wayne clews

High-tech solutions bring bin management into focus

It's as simple as cooling the grain -- and as complex as managing Mother Nature

Managing stored grain isn’t complex but farmers do need a clear picture of what’s happening in the bin. Wayne Clews, of Clews Storage Management, says many farmers just guess and run fans as a safeguard measure — but that can work counter to their own best interests. Rather than incrementally reducing the temperature of grain

Shown here are solar panels from Europe that allow for a tractor to mow in between rows.  This type of panel can also be used as fencing for livestock, according to the manufacturer, Next2Sun GmbH.

What are agrivoltaics — and can they generate money?

Ten sites are being tested next year in Ontario; proponents say better policies could help solar

Canada’s pastures and cropland are prime sites for the mass deployment of solar energy infrastructure, according to advocates of agrivoltaics – a term used to describe the simultaneous use of land for solar energy and food production. The use of solar panels on buildings, in pastures and in other areas of working farms is not new. Solar farms


Racing an analogy for battery-powered tractors

Racing an analogy for battery-powered tractors

Producing renewable electricity from farm biomass would be the ultimate closed loop

For an analogy on the advancement of battery-powered machinery, Dennis St. George turns to car racing. Formula E is an all-electric car racing league formally known as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Its first season began in 2014. Better battery technology will eventually find its way into farm equipment. Its cars bear great resemblance to

Two Manitoba farmers say Leons didn’t deliver equipment they bought — and paid for — in a timely fashion.

Buyer Beware: Protect yourself when buying farm equipment

Two farmers are cautioning others after their ag show purchases left them in the lurch

Two Manitoba farmers are warning others after they say an equipment maker took their money and didn’t deliver their purchases — in some cases, for years. “You think you’re getting a deal, and then this happens,” said Patricia Dooley. Patricia and husband Thomas Dooley, who produce beef and grain near Dauphin, ordered the 16-foot scraper


Norbert Beaujot, founder of SeedHawk and inventor of many seeding equipment innovations, 
observes the Seedmaster DOT at Ag in Motion 2018.

Farmers warming to autonomous farm equipment

Norbert Beaujot says more producers are overcoming their skepticism about driverless farm equipment such as DOT

While men in tractors pulled seeding and tillage implements over the ground at the July 17-19 Ag in Motion show, the DOT autonomous seeder laboured quietly on its own. DOT debuted last year at Ag in Motion, but farmer interest in seeing it operate was still strong this year, judging by the number of observers.

Is it time to revisit ISO?

Different equipment brands work together better in Europe than in North America, according to one presenter at Southport’s second precision agriculture workshop Dec. 12. Jeff Ziegler of precision ag firm Trimble says North America is years behind Europe in adopting ISO international standards on equipment compatibility. Those standards (commonly referred to as ISOBUS) were rolled


Agritruth’s Adam Gurr (l to r) and Stephen Vajdik hope to generate robust, field-scale data on everything from nutrient management to varieties and product testing.

Little farm on the big database

Plenty of farmers would like to get their heads into the cloud. So what’s keeping them grounded?

When it comes to big data on the farm, the final destination is sunny, but the road ahead is full of bumps. That’s according to NDSU’s David Saxowsky, a professor of agriculture who’s written on the topic of data and its coming impact on agriculture. Saxowsky imagines a time when farmers are so well informed

VIDEO: Hi-tech cultivator cuts weeds down to size

VIDEO: Hi-tech cultivator cuts weeds down to size

Inter-row cultivator uses a camera and computer to get rid of weeds

Mechanical weed control was one of the features at Crop Diagnostic School last month in Carman. Here, Katherine Stanley of the University of Manitoba explains some of the technology the Garford cultivator uses that allow it to remove weeds from your crop without damaging it in the process. Video editing by Greg Berg.


SeedMaster’s Norbert Beaujot sees DOT technology as one solution to a shortage of skilled operators.

Not just a driverless tractor, but no tractor at all

A global launch at Ag in Motion could change the way you farm

While farmers have been waiting impatiently for equipment designers to commercialize the driverless tractor, Prairie inventor and entrepreneur Norbert Beaujot has found a way to ditch the tractor altogether. And he’s rolling it out for the first time in July 18 to 20 at Ag in Motion (AIM), Western Canada’s outdoor farm show now in