What Can You Control In The Season Ahead?

In this farm economy, producers can feel like they have very little control.  And in some cases, such as trade deals, international conflicts and of course weather, that may be true.  But as Tony Wisker, Vice President of Sales at Great Plains Ag pointed out, there’s still a lot on the farm growers can control day in and day out.

He said one issue of importance is soil health, specifically soil compaction.  He noted their Max-Chisel, which is popular with Northwest potato growers, works the whole soil profile.  But Wisker added they also have products that can help wheat and other growers.

"The subsoiler is kind of the basic reset tool that no matter what kind of system you're in, if you're a tried and true no-tiller, you are going to put some compaction layers in over time, whether it's a wet fall or a wet spring, or there's going to be things that add a compaction layer," Wisker said.  "And periodically, hitting it with a subsoiler really resets things and brings that soil back to life.”

Wisker added at Great Plains Ag, they’re always trying to stay on the cutting edge of technology to help growers stay more productive while using fewer inputs.  And he said they’re looking forward to many great roll outs over the next year.

“You're very familiar with our BD7600 grain drill already," Wisker said.  "We've taken that technology, that metering system, and changed the profile a little bit and have a drill now that will go down the row at under 10 feet wide, but then open up to plant 20 feet, in a single pass.  It can be in a no-till configuration, it can be in a minimum till configuration, even five-inch spacing, something new for us in that drill. So, a 20-foot drill, five-inch spacing, transports at nine change.”

Click Here to learn more about the tools available through Great Plains Ag to help address compaction or sustainability in general.  And if you’re looking at checking out products from Grain Plains in person, Wisker noted Central Machinery in Pasco, WA is one of their most successful outlets in the country.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com