It may not be described as “bigger, faster, stronger,” but John Deere’s concept sprayer is catching eyes for another reason — it’s autonomous. Exhibited in the Future Technology Zone at Agritechnica in Hanover, Germany, the light-weight sprayer works on tracks to minimize ground pressure, while offering four-wheel stearing, and a ground clearance of 1.9m. Currently… Read More
RealAgriculture’s coverage of Agritechnica 2019 is made possible by Brevant Seeds. Find out how Brevant is locally tested, and makes your life easy by going to Brevant.ca. Ever since drones starting gaining more traction on farms, there have been farmers talking about whether one day drones would fill the sky, spraying crops. Think about it:… Read More
Raven Industries, Inc. has taken majority ownership in autonomous farming platform DOT Technology Corp, the company says. The funds garnered in the sale will be used to “support the continued commercialization and evolution of the Dot Power Platform and Dot Ready Implements.” Raven and Dot began working together in May 2018, when it was announced… Read More
After identifying a need for aerial spraying services on large farms, an Ontario-based start-up has developed a fully-automated unmanned aerial vehicle for the Canadian market. “Typically most drones you see out there for aerial spraying are fairly small capacity… and for North American farms…it’s just not going to cut it,” says Meng Wei, CEO and… Read More
Planning ahead takes on a new meaning for the Case IH sprayer options for 2020. From ways to make the pre-spray equipment check more precise, to a new radar and gyro-enabled precision boom control, Case IH has expanded options for the Patriot and Trident lines. RealAg field editor Bernard Tobin met up with Mark Burns,… Read More
Spray education can be fun — Jason Deveau and Tom Wolf of sprayers101.com often ensure that, in their ever-unique way. Deveau and Wolf caught up with RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney at the Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ont., to chat about their demo at the show: recirculating booms. Wolf explains how current spray… Read More
John Deere is expanding its 4-Series sprayers to increase the power, traction and capacity of 2020 models. Last week at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, the company rolled out the 1,600-gallon (6,057 litre) capacity R4060 sprayer with the new CommandDrive powertrain; R4045 sprayers will also come standard with the powertrain beginning in 2020…. Read More
On-the-go weed identification and custom application combine in concept to form the Xarvio Smart Sprayer, a prototype rolling out in field trials this year in both the U.S. and Europe. Warren Bills, commercialization manager with Xarvio, showcased the spray-boom technology at the recent Ag in Motion farm show, near Saskatoon. Bills says that the idea… Read More
American-based Raven Industries has long been known for its contributions to precision agriculture, from cloud-based data management to guidance and steering applications. The company has also worked on spray application, recently unveiling its Autoboom XRT boom height control with simultaneous ground and canopy detection. “We’ve been in the boom height control business for 14 to… Read More
A wide range of new concepts were on display in Canada’s Farm Progress Show’s Innovation showcase hall this month. A total of 22 inventions were submitted to the show this year, with one innovation winning gold, and two others tied for the sterling award. Saskatchewan-based Precision AI was one of the two sterling award winners…. Read More
While pulse width modulation (PWM) offers much to pesticide application – variable rates, individual nozzle control – it’s not without its challenges, namely “gumming up.” “It has a moving part – it’s called a poppet,” explains Tom Wolf of Sprayers 101, on RealAg Radio. “It looks like a little piston moving inside a cylinder. So… Read More
Two years ago our Exploding Spray Myths team raced against time to show sprayer operators that more air is not better when it comes to efficiently operating airblast sprayers. In this new episode, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affair’s Jason Deveau and Tom Wolf, of AgriMetrix, return to the orchard to show growers how to… Read More
If you already own an Apache sprayer, you know it is one of the lightest sprayers on the market. That’s according to Eric Friesen, regional director of sales for Equipment Technology (ET), which make the Apache line. At the Western Canadian Crop Production Show at Saskatoon, Sask., Friesen, along with his sales team, were showcasing… Read More
Can spray technology help us better manage the escalating problem of herbicide-resistant weeds? Spray guru Tom Wolf, from Saskatchewan-based Agrimetrix Research & Training, certainly thinks so. At the recent Canadian Weed Science Society meeting at Niagara Falls, Ont., Wolf highlighted two technologies he believes could help help growers manage weed resistance. In this video, Wolf and… Read More
More power and manoeuvrability top the list of improvements to New Holland’s Guardian sprayers. At the recent Farm Progress Show at Boone, Iowa, New Holland rolled out its SP370F and SP410F front-boom sprayers. Don Keller, sprayer product marketing manager, explains that both models come with a Cursor 9 FPT engine as well as an enhanced propulsion system. Ground drive… Read More