Whether you're using commercial blends or manure, shortly after first cut is a great time to fertilize forage fields. But, wait, aren't perennial crops low-input? Top notch hay producers will tell you that fertility is paramount to getting top production out of a hay corp and to ensure maximum persistence of that stand. In this... Read More
Category: Machinery
There are two things you're always going to have with livestock — deadstock and manure. Both byproducts, if you will, present their own type of challenges. And then there are rules and regulations to contend with. Unlike some other byproducts of beef production, however, manure is a truly valuable resource if handled, stored and used... Read More
There are times, in my wanderings on the Internet, that I really do wonder — how did I miss this? Earlier this week, Dr. Tom Wolf, former Ag Canada researcher and current nozzle/spraying expert extraordinaire, alerted me to a certain three minute video featuring his colleague Steve Shirtliffe. Shirtliffe is a professor with the University... Read More
Seed Hawk, a Canadian-based no-till drill manufacturer, announced this week that the company plans a two-phase expansion to its manufacturing facility near Langbank, Saskatchewan, that will see a total of nearly 100,000 sq. ft. added to its capacity within the year. Seed Hawk partnered with Vaderstad Verken Ab in 2006 as a first move to... Read More
Early season field scouting serves many purposes. Not only is early scouting a powerful tool in keeping ahead of weed, disease and insect pests, but early season growth of the crop tells the story of planting. Sometimes that story isn't necessarily a happy tale, as crusting, variable emergence or thin stands can all be traced... Read More
Targeting wheat heads requires a very different approach when spraying than when looking after the flag leaf — water volume and travel speed play a role, but it's the upright, thin nature of the head that requires a switch in nozzles for best coverage. In this interview, Ontario cereal specialist Peter Johnson reviews what it... Read More
As we discussed last week, biq seeders and planters have stepped up to make sure that the crop gets planted on time across the United States and Canada. It has made me think about all the times we have asked the question of "how big is too big?" in the past. Here are some videos... Read More
As planting season winds down, the To-Do list of little fixes starts to grow. The good news is that a little extra care and attention paid to machinery and equipment now will help speed along the set up process next spring when we get to do this all over again. The planter is such an... Read More
Rolling soybean fields at or just after planting can be most efficient, but planting conditions aren't always exactly rolling-friendly. The good news is there is still time to roll long after seeding, with one very specific no-go window. But first, do you have to roll? That's the question RealAgriculture.com put to Dennis Lange, farm production... Read More
According to the latest Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) flash report, in both the United States and Canada, self propelled combine sales are very strong. Both the year to date and month to month numbers are on a torrid pace for the year. In the United States combine sales were up 58.6% in April 2013... Read More