October 2010 Archives

One of the things the last two or three decades on the prairie will be remembered for—from an agricultural point of view—is the widespread adoption of no-till farming. Tillage had become a dirty, or at least a dusty, word. Cultivators and most types of tillage equipment that were in high demand up until the 80s and early 90s were being sold for their scrap metal value at auction sales just a few years ago. No one wanted to clutter their yard with anything even remotely associated with turning fields black.

Salford, a manufacturer of tillage and seeding equipment, claims sales of their mouldboard ploughs are on the rise again. Photo: courtesy Salford Farm Machinery.

Are you one of those turning back to tillage, even on a limited scale? Are you seeing advantages? What prompted you to do it? Would you ever consider using a plough again? Grainews will be taking a closer look at tillage practices in an upcoming issue. So, I'd like to hear your answers to those questions.

If you are using tillage in your operation again, let me know why, how you're doing it, and what benefits you're seeing. Send me an email at scott.garvey@fbcpublishing.com. I hope to hear from you.

Scott

One of the great things about being a machinery editor is you occasionally get invited to vist engineering and assembly plants. R&D facilities, where machines are designed and tested, are fascinating. Watching new tractors go through a variety of tests intended to break them is something to see.

The testing bays at R&D facilities belonging to the major manufacturers involve some pretty sophisticated technology, almost all of which is computer controlled. For example at the ride-simulation station, engineers park a tractor with each wheel on one of four hydraulically-controlled platforms. Each one independently bounces the tractor around according to data fed into a program. It can simulate a back-breaking, high-speed run over very rough ground or other experience based on real-world situations. After several hours of this punishment, engineers check axles and chassis components for cracks.

And while you really have to pity the tractor chosen for this test, the automated procedure means some poor engineering technician doesn't have to drive it over a bump track for hours on end to get the same result, which was standard operating procedure a couple of decades ago.

Even though there is still a need for physical testing, engineers now can be pretty certain components will pass before things get to that stage. Once again, using computers allows them to reliably predict a system's durability.

But long before a tractor ends up taking real punishment in a testing bay, engineers turn to the virtual world early on in the development process. They use 3-D computer simulation to fine tune a machine's design.

John Deere's virtual reality booth at their Waterloo, Iowa, facility allows engineers to stand inside a 3-D image and evaluate everything from component design to HVAC air-flow patterns in the cab. Photo: courtesy John Deere.

I've been lucky enough to get a firsthand look and feel of that virtual world a couple of times. At Case IH's Burr Ridge, Illinois, R&D facility, engineers used state-of-the-art virtual modelling to design the new Magnum and Steiger tractors, which were introduced in August. And they gave journalists a chance to experience how it was done during a media event last summer.

When photographed in Case IH's virtual reality room, the image of this Steiger looks a little blurry. But sitting in front of the screen with the correct glasses, it looks so convincing you're tempted to duck to avoid being hit by it as the computer operator rotates the image.

Getting a chance to sit inside a virtual Steiger was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. To do it, I sat in a tractor seat that was positioned in front of a wall-sized screen and put on the 3-D headset along with a special glove fitted with computer sensors. As a technician started the program, I suddenly found myself inside the cab of a virtual tractor, with the ability to reach out and touch the controls. As I turned my head, I could look out all the windows and get a feel for the space and control arrangements inside. It was an entertaining experience, but it is more than a toy to amuse visitors.

According to Case IH staff, this technology is priceless. It's a chance to do things like get a feel for proposed control layouts and vision obstructions before investing time and energy building a component. And as individual engineers work on sperate projects, all of which are intended to come together on one machine, Case IH's program is capable of marrying all the separate computer designs together. The team can then actually see how each part looks on the tractor. That ensures a seamless fit into the overall design, ensuring there are no conflicts with other sub-assemblies. All of this happens before anyone cuts a single piece of steel.

In the past, technicians would have to hand-fabricate parts and physically bolt them together to build a design prototype. Often, parts wouldn't mate properly or they'd need refinement, and the process would have to be repeated until everything fit as it should. That took time and cost a lot of money. Now, not until everything checks out in the animation program do technicians actually build it.

The result is machines make the transition from concept to farm field in record time with minimum development costs. The good news is if manufacturers can turn out a machine more economically, farmers may not have dig as deeply into their pockets to buy it.

Scott

According to Martin Richenhagen, AGCO's chairman, president and CEO, the company hasn't yet reached the level of sales it would like to see for its equipment in North America. Speaking during a recent interview on the U.S. Fox News Network, he said most of the organization's sales occur in the remainder of the world. A full 50 percent of overall sales happen in Europe. “We are small in North America,” he said. “That has to be changed.”

But, he adds, the company has geared up to tackle that problem and things are progressing. When asked what, specifically, AGCO has done to grow its North American market share, Richenhagen cited developing new and better products, better distribution and installing a better management team. “Last year for the first time we made money in North America,” he said. So things are heading in the right direction for the company.

