There’s consensus that healthy soils with higher organic matter deliver a range of benefits from supplying nutrients, to building soil structure, to increasing water-holding capacity, and reducing erosion. But are enough farmers taking the required steps to increase soil health and organic matter? United States Department of Agriculture research agronomist Shannon Osbourne believes a stronger working… Read More
Category: Tillage
Perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of plowing land is the bumpy ride around the headlands that follows. That’s where Kuhn’s Vari-Master Smart Plow comes in. The Smart plow offers sectional control through an electro-hydraulic system which automatically raises and lowers individual bodies based on GPS positioning data, creating a straight furrow edge where… Read More
A soil sensor that can detect compaction from above the ground in real-time is enabling a concept described as “variable depth tillage” for targeting compacted layers. The Topsoil Mapper made by Austria-based Geoprospectors is an example of a real-time sensor allowing farmers to account for variability as their tractor passes through a field, rather than… Read More
What should farmers look for when planning to purchase a new cultivator? There’s been plenty of cultivator innovation in recent years that farmers need to consider, says agronomist Pat Lynch, who hosted the annual tillage demonstration at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ontario. This year manufacturers showed off secondary cultivation units set to finish… Read More
Saskatoon-based Morris Industries has undergone a change in ownership, with private investors injecting new capital into the farm equipment manufacturer. Ben Voss, together with Calgary-based Avrio Capital and Lamont Brown Group, have acquired a majority stake in the business from outgoing CEO Casey Davis. Voss, who’s served as president since 2015, has also replaced Davis… Read More
Mike Dorion calls himself ‘the compost kid’ and he believes farmers should think about their fields like he does his garden. The founder of Calgary-based Living Soil Solutions doesn’t suggest cash crop farmers use tea leaves to improve soil health, but he does preach the benefits of reducing tillage, banking organic matter to help increase… Read More
Ladies and gentlemen, farmers and agronomists, we’ve hit triple digits! That’s right, this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word is number 100, and from all of us here at RealAgriculture thank you for following along and making this podcast a huge success in a short time. Host Peter Johnson has made the most of this… Read More
Case IH is equipping its Nutri-Placer 930 fertilizer applicator with new high-speed, low disturbance coulters the company claims will help the unit provide a superior field finish at speeds up to 11 mph. At that speed, Case IH says operators can cover 510 acres in a 12-hour day for increased productivity, lower tractor hours and… Read More
Peter Johnson is back from his agriculture mission in Zambia, and ready to rock and roll with this week’s edition of Wheat Pete’s Word. From how different organic matter additions can speed up or slow down residue breakdown, to why rotation matters so very much, to a talk on phosphorus as-applied vs. actual, Johnson gets… Read More
Case IH wants to help farmers take the guesswork out of turning on headlands. The company says tractor operators can now use its new AccuTurn automatic headland turning technology to navigate hands-free, automatic, repeatable turns for increased productivity and reduced operator fatigue. Case IH unveiled the Advanced Farming Systems (AFS) auto guidance technology last week… Read More