
LETHBRIDGE – When it comes to crops, canola isn’t the only yellow gold flowering in prairie fields these days. Camelina’s tiny yellow flowers look similar to those of canola, but they are different plants. Camelina is fall or winter seeded. There are no hybrid varieties and no registered pesticides for the crop. Crop promoters have […] Read more
New Products
GreenSeeker updates NTech Industries, Inc., has released the newest version of RT Commander software for its six-sensor Green-Seeker RT200 optical sensing and variable-rate application system. New nitrogen fertilizer algorithms also are available for variable-rate topdresssing and sidedressing of corn, wheat, sorghum and canola. The latest version of the RT Commander software has new features that […] Read more
Canola flocks to southern Alta.
LETHBRIDGE – There’s a bit of canola magic around Alberta’s feedlot alley. And that magic has resulted in an estimated 40,000 acres of hybrid seed production in the region and drawn the attention of the world’s largest seed company. Pioneer Hi-Bred recently expanded its canola operations in the region with a new $12 million, 30,000 […] Read more
Quality hay may be short
Hay production across the Prairies and the American Plains is spotty. Low carry out inventories and poor yields of first cuts for this season have resulted in short supplies and increased prices for the packaged forages. “There are a few spots that have better than average yields, but for the most part the crops are […] Read more
Seed company thinks yellow as it ponders prairie future
LETHBRIDGE – Western Canada’s No. 2 hybrid canola seed company isn’t satisfied. It wants to be No. 1. “What’s a ranking?” says Ian Grant of Pioneer Hi-Bred Ltd. Canada. “What does it mean? We want it to mean that more producers in Western Canada are choosing our products than anyone else’s because they will make […] Read more
Big construction hydraulics born of ag necessity
FARGO, N.D. – When people are asked to name the first 4 x 4 tractor that had mammoth hydraulic capacity, topping the list is often the 90 gallon per minute New Holland scraper tractor. In reality, however, the scraper tractor hydraulics can almost be termed an afterthought, says David Susag, a hydraulic engineer with Case […] Read more
