The phone is ringing off the hook at PAMI. Some very difficult questions are being asked by farmers as a result of the late harvest and the cool, damp weather. There are no easy answers, of course, but luckily PAMI has done a lot of research over the years and although they can’t change the… Read more »
Tag: PAMI
Canola School: PAMI publishes guidebook on straight-cutting canola
There is more and more and more demand for information about straight-cutting canola. In response to this demand, the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) continues to conduct research, quantify assumptions, and provide knowledge to farmers. Recently, PAMI put all that work together into a straight-cutting guidebook for canola. In this episode of the Canola School, RealAgriculture’s… Read more »
Canola School: What a combine loss monitor can (and can’t) tell you
Combine loss monitors are useful for understanding whether the amount of grain being thrown out the back of a combine is increasing or decreasing, but they’re not a great tool for quantifying those losses, according to research conducted by PAMI (Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute). The recent project focused on understanding the accuracy of combine loss… Read more »
PAMI takes bin sensors to a whole new level
When bin sensors first came along it was a huge improvement over simply shoving a metal rod through the bin door in some ways. Because sensors are tethered though, you still end up with a linear — rather than a randomly distributed —set of measurements. This means you are not actually measuring a good portion… Read more »
Busting storage myths: Is air drier at night?
There are a lot of competing narratives around grain storage; some may even call them myths. For people who wanted to clear away some of the smoke and mirrors around grain storage, there was a special presentation of “Myth Busters” at the Ag in Motion event this year. It was hosted by Joy Agnew, project… Read more »
Canola School: New tool helps optimize combine settings in the heat of harvest
Fast forward a few weeks. Picture the combine has started rolling in a canola field, and you’re not quite happy with how much seed is being lost through the back of the machine. Should you increase cylinder/rotor speed? Open the upper sieve? Maybe adjust the pre-sieve? Decrease concave clearance? Increase fan speed? Decrease fan speed?… Read more »
Canola School: Can your fans keep up with large bin size?
The average size of a new grain bin in Western Canada has grown dramatically in recent years. 1,650 bushel flat-bottom bins, while still needed in some cases, are turning into relics of the past. “Right now, the average bin going up is around 25,000 bushels,” says Lorne Grieger of the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI),… Read more »
Soybean School: Cutting back harvest losses at the header
Even for seasoned soybean growers, harvest losses happen, and it’s estimated 80 percent of harvest losses occur at the header with soybeans. At $11/bushel, getting a few extra bushels off each acre adds up quickly. Just how losses are affected by combine header design and harvest speed was the subject of a two-year study by… Read more »
Canola School: It’s time to start thinking about harvest loss management
As canola fields start to turn yellow, It may feel like it’s a long time away, but weknow all too well, harvest comes very quickly. And with harvest, comes harvest loss management. After a season full of nurturing crops to get the best possible outcome, we don’t always realize how much of the final product… Read more »
Canola School: Babysitting High-Maintenance Canola in the Bin
As if canola harvest hasn’t been hard enough with all the snow and rain, the work won’t end when this crop enters the bin. It’s going to require some babysitting. “Number one when you’re taking off tough grain like this is it’s not ‘put it away and forget it’. It’s a 24-hour job type of thing…. Read more »
Bourgault and AAFC Resolve Long Dispute Over Fertilizer Placement Research
Seeding equipment manufacturer Bourgault Industries and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada say they have resolved a dispute over fertilizer placement research done over a decade ago. The disagreement revolved around the interpretation of the results of a study conducted by the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute, AAFC and the University of Saskatchewan from 2000 to 2002. The project looked… Read more »
Canola School: Bin Sensors are the Best Way to Monitor Stored Crop, but They’re not Perfect
Millions of dollars are invested in managing a crop before it’s in the bin, and that management doesn’t stop just because it’s in storage. Sensors that monitor temperature and moisture levels inside a bin are important tools for maintaining the value of a stored crop, notes Joy Agnew of the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute at Humboldt, Sask. “These… Read more »
PAMI Gets $735,000 Funding Boost For New Research Equipment
The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) will receive $735,000 under Growing Forward 2 for new equipment to support applied research projects for the agricultural sector, it was recently announced. Every year, PAMI conducts about 100 projects in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to address challenges in the agricultural sector, in areas such as equipment design, agronomy and… Read more »
Canola School: Summer Storage of Canola — Leave it, Turn it or Aerate?
Hot summer days and over-wintered canola — a disaster waiting to happen, or a non-issue? Turns out, as of last fall, there was little if any research to reference on the safety of storing canola well into the hot summer months. Canola growers will be pleased to learn that that’s no longer the case, as… Read more »
Canola Storage Over the Summer — What Should you Do Differently?
It’s a research project that’s never been done before, because, frankly, there really wasn’t much reason to tackle the question. But now farmers want to know — What’s the best way to condition canola for storage over the summer? This summer, the Prairie Agriculture Machinery Institute (PAMI) is running a trial (funded by the three… Read more »