Never mind the increased demand for horsepower from new tractors — smart-farming tech has increased the demand for power within the cab.

Power requirements in the modern tractor cab

Charging ports off an aftermarket inverter draw about 20 watts per device

With modern technology comes modern problems. As more technology is integrated into seeding equipment, more devices require a power source — and in some operations, this may exceed the output of the 12-volt tractor system. The technology in modern seeding equipment has changed from the days of the on/off and up/down switch of early drills. […] Read more

This workbench mockup demonstrates the wig-wag flashing effect. It uses a five-pin relay: the middle lights are connected in one circuit through the 87 pin on the relay, and the outside two are tied into the 87a pin to create the alternating flash.

How to add warning lights

Putting lights on older implements adds to on-road visibility

I can recall an incident driving back to the farm late one fall evening. There was something on the road ahead. I couldn’t quite make it out. On getting closer it was clear I was coming up fast on a tractor and round baler travelling in the same direction. The baler obscured the rear tractor […] Read more


The Garford-RootWave eWeeding system is currently available in up to a six-metre working width in either a rear- or front-mounted configuration.

Electrocuting weeds

U.K. companies set to introduce a chemical-free way to control weeds

As concerns over chemical usage and weed resistance increase, different technologies have been offered as alternatives to weed control. Recently, two U.K.-based companies have teamed up to produce a system that uses electricity to kill weeds. “The principle of electric weeding has been around since the late 1800s,” says Jonathan Henry, managing director at Garford […] Read more

Taking a gamble on a $5 grinder. Can it work again?

How to repair a power tool

Bringing a $5 grinder back to life

On a recent trip to my local Princess Auto to buy an angle grinder, the store just happened to have a temporary scratch and dent stand set up in the parking lot by the front door, clearing out some not-quite-good-as-new merchandise. An angle grinder sitting on a table in that display caught my eye. Just […] Read more


Crop.zone bills its electric desiccation system as “hybrid herbicide technology.”

Pre-spraying boosts effectiveness of electric weed-killing machine

Crop.zone has partnered with John Deere on a new, wider machine for in-crop weed control

Glacier FarmMedia — German company tested its electric desiccation system on Canadian farms this growing season, as it works to bring weed control through electricity to large-scale operations. Crop.zone is unique in that it combines an application of liquid to the plant at the front of the tractor, and an electric shock at the back, […] Read more

(LDC video screengrab via YouTube)

Dreyfus, others shut soy crushers in China on power curbs

'Cash is on fire'

Beijing | Reuters — Soymeal prices in China, the world’s top consumer of the animal feed ingredient, are rising after at least 20 soybean crushing plants shuttered to comply with curbs on industrial power consumption, industry participants said on Friday. Five crushing plants in the northern city of Tianjin closed this week, said Tianfeng Futures […] Read more


Yara is seeking Norwegian government funding toward switching its Porsgrunn ammonia plant’s production process to electricity by 2026. (Yara.com)

Facing green push on farm, fertilizer makers look to sea for growth

Winnipeg/Oslo | Reuters — Two of the world’s biggest fertilizer producers, CF Industries and Yara International, are seeking to cash in on the green energy transition by reconfiguring ammonia plants in the U.S. and Norway to produce clean energy to power ships. The consumption of oil for transportation is one of the top contributors to […] Read more

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King speaks Sept. 9, 2019 during an update on effects from Hurricane Dorian. (PrinceEdwardIsland.ca)

FCC to offer flexibility in hurricane-battered areas

Farm Credit Canada says it plans to help its farmer clients in Atlantic Canada work around financial pressures following Hurricane Dorian’s passage through the region over the weekend. “We won’t know the full extent of damage for some time, but we’ve already heard that some customers will likely be facing some financial hardship as a […] Read more


(Lindsay Irrigation video screengrab via YouTube)

Ontario power utilities offer farm water pump rebate

Ontario farmers buying certain types of high-efficiency water pumping systems for irrigation, horticulture or stock watering could now be up for rebates. Hydro One and Niagara Peninsula Energy (NPEI) on Friday announced the AgriPump rebate program, which the two electricity utilities described as the first plan of its kind in the province. For farmer customers […] Read more

Lee Hart’s brother Mark, in front of the original Hart family dairy farm.

They sure don’t milk cows like they used to

Hart Attacks: The original Hart dairy farm was nothing like the high-tech operations running today

I know I am the crop and livestock expert for Grainews (NOT) — fact is I’m just old, and no expert on anything — but every time I write a story about a dairy farming operation today, I can’t help but recall some childhood memories, growing up on an Eastern Ontario dairy farm. This past […] Read more