Openers and packers are the cold steel components of putting seed into soil, but there is also a human side to the business.
Betty Schoenhofer found that out more than four years ago when her husband, Walter, died suddenly just before the family was preparing to take its Technotill packing system to the Agri-Trade show in Red Deer.
Schoenhofer had no idea whether she or son Colin were up to the task of standing on a concrete floor for four days, smiling, shaking hands, handing out brochures and talking to people about their product.
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“We had no idea what would happen to the business. Would people still buy the product with Walter gone, or would it close down? Then customers started calling and saying they’d help us at the show. I guess that’s what convinced us to go to Red Deer.”
More than a dozen trade shows were already booked for that winter and their necks were stuck out pretty far with a warehouse full of packers.
“Colin and I knew that if we didn’t take it on ourselves to sell the product, nobody else would, and that would probably be the end of the company. So we went to the shows. That whole winter, exhibitors on the circuit did so many kind things to help us.
“Well, we sold out by spring. The feedback from people was that Walter had designed a very good packer and they wanted us to keep going with the company and the upgrades. People told us if we needed any other help or anything, they’d be here for us.”
Schoenhofer said she received a lot of help on the redesign project from Clare Cockburn and the staff at Atom Jet in Brandon.
“Clare was the guy who provided some real assistance for us. He had already sold Atom Jet at that point, but was still very involved. The new owners were very good about building parts for us to try in the field.”
One of their first customers, Wayne Cubbon of North Battleford, Sask., was another major source of encouragement and ideas.
“Wayne was extraordinary through this process. He had experienced a lot of breakage with our product. I told him I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to give up on Technotill. If he wanted, I’d buy the system back from him. He said, ‘no, this really works. Let’s not give up on it.’ ”
Cubbon said it would have been a shame if Technotill had disappeared. He has seeded 5,000 acres a year for the past six years with Technotill packers and he’s still running some of his original packing plates.
He gave two main reasons for sticking with Technotill.
“It doesn’t cost big dollars to get into this system, and they work so well and they’re simple. There’s no bearings, bushings, hydraulics or extra stuff to maintain. Last year, canola in our area was terrible coming up. Ours came up perfectly. That’s why I’ve stuck with them.
“After Walter died, Betty didn’t know what to do with the company. So I told her about some ideas we had to improve the system, and things just progressed from there.”
Cubbon suggested eliminating the adjustable slide for pitch and height. The packer would be more stable if the frame bolted directly to the shank.
Schoenhofer came back with a fresh set of prototypes that incorporated the changes Walter had been working on and the changes suggested by Cubbon.
“I did a lot of the testing on the prototypes,” Cubbon said.
“The best test Betty and I could think of is a quarter section field we have here that’s all rock. You can walk across this field and not touch soil.”
Betty’s criteria was that if the system could stand up to that field, it would stand up to anything. Her first set of prototypes were a big improvement, but in rocky conditions they bent where the packing plate attaches to the frame.
“Then Clare Cockburn came up from Brandon,” Cubbon said.
“He studied the packers and drew up some designs and then had another set of prototypes built in Brandon. I installed this second set of prototypes, and I’m still seeding with them today. This is the design Betty is selling now, and I know that they’ll stand up to anything.”
