You Know the Drill: Saskatchewan Seeding Equipment
By Karly Rumpel, Public Trust Specialist, Tisdale
As the weather gets warmer and summer storms come in with a bang, as you look across the Saskatchewan landscape right now you will see countless rows of crops in near perfect lines.
Over the last 20 years, technology has rapidly advanced, and the agriculture industry is no exception. Advances in seeding equipment has contributed and will continue to contribute to the Saskatchewan sustainability story. Those perfect rows of crops are no longer the result of fixing your eyes on a fence post up ahead; rather, GPS and autosteer systems set an AB line, take the wheel and ensure mere centimetres of precision. Farmers are also able to reduce input costs and increase efficiency and sustainability through variable rate and sectional control technologies. These methods allow for placing fertilizer and seed at the right rate in the right place.
These seeding technologies are recent and widely adopted innovations in Canada and across the world, but something that is a bit more Saskatchewan-specific is the air drill. The air drill, otherwise known as the air seeder, was first invented in Australia in 1956 and landed on the Canadian commercial market in the 1980s by St. Brieux-based manufacturer, Bourgault. The efficiency of the drill in large scale fields, like we have in the province, propelled the air drill’s rise in popularity. In comparison to its planter counterpart, the air drill can move through untilled soil and does not require farmers to reduce crop residue from the previous season. This technological ability drove Saskatchewan to the 95 per cent no-till acres that we see today.
The air drill utilizes fans to pressure up or act as a vacuum on the seeding implement and air moves seed and fertilizer down the tubes and into the ground. This contrasts with the traditional gravity-fed planter system that places each individual seed into the furrow and cannot work as many acres as the tank would be too heavy on top of the seeding implement. Join Jake Leguee as he walks us through how his air seeding system works!
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