New Equipment For Vegetable Growers At The World Ag Expo
April 10, 2012 
There was plenty of name-dropping at this year’s World Ag Expo, the nation’s largest farm show, held annually in Tulare, CA. Former President George W. Bush was the keynote speaker at the Ag Warriors Gala, an event designed to raise money for a program designed to get returning veterans involved in a career in agriculture.
Another GOPer, this one hoping to become president himself, Newt Gingrich, made a lengthy tour of the show. Like many first-time visitors, Gingrich repeated over and over: “I can’t believe how big World Ag Expo is.” Gingrich stopped several times on his tour to answer questions from the crowd. As far as agricultural topics, he pleased the crowd by saying he does not support federal involvement in California’s water issues.
But the highlight for many fruit and vegetable growers may have been eyeballing the equipment displayed in the 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, especially the new products unveiled at the three-day show. Here’s a look at some of the new products, most of which either received an award for placing in the Top 10 new products, or received an honorable mention.
iCropTrak
One Top 10 new product at this year’s World Ag Expo was the iCropTrak, an iPad app that provides growers with a platform to keep and manage all their data in one place. Geographic information, labor record keeping, spray management, environmental stewardship, and food safety audit data, among many other capabilities, can all be channeled through iCropTrak, says Rob Wood. The president of the manufacturer, ScanControl Inc., Wood says just because the product is sophisticated, doesn’t mean it’s difficult or time-consuming to use.
“Because the app runs on the iPad, growers do not need to have Internet access to use it and they can get the answers they need without having to head back to the office and fire up a PC,” he says. “With the iPad, the instant-on capability means that there is no waiting around before being able to drill into the data to get the answers that are needed to support informed decision-making.”
The software solution includes a management console that gives administrative users the ability to add new forms to the app as needed, completely dynamically — no programming required, says Wood. The iCropTrak is most often deployed in a multi-user environment. The capabilities of the app can be tuned for each individual log-in so that only the forms and geographic data that the user needs to see are displayed on the screen.
For more information, contact ScanControl Inc.,
Pleasanton, CA; www.icroptrak.com.
Valley Tire Pressure Monitor
Growers who utilize center pivot irrigation systems will appreciate this new tire pressure monitor from Valmont Irrigation, which also won a Top 10 new product this year. Growers can now keep an eye on any pending tire problems with their center pivot, which as any grower can attest can lead to expensive repairs and potentially even more expensive downtime, says John Rasmus, Valmont’s controls product manager.
“Until now there has been no method of monitoring tire pressure on mechanical irrigation equipment, and most flat tires on irrigation equipment aren’t noticed until the center pivot stops,” he says. “With the new Valley Tire pressure monitoring system, the grower is alerted not only when a tire is reaching a low pressure condition, the unit gives the exact location of the tire losing pressure.”
Knowing this information in advance of tire failure allows the grower to stop the pivot in a more convenient location, such as the pivot road, to make the repair, rather than having to fix a flat in the middle of the field. Rasmus notes that making a tire repair before further damage occurs reduces repair costs and minimizes down time during the peak irrigation season when watering crops is critical to maximizing yields.
For more information, contact Valmont Irrigation, Valley, NE; www.valleyirrigation.com.
Joker
The Joker compact disc, which was one of 10 products getting an honorable mention, doesn’t look like other tillage systems. Other minimum tillage systems utilize a traditional disc and run about 6 mph in the field, says the sales manager for Joker manufacturer Horsch Anderson, Jeremy Hughes. The Joker, which has 20-inch offset notched discs, runs at anywhere from 8 to 12 mph, he says. The unit is also versatile in application.
“We brought it out to California (from South Dakota) early and tried it on most major crops — tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, carrots, and broccoli,” he says. “It just does a better job at a faster speed.”
The Joker produced a level, finished seedbed to help prevent erosion and loss of nutrient-rich residue without compacting the soil. Its narrow frame and precise depth control tills accurately to depths from about three-quarters of an inch to 5 inches, while pulverizing and consolidating residue to conserve moisture. Hughes says the Joker’s rubber suspension and torsion arms absorb impact, and the latter also allow for maximum trash flow-through.
For more information, contact Horsch Anderson, LLC, Andover, SD; www.horschanderson.com.
Electric Planter Drive
Another product garnering an honorable mention was the Graham Equipment Electric Planter Drive, which eliminates all the drive systems on a planter. There are no chains, bearings, or sprockets, says the system’s inventor, Toby Graham, as an electric motor bolts onto the planter for direct drive.
“We eliminate a lot of maintenance, first of all, and second, compared to hydraulics, we’re much more accurate on seed population,” he says. “Also, it’s great for variable rate because it can more quickly respond to rate changes as well.”
The easy-installation kit is adaptable to any make and year of single- or twin-row planter and interfaces with any major GPS guidance system, says Graham. One Electric Planter Drive kit includes a control board, a weatherproof harness and housing, and four electric motors — each rated for 5,000 hours of operation. It is extremely accurate, much more accurate than a hydraulic drive, with a planting error of less than 1%.
For more information, contact Graham Equipment, Sterling, CO;
www.grahamelectricplanter.com.
TS6.120 High-Clearance Tractor
With a maximum crop clearance of 30 inches at the drawbar, the new TS6.120 High-Clearance tractor from New Holland is designed to put big power into rows of tall vegetable crops without worry of plant damage. Ray Duke, New Holland’s western region territory sales manager, says the front axle adjusts from 72 inches to 84 inches to accommodate a variety of crops and farming practices.
“It’s targeted for the vegetable market, especially high crops,” he says. “And this is new for 2012: It has a hydraulic shuttle shift/power shift transmission.”
The TS6.120 features a spacious flat-deck operator station, and is available with a choice of an open-air platform or a factory-installed, all-weather cab with heating and air conditioning. The tractor’s 274-cubic-inch, four-cylinder diesel engine delivers 96 PTO horsepower, Duke says, and is turbocharged and intercooled to provide maximum performance and fuel efficiency.
For more information, contact New Holland Agriculture, New Holland, PA; www.newholland.com/na.