Practical research and development played an integral role on his farm and in his feedlot near Watrous, Sask. “I found it easy to build my own equipment or alter equipment. If I needed something, I wasn’t afraid to do something different,” Redekop said. That love of innovation led him from the farm and feedlot to […] Read more
Production
Leo Redekop – Equipment maker listens when opportunity knocks
Jim Halford
The story of zero till on the Canadian Prairies is one of technological innovation. Jim Halford was one of the movement’s leaders. Nobody knew where zero till might lead when it was first considered in the 1970s. A small group of producers recognized that soil degradation was forcing them to change the way they grew […] Read more
Overhead crane pulls its weight
ROULEAU, Sask. – For an overhead crane in a shop to be most effective, it should be able to reach all corners of the building. Daryl Tiessen’s crane can move from one end of his shop to the other and across its full width. “It was part of a building installed at Westank in Regina,” […] Read more
New Products
Planter monitor Ag Leader Technology, Inc. has recently added a planter monitoring function to the SeedCommand planter control system. SeedCommand now tracks and logs average population while monitoring seed spacing. A colour bar graph and population display provide this information to operators in real time. For the 2008 growing season, Ag Leader’s planter monitoring function […] Read more
Aerial photos tell agronomic tale
Since 1999, Farmers Edge Precision Consulting of Pilot Mound, Man., has been one of the leaders in bridging the gap between farmers and the satellite infrared photos taken of their fields. The company is in the business of turning coloured blotches into meaningful information for producers. Farmers Edge agronomist Curtis MacKinnon says the new generation […] Read more
Reduce tillage with sweet clover green manure – Organic Matters
Producers may be able to manage weeds with sweet clover in a reduced tillage system, says a new study from Agriculture Canada’s research centre in Lethbridge. Scientists Jim Moyer, Bob Blackshaw and Henry Huang found that killing sweet clover with a wide blade cultivator and leaving the residue on the surface could suppress weeds and […] Read more
Door big enough for header
ROULEAU, Sask. – When Daryl Tiessen decided to build a shop, he wanted to be able to drive his combine in without taking the header off. “We’d gone through 1996, with a foot of snow on Oct. 1. There were days when it was -12, I’d drop the header off outside and put the combine […] Read more
High capacity cart keeps seed flowing
ST. BRIEUX, Sask. – Bourgault Industries plans to go big next year. Of the three new product carts that will go on the market in 2008, the biggest is the recently unveiled 6700ST, a four-compartment, three-hopper, 700 bushel behemoth. “Looking at our sales for air seeder products, we found we were still not meeting the […] Read more
Partner up for on-farm research advice
NISKU, Alta. – The most important step when planning on-farm plots and research is to partner up, says William Punko. Speaking at the Alberta Reduced Tillage Linkages Direct Seeding Advantage Conference in Nisku, Punko provided personal perspectives based on research plots he has been involved with over the years. Punko, who farms near Westlock, Alta., […] Read more
Remote control planes more affordable
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – Aerial infrared photography has become a useful tool for farmers and agronomists. However, the cost of flying conventional aircraft over your fields every year has become prohibitive. Wind, clouds and scheduling conflicts often mean the plane won’t be there when you want it. To compound the problem, the infrared film […] Read more