But perhaps the most remarkable comment made by Richenhagen during the interview was his belief farmers may be in for one of the best centuries ever. He thinks farm commodity prices are going to trend much stronger and remain that way for 100 years!

“My personal vision is demand will be much stronger than supply for the next century. When you think about the history of mankind, we had higher demand than supply for thousands of years. Only around the 1900s, when we started to mechanize, that changed. I think we are going back to where we have been in the past.”

Part of the reason is the world's rapidly rising population. But the growing population angle alone likely won't get farmers betting on higher prices. They've heard it before. The world's population has been rising for a long time, and hunger has been on the radar for decades. Unfortunately, it seems politics rather than food shortages has been the cause of most hunger. Even with large numbers of starving people, the world's farmers have had to cope with periods of low demand for their produce.

But Richenhagen sees things playing out differently this time. That is partly because there are some other key factors also in play, such as changing consumption trends in developing economies. As people emerge out of poverty in many countries, like India, they tend to develop a preference for including high-protein meats in their diets. Not surprisingly they don't usually go back to eating only rice when they have the cash to afford better. And people in that segment are now a rapidly growing demographic.

Producing meat takes a lot of grain, which means as demand for meat grows, so does the demand for grains. Add alternative grain-based energy production, such as ethanol, into the mix and that pencils out to a high probability of good prices. “All this to me means there will be strong demand for farm products,” said Richenhagen.

He isn't alone in that belief. Quoted in an article printed in the August/September issue of Country Guide magazine, Al Mussell, a senior research associate at the George Morris Centre also expressed the view that grains are poised for strong prices in the near future, although he didn't speculate on the market as far into the future as Richenhagen.

It seems the timing is perfect for AGCO to make a stronger effort to capture more of the North American farm equipment market. Put better products in front of a population of farmers with more money in their wallets, and sales figures are bound to trend upward. At least that is clearly Mr. Richenhagen's hope.

Scott

It's farm auction sale season again. Aside from being places where producers can do some serious buying and selling, these sales are also social events. Local farmers get together at them to talk to neighbours and see if they can pick up a bargain in the process. But in the last few years, the number of sales has been steadily declining. There just aren't as many farmers anymore, hence fewer auctions.

As farms grow in size and sophistication, many of the sales that do take place involve a lot of late model, high capacity equipment. And buying any of it usually involves a pretty significant investment. It's interesting to watch the high-value stuff sell in order to keep tabs on the demand for machinery, but sales that are a little out of the ordinary are the ones that really catch my attention. Especially those that provide an opportunity to look at some unusual equipment. And, of course, any sale that offers the chance to pick up a special machine or vehicle in need of restoration at a bargain (read affordable) price holds a special appeal.

A few weeks ago I casually looked at a sale bill hanging in a local gas station and it stopped me in my tracks. This sale, which was going to be held barely 20 kilometres away from home, included one of the rarest and most sought-after 60s-era tractors there is, a John Deere 8020. It seemed inconceivable. It's the equivalent of finding a Picasso among a collection of department store wall art at a garage sale.

Only a comparative few Wagner-built 8020 John Deere tractors were ever produced, making them rare and sought-after machines.

But the cat was out of the bag with this treasure. Even if the elderly farmer who owned it didn't realize what he had, the auction company certainly did. And they did a pretty good job of getting the word out. On sale day the auctioneer surveyed the crowd, asking people where they were from. And collectors interested in the 8020, were there from as far away as Nebraska and Alberta.

Amazingly, this tractor and a couple of rare Cockshutt 1950 front-wheel assist tractors had still been putting in regular duty in the field, unlike the vast majority of other similar models that now do nothing more strenuous than march in parades and spend the rest of their time parked in high-value collections.

But on sale day, this 8020 was no museum piece. Although mechanically it was ready for the field, it was showing its age. The paint was faded and the tin a little rusty, but it was far from a beat-up hulk. And while I knew this thing was going to sell for an amount well out of my price range, I had to show up on sale day just to get a chance to say I've actually seen one in person. Of course I had my camera with me.

And I clearly wasn't the only one there for the show. As I stood with camera in hand, at least half a dozen others elbowed up beside me to snap their own pictures.

Being the showpiece at this event, the 8020 was the last major machine to sell. The steadily-building crowd was transfixed as bidding began. Things started off slowly as the collectors coyly watched each other waiting to see who would make the first move. The asking bid dropped to $10,000 before one of them flinched and the rest waded into the fray. The price raced upward to $70,000 in mere seconds as local farmers looked at each other in astonishment. By the time the hammer fell, that number had grown to $90,000.

From the back of the crowd, a friend and I sipped our coffees, looked at each other, and the only thing either of us could think to say was, “Wow”. This is one event that is bound to become a “remember the day” topic of conversation in years to come. Where else can you find that kind of drama and entertainment with free admission? That's why I like farm sales!

Scott