How to increase air cart capacity on a budget

Pairing two smaller carts together gave this Alberta farmer a significant increase in seeding efficiency without a major investment in new equipment

In the winter of 2010-11 I spent some time thinking about how to improve seeding efficiency. We had been direct seeding and top dressing after with our own floater truck. But I wanted to change to a one-pass system to cut down on man hours, machinery and maintenance. To do that I needed an air […] Read more

Not all safety glasses are the same

There are different varieties of shop safety glasses available. Use eye protection that matches the optical quality and level of protection you need for each job

I can remember stumbling into the local medical clinic unable to see out of one eye because I had relied on my regular eye glasses to protect me from flying debris when using a powered mitre saw. Fortunately, some anaesthetic eye drops to kill the pain and a few days rest put me back in […] Read more


Houston Seed Saver minimizes header losses

When Bill Houston set up the exhibit for his invention, the Houston Seed Saver, at Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon, he chose to display a couple of telling photos. One picture showed the top of a combine feeder house covered with chaff. The caption claimed the accumulation reached that level after only six hours of […] Read more

Speed King’s Seed Box Tote designed for planter filling

As many Western farmers consider adding a planter to their equipment fleet, Regina-based Tri Star Farm Services, a short-line retailer, has seen a need to introduce a seed tender to the market that is designed specifically for filling planters and small air seeder carts. Speed King’s Seed Box Tote mounted on a tandem-axle trailer can […] Read more


Monosem planters move into the Western Canadian market

Kansas City-based Monosem thinks its NG Plus custom planters 
can offer canola growers a seeding advantage

The main advantages to using a planter to plant canola would be improved depth control and consistency (even seed spacing),” says Brian Sieker, territory sales manager for Monosem, a planter manufacturer. “With consistent depth you get even emergence. And your plants aren’t competing with each other.” By being able to provide consistent seed depth, singulation […] Read more

How to replace a brake line

We crawl under an old grain truck to correct a bad repair 
and properly install a new flexible brake line

This shop class instalment is proof there is some truth in the old expression, “If you want something done right, you’ll have to do it yourself.” That old adage is the reason we’re crawling under this 1960 Chevy grain truck to repair a previous repair. The truck suffered from brake problems last season, so it […] Read more


Case IH introduces new LB4 Series balers

The LB4 square balers introduced last fall in Racine, Wisconsin, boast a completely new design and better performance than their predecessors

The sleek, streamlined exterior styling of Case IH’s LB4 Series large square balers creates the impression of speed, but according to Brett DeVries, product marketing manager for Case IH hay and forage, that suggestion of speed is no illusion. Engineering improvements built into the LB4s are designed to make them work faster — and better. […] Read more

Farm At Hand app a digital management tool

If you’d like to manage your entire farming operation from a smartphone, this free web-based data storage and app allows you to do just that

If you’re tired of keeping — and probably frequently losing — separate notepads detailing different farming activities, two entrepreneurs from Saskatoon believe they’ve come up with the perfect solution. Their Farm At Hand website and mobile app allows anyone to keep key farm management information as close as their smartphone. Instant access to the data […] Read more


Sorting through vertical tillage, part five

Todd Botterill finishes the vertical tillage discussion with a look at 
rotary implements and whether compact disks make good fit


This is the final instalment of a five-part series on vertical tillage. Rotary machines This group includes several different kinds of machines and can be the most interesting to look at. It’s group that is near to my heart as it includes rotary harrows, which was the product that introduced me to vertical tillage many […] Read more

Salford introduces the 525 double-disc drill

When we were contemplating the North American market, we were studying single disc versus double disc (drills),” explains Jim Boak, national sales manager for Salford. “We looked around the world, and everywhere you look where there are high-value crops you found double-disc openers being used. So our reasoning was if that’s the right opener for high-value crops, […] Read more