Power At Work

Try to protect yourself and others from personal injury on the farm. The life you save just might be your own or that of someone you love

by RALPH WINFIELD

Many of us, as farm children, were exposed to numerous safety risks in the barn and around machinery. Fortunately, most of us survived with only a few cuts and bruises. I still have all 10 fingers, but both hands show scars from close calls.

With farm equipment getting bigger and limited road shoulders more common, the danger of accidents and rollovers on country roads is increasing. Municipal road designers take heed!

by RALPH WINFIELD

Last month, I talked about how farm units are becoming larger to keep the unit cost of production down. By the same token, as farm units get bigger, so does the size of farm equipment that must be moved on the public roadways to travel between farms.

Whether by chance or by choice, farm sizes have quadrupled over the past 40 years. But today we are seeing an increase in small, specialized farms. Can this trend continue?

by RALPH WINFIELD

Many of we older farmers approaching retirement age have seen tremendous changes in farm and machinery sizes. By older, I am referring to that magical age called three score and 10!

Good logic and good luck are often needed when owners and service personnel face those inevitable service or operational problems, but good schematics can be a great asset

by RALPH WINFIELD

In my youth, I was always interested in how things mechanical and electrical worked. As a farm boy, I jumped at the opportunity to work in a local general repair garage, working primarily on tractors under the supervision of a truly old-school mechanic. He could fix anything that came his way – even magnetos.

Case IH, AGCO and Canada’s Versatile are all coming out with new offerings, including a fresh cab design, and everyone is paying attention to seating

by MIKE MULHERN

The evolution of the combine continues with a Russian-Canadian model being sold in the North American market and others emerging with big and small innovations to tempt the farm buyer.
Canada’s Versatile is getting into the combine business with a Russian-made entry that sports lots of global content, starting with its North American-built Cummins engine.

They can make or break a farm equipment dealership and make the difference between whether or not you can get your farm machinery back up and running

by RALPH WINFIELD

From a very young age, I have encountered and learned to deal with parts counter personnel at equipment dealers. They are and should be the real heroes of any company, providing after-sales customer service.

Flow rate controllers are essential for safety. Look after them and they will serve you well

by RALPH WINFIELD

Hydraulic systems for power steering, lifting and many other functions have made life much simpler for most of us working with and around farm and construction machinery. Generally the systems are very reliable – if we take the necessary precautions to keep the fluid clean and cool.

But cutting up to 54 feet in one pass requires a well-equipped, high-horsepower tractor and it doesn’t come cheap

by MIKE MULHERN

Whether you’re cutting dry hay for baling or wet hay for silage or haylage, there are machines out there that will cut up to 65 acres an hour.

One of the biggest on the market for dry hay is the creation of a Canadian company, PhiBer Manufacturing Inc., of Crystal City, Man. PhiBer builds a tool bar that will manage three New Holland or MacDon mowers for a 54-foot cut.

Several options are available for keeping your costs down – from machine or work sharing to buying used equipment. But what works for one will not necessarily work for others

by RALPH WINFIELD

As each one of us started or considered starting a farm operation, two major cost items immediately came to the fore. One was the cost of land and the second was the cost of machinery.

The improvements we have seen in home and workplace equipment demand an additional care level. We now need to look at ‘battery backup’ in addition to surge protection

by RALPH WINFIELD

About four years ago, I wrote an article telling you why it was essential that you have surge protection for your computer and other sophisticated electronic equipment. Several of us had taken a surge hit as a result of a lightning strike.