Equipment

The large grain augers of today can move a lot of grain in a short amount of time, meaning conditions in a grain bin can change fast and become a life or death situation in a matter of seconds. According to Purdue University, there were 35 reported grain-related entrapments in 2020, and 20 of them were fatal. Matt Miles had the opportunity to attend a grain bin safety training seminar this year and talk with rescue workers and area farmers about their first hand accounts of grain bin accidents.

Planters have come a long way since the old days but there’s more to making your planter profitable than just paying for new paint. Dan Luepkes explains the Precision Planting system on his retrofitted planter. We start in the machinery shed overviewing the components of the equipment then move to the field. Throughout this hands-on “field trip,” Dan tells us the why and how of maximizing your seeding effort through precision planting. If you want bigger yields, watch this!

Dan is joined by Kyle Ostenson from Valley Irrigation to break down the new crop monitoring system that Dan just installed on his new pivot. Valley Insights uses aerial imagery and cameras mounted on the pivot towers to scout for crop health concerns related to water application or other issues in the field.

Chad is taking advantage of the short window between wheat harvest and his double-crop soybean planting to take care of some drainage issues on one of his fields. Tile is not something that is common in the south, in fact it's very rare. Chad and Darla Huff from Advanced Drainage Systems show you the installation process of what might be the beginning of a new trend in the south.

The marketplace is in constant motion. Weather events, foreign trade and production occurrences, crop reports, and other factors create opportunities for gains (and losses!). Seasoned farm operators understand the need to exploit higher returns when the marketplace allows an opportunity to do so. Matt Miles discusses his grain facility expansion and dryer addition. The upgrade creates grain handling efficiencies and this year it’s making him an extra dollar or so per bushel by selling into an inverted market.

Dan went early with his first fungicide pass in early July, so now he is out doing a second application with some added fertility from Nachurs in mid August. Building kernel weight and depth is his focus now for the rest of the season.

Kelly Garrett talks with Van Wall Equipments' Ryan Morgan about round baler maintenance, operation, lessons learned (some the hard way), history and pro-tips they have learned to keep the baler running at peak performance all season.

Kevin walks through his planting operation equipment and talks about what he learned, what he likes and what needs improvement. It's all about efficiency from front to back.

Kelly talks about ground versus air applications and the foliar feeding products he is incorporating into his latest Veltyma fungicide application, including products from Nachurs, and AgXplore.