When everything’s rolling along smoothly during the heat of harvest, it’s tough to tempt fate. But precision-farming equipment isn’t set-it-and-forget-it technology. So, even if your preharvest preparation was thorough, it’s likely time for a checkup.
No matter where or what you farm, harvest concerns and challenges revolve around similar themes: weather, prices, yields and, of course, more weather. The far West and Pacific Northwest are no different.
Wet fields hindering harvest across large swaths of the Northern Plains have many farmers searching for a way to dry their fields. Although there’s no quick fix, one potential solution is to improve moisture management throughout the growing season by helping it move deeper in the soil profile.
Crop residue brings a long list of benefits to your fields. Crop residue also can bring numerous challenges to your fields. The steps you take this fall can help you maximize the value of this year’s residue while helping ensure a fast, uniform start for next year’s crop.
Ballasting means more than simply adding weight to your tractor. When you get it right, tractor ballasting can help you do more, spend less and reduce soil compaction. Before you launch your fall tillage program, make sure your tractors are properly ballasted. It can be a real moneymaker.
As the fall farm show season winds down, this is the perfect time to reflect on the latest innovations and new products on display. CropLife IRON magazine’s Product of the Year finalists is a great place to start. It’s also where you’ll find the 25th Anniversary Patriot® 3340 and Patriot 4440 sprayers.
From the header on your combine to the service trailer behind your pickup and from the overhead wires across the end of your driveway to the soles on your work boots, nearly every aspect of harvest contributes to your safety. Make sure you give each detail the attention it deserves.
Whether you’re considering bringing advantages of strip-till to your operation for the first time or upgrading your current equipment so strip-till can do even more for your farm, the new Case IH Nutri-Tiller 955 strip-till applicator makes your decision easy. And this fall is a perfect time to make it.
It’s important to glean more than grain during harvest. You’re likely already gathering precision farming data. When you supplement that information with notes and observations from the combine cab and at ground level, the additional knowledge can help you make productive adjustments heading into 2017.
You can gain a lot of insight from the combine seat. It’s a good primer — and good balance — for what you learn from your office chair as you analyze the data. But first, you need to ensure you’re collecting accurate data.