Vincent Pawluski is one of those farmers who sees a situation in day-to-day farm work and figures there must be a better way to get the job done.
A little more than a year after a light-bulb moment in the cab of his combine on his Peace River region farm, Pawluski and family are now on the market — and winning innovation awards — with a remote-controlled device that allows farmers to be outside the tractor cab and operate the tractor power takeoff (PTO) for stationary tasks.
The equipment is called the RcFarmArm. It takes about five to 10 minutes to install in a growing list of tractor makes and models. And once in place, the farmer can use the wireless remote control to start the tractor engine, engage and disengage the tractor PTO system, hydraulic functions and control the tractor throttle to deliver power as needed — all from outside the tractor cab. The unit can easily be removed when the tractor is used for chore or field operations.
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For operations such as filling and extracting grain bags, there is a steering module feature that can be added, so the remote can also be used to steer the tractor to keep it in line with the operation. Accessories can also be added to the remote control to operate equipment such as lights, swing augers and auger directional spouts.
Two places at the same time
Pawluski, who crops about 5,500 acres of grains and oilseeds near Grande Prairie, Alta., says he didn’t set out with an idea to start manufacturing remote-controlled devices. He first developed and installed hard-wired units that could be operated by remote control for his own farm tractors to save himself the many steps of getting in and out of the tractor when using the auger or grain bagger.
“I was looking for a way to solve one of the most common problems farmers have — that’s being in two places at the same time,” says Pawluski. After posting information on Twitter about how he developed a remote-controlled system for the PTO for his own use, followers suggested he build a labour-saving device for others.
“During the fall of 2020, I got the idea for a design that could be built while I was combining grain,” he says. He later sat down and drew up a design, began working on a prototype and he also obtained a patent. By May 2021, he had developed a website and was taking pre-orders for the unit.
By August 2021, Pawluski was selling and delivering a few units. And in November 2021, with a booth at the Agri-Trade Equipment Expo in Red Deer, Alta., the RcFarmArm won two Ag Innovation Awards, taking the $20,000 grand prize at the competition as well as the $5,000 Farmer’s Choice Award for a great idea.
How it works
What is the RcFarmArm? It is a moulded plastic device — actually built by a 3-D printer — that overlays the controls mechanism in the tractor armrest. There are two modules — one sits inside the tractor’s armrest and overlays the PTO, engine and hydraulic controls, while the second module sits over the tractor key and steering column. The device is plugged into the tractor’s auxiliary power port. The hand-held, wireless, remote control operates the mechanism in the arm, similar to the way a human hand would operate the tractor controls.
You get the tractor in position with the grain auger, for example, and connect the PTO shaft to the tractor. The tractor is turned off. As you’re standing outside the tractor, you can use the remote control to start the tractor engine and then engage or disengage the PTO, control the hydraulics and operate the engine throttle as needed.
“It is a time- and labour-saving device,” says Pawluski. “You can be out there on the ground and able to see what is happening without having to be climbing back and forth in and out of the tractor to start and stop the PTO and adjust the throttle.
“And there is also a very real safety element as well. After a long day, you’re not having to make multiple trips in and out of the tractor, especially if weather conditions are wet or snowy. And if you’re loading grain, for example, you can stand back out of the grain dust. You may not really appreciate how much of a labour-saving device it is until you have one.”
The remote control has built-in safety features as well. The PTO engage and engine start have a safety interlock, meaning it requires two buttons to be depressed together to perform their functions. There is a safety stop on all functions and the tractor can be shut down in seconds with the E-stop button on the remote control.
While the device operates through an auxiliary power outlet in the tractor cab, the RcFarmArm has an internal battery to allow the shutdown of all controls in case of a 12-volt power interruption.
In the first year of RcFarmArm development, Pawluski has developed 11 different models of the arm to work with several models of John Deere tractors as well as for Case IH, New Holland and Claas. They are all listed on the company website and more are being developed.
Pawluski has created a voting system on the product’s website asking farmers to indicate what model of tractor they have and as he sees demand for a particular model, he can adjust the design of the RcFarmArm for that model.
Many of the components for the RcFarmArm are built with a 3-D printer and all units are assembled on the Pawluski farm. He has one part-time employee working with him on design aspects, and family members including his wife, Christina, daughters Payton and Cira, and his mother-in-law, Mona Rowland, are all actively involved in the RcFarmArm enterprise as well as with the farming side of the business too.
Pawluski says he sold about 30 units during the first year of the company’s operation and he’s hoping to see sales double in coming years. Most models of the RcFarmArm device retail for $6,450.
Pawluski has developed an excellent website with descriptions, photos and instructional videos on how the RcFarmArm was developed and works. For more information visit the company website at rcfarmarm.com.
