As harvest comes to an end, many producers are getting ready to put away the combine for the year. Taking small steps and making sure the combine is clean, well-maintained and adjusted can provide big benefits for next fall. Our guest blogger is Kevin Breneman, who leads our combine technical services group. Kevin has been with Case IH for 13 years. He and his team of 10 provide crop production, harvesting and precision farming support to dealers across the U.S. and Canada. He grew up north of Madison, Wis. and has always been drawn to equipment and agricultural engineering.
Is your combine ready for winter storage? Here is a checklist to ensure your combine is ready to go next fall.
As harvest comes to a close, we’re reminded once again of nature’s power. The drought in Texas that devastated crops and livestock. The excessive spring moisture that prevented 30 percent of Manitoba from even being seeded.
Yet something else also stands out in the 2011 harvest reports from throughout North America. And that is, thanks to continuous innovations in big iron, farmers are increasingly able to work around Mother Nature. Obviously we’ll never defeat her completely, but we’re definitely winning more battles.
Harvest season is over in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, says Ryan Braun, the Case IH combine product specialist who covers the area. Braun – no relation to the Milwaukee Brewers slugger/MVP candidate of the same name – has served as a combine specialist for about a year and a half. Before joining Case IH, he spent three years working on a Syngenta research farm, and another six years at MacDon industries in Winnipeg. Braun grew up on a small grains farm just outside of Winnipeg, which his family still operates. He says he’s a big fan of farm equipment in general, but that he’s always been fascinated with combines “because of the incredible job they do.”
Canola and wheat are all done – even the stragglers are off. There are a couple inches of snow on the ground now. Some guys had a wet spring so they seeded late. But even those guys are done, and harvest went well.
This week’s guest blogger, Kevin Knapp, says harvest progress and yields are all over in his territory, depending on where on the map you’re located. Knapp is the Case IH combine product specialist serving northern Illinois, northern Indiana, northwest Ohio, nearly all of Wisconsin and Michigan. Prior to becoming the area’s combine specialist, Knapp spent six years as a combine test engineer for Case IH, travelling the world to test Case IH Axial-Flow combine technology in just about every imaginable crop and condition. Knapp grew up on a farm in Henry, Ill., and has been intrigued by combines for as long as he can remember. (“My mom could tell you stories,” he says.)
Depending on where you are in the country, harvest is most likely well under way, or for a lucky few of you, complete. With this post, we’re beginning a new series featuring Harvest Reports from Case IH Combine Product Specialists based throughout North America. Case IH product specialists are located in the field close to the customers and dealers they support. They bring a unique level of local specialized product expertise to the dealers and customers they support. Our guest blogger for this week is Ryan G. Miller, the Case IH Combine Product Specialist, supporting customers and dealers in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Ryan, who originally is from western Kansas, brings previous industry experience and knowledge with him in his second full harvest season with Case IH.
We visited some customers in the field to ask them why they like using Case IH Axial-Flow combines during harvest. Check out this video that captures their comments about cab comfort, grain quality, and overall efficiency.
In the mean time, learn more about Axial-Flow combines by visiting your local Case IH dealer or checking us out online at: http://www.caseih.com/en_us/Products/Harvesting/Pages/caseih-combines.aspx. To see more Case IH videos, visit our YouTube channel.
It’s the next best thing to being there – a video walk-around of the new Axial-Flow® 30 Series combines, guided by Case IH Combine Product Specialist, Mike King, at the 2011 Farm Progress Show.
This year marks the 35th anniversary for Case IH Axial-Flow combines. That’s how long Axial-Flow rotor technology has been leading the industry – setting new standards for the rest to follow.
In February, Case IH posted a video blog featuring Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company and headliner of Case IH’s Be Ready Discussion on Global Markets at Ag Connect Expo. During our interview with Basse, he commented that someday in the near future, farmers will be marketing crops and livestock for the world every minute of every day.
In this ever-evolving world of agriculture, every piece of grain and every corn kernel truly counts, and Case IH’s innovative equipment and technology holds the key to maximizing harvest efficiency.
Check out Case IH’s latest “From the Field” video post on The Weather Channel titled, “How can our farms meet growing demand?”. This video post discusses how innovative Case IH equipment can help farmers maximize efficiency from every acre of land, so they can Be Ready to feed the world.
The world’s population keeps growing, and agriculture has to keep pace. You need innovative equipment to get the most out of every acre and advice from people who know your ground like they know their equipment. The world of farming is changing. Case IH can help you be ready. For example, our Axial-Flow combines help producers be more efficient by providing cleaner grain samples out of the field.
