Chinese drone manufacturer DJI is introducing a spraying model to North America, as it foresees a day when farmers use swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to control weeds, diseases and other pests. The Agras MG-1 is an octocopter capable of carrying 2.5 gallons and covering 7 to 10 acres per hour, explains DJI's Jan... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Would a carbon fibre spray boom be strong enough to withstand the rigour of continuous field spraying? That’s a question John Deere intends to answer as it continues to look for ways to substitute the composite material for the steel and aluminum traditionally used in farm equipment, such as boom sprayers. At its annual product... Read More
Although we live in a different country, Canadians are closely following the real-life theatre that is the U.S. presidential election. "You guys have as much at stake as we do," said Stu Ellis, only half-joking, when asked if he'd be willing to do an interview on the election for a Canadian farm audience at the... Read More
Does agriculture have its own social licence, its own special bond with the public? I wondered that last week, thinking about the energy sector. My thoughts were prompted by the terrified look on Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre’s face, when he unwittingly found himself between a protestor (described by the media as “burly”) and participants at... Read More
It was more than 20 years ago that Ben Dillon of Carroll County, Indiana returned from working off the farm and found himself assigned to driving the grain cart tractor. "I was sitting there watching the combine and I said 'this is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I have to fix this,'" he says.... Read More
Grains continued to be pressured by the Harvest 2016 season and continuous benign weather in the U.S. that are keeping crop conditions and yield projections at elevated levels. Estimates on the U.S. corn crop ranges between 170 and 175 bu/ac, suggesting around a 15-billion-bushel crop, while soybean yield estimates are sitting between 48.5 and 50.5... Read More
A frustrating summer has come to a head over the last few weeks, as already-weak cattle prices are on a streak lower. Cash prices in the U.S. have fallen to $110 per hundred weight, notes Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock. "That's the lowest they've been in five years, and that's five bucks off of last... Read More
It looks like a standard New Holland T8 tractor, but there’s one thing missing – the driver. The New Holland NH Drive autonomous concept tractor was the second driverless tractor unveiled at this week’s Farm Progress Show. But unlike the Case IH concept machine, the high horsepower New Holland version maintains a traditional cab, allowing... Read More
Demco's new-to-North America movable field bin was on display at the Farm Progress Show in Iowa this week. The 3,000 bushel Harvest Link (56' long, 12' wide and 12.5' high) was designed to reduce the time grain cart and truck drivers spend waiting in the field, explains Benji Vande Griend, Demco's ag products sales manager,... Read More
Agrium's Crop Production Services has reached a deal with the Competition Bureau to sell four retail outlets in Alberta to address concerns about reduced fertilizer competition resulting from its proposed purchase of Andrukow Group Solutions. CPS announced an agreement-in-principle back in April to purchase Andrukow Group and all of its assets, which includes 17 crop... Read More