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Tractor News ArticleJohn Deere is moving toward the more technological ageJohn Deere is moving toward the more technological age with its new products offered to producers to make agriculture more user-friendly and efficient, according to Montana and Wyoming dealers. "It's moving toward the ease of use and increased efficiency so farmers can get more done with less equipment," said Matt Strong of Strong and Bradley in Livingston."John Deere is increasing producers' productivity and efficiency with their equipment." One such product that has been introduced to help producers manage their agriculture applications is John Deere's GreenStar 2 System for precision agriculture management. The GreenStar 2 system comes in two models, GSD2100 and GSD2600, which feature state-of-the-art full-color screens that allow the operator to configure and simultaneously view multiple applications for farms, fields or other agriculture tasks, according to the John Deere company. Compact flash cards inserted into the display records and stores large amounts of information, which can be easily transferred between the display and GreenStar Apex, the new farm management software introduced by John Deere AMS. "With all the new features of the GreenStar 2 system, including the GSD 2100 and 2600, enhanced software modules and improved documentation and guidance systems, John Deere has taken precision agriculture to a higher level," said Gordon Culp, John Deere AMS marketing manager of Lenexa, Kan. John Deere is taking orders for the new GreenStar 2 systems to be shipped in 2006. Guidance systems such as the GreenStar 2 are very popular in the hay and cattle country in Montana and Wyoming. Also popular among those raising cattle and hay is John Deere's new transmission and suspension technology. Strong said the newer John Deere tractors are truly "state-of-the-art" with countless options available to customize the tractor to the producers' needs. He said he recently sold such a tractor to a Big Timber, Mont., rancher who said his favorite features are the triple-link front suspension and infinitely variable transmission. The tractor also came with a hydraulically suspended cab and loader suspension kit to be best utilized on the rancher's Angus and hay operation. "With the infinitely variable transmission, the shifting is completely seamless," said Strong. "The operator can set it for anything they want because it is infinitely adjustable." While the suspension and transmission are important features, Sheridan County Implement salesman Dale Koch said John Deere's loading and forage equipment are just as essential in the hay and cattle country near Sheridan, Wyo. "Our biggest agriculture sectors are hay, cattle and forage around here," said Koch. "We sell a lot of John Deere's skidsteers, tractor loaders, round balers and windrowers." Technology is important even in these hay and forage equipment. "John Deere is moving toward more high tech and electrical equipment," said Koch. "The new technology is coming into all the new equipment. John Deere is going in the direction of creating more 'user-friendly'
equipment." John Deere's new tractor loaders and air-seeders are
hot-ticket items in north central Montana, where the focus is put
on farming rather than cattle and forage operations, according to
salesman Chuck Meredith of Taylor Brothers John Deere in Great Falls,
Mont. "Most of the producers are between harvesting and seeding
right now," he said. In areas like Great Falls, John Deere's new
revolutionized combine comes in handy. John Deere is introducing
in 2006 the new STS Bullet Rotor, which uses a tapered, bullet-shaped
front-end and rifled threshing element to reduce rotor load and
engine power requirements and improve the efficiency of the entire
threshing and operating system of the combine. "What we're doing
is reducing the force it takes to move the crop through the combine,"
said Chris Savener, John Deere Harvest Works senior sales and service
representative of Lenexa, Kan. "By doing that, we've decreased the
amount of engine power required to drive the rotor by as much as
20 percent in tough small grains conditions." Other new John Deere
options available for use on the 2006 STS 60 combines series include
the high-torque variable feedhouse designed for use with corn heads,
new engine air scoop to reduce the load on air cleaning components,
StalkMaster corn head chopping system to chop and size stalks while
harvesting, and the folding and unloading auger, which folds around
the back of the combine reducing the total length of the machine.
McCormick's first CX Diamond Edition tractor goes to LincolnshireA Lincolnshire farmer and contractor has acquired a slice of history by taking delivery of the first McCormick CX105 Diamond Edition tractor to be produced at the company's assembly plant in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. David Woolerton, who runs his family's 70-acre farm and a contracting and plant hire business, is also an enthusiastic collector of vintage and classic tractors and farm machinery. He jumped at the chance to buy one of the few commemorative Diamond Edition tractors being built for sale in the UK and got his order in quickly enough to secure the first one off the line."I was planning to replace one of my old tractors with a new McCormick and visited the factory during an open day to celebrate 60 years of agricultural machinery production there," David explains. "It was a great surprise when the Diamond Edition tractor was unveiled and I quickly decided I wanted one - the order went in the next morning!" Although family and friends have pulled his leg, saying the new
tractor's special silver, grey and chrome livery looks too good
to be put to work, David says the tractor will have to earn its
keep. "But I'll be taking great care to keep it in good condition,"
he says. "I think it's lovely; I really enjoy driving it." With
so few of the celebration tractors being produced - there are just
60 each of the 102hp CX105 and the 150hp MTX150 for sale in the
UK - David has realised the tractor is a good advertising tool.
"If anyone sees the tractor working or driving along the road, they'll
know it's part of the D C Woolerton Plant Hire team," he points
out. "I'll use it for trailer work, power harrowing and one or two
other jobs alongside my other Doncaster-built tractors." Apart from
helping promote his business, the special tractor has already made
a valuable contribution to another of David's interests - the Lincolnshire
Air Ambulance. It took pride of place alongside a 1940s McCormick-International
Farmall from his collection at the annual vintage and classic tractors
day organised by David and fellow enthusiasts. This year's event
raised 2000. David Grundy, the Washingborough, Lincs-based McCormick
dealer, is delighted to have supplied the No1 CX105 Diamond Edition
tractor. "It couldn't have gone to a better home," he says. "David
is a tractor enthusiast who recognised the significance of this
limited edition McCormick model and the historical role of the Doncaster
factory that it celebrates." John Deere 250 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. Ambrose managed to get through the wreck to finish
17th. Ambrose qualified 30th after running a conservative qualifying
set-up and was into the top 20 by lap 30 in the 94-lap race. The
Team Australia driver held his nerve and circulated around 20th
position for the majority of the race, ensuring he would be in a
good position for the closing stages. The John Deere company, video opens with submersed air bubblesThe John Deere company-introduction video opens with submersed air bubbles racing upward, tagging the film as a production of Lakeside High School. The video incorporates panning shots of John Deere's Grovetown facility, graphics, employee interviews and narration by Lakeside band director Jim Tau to create a polished and highly praised film. "Everyone who has seen it has been very impressed by the results," said Michael Canady, the Columbia County school system's director of technology education. The video is the first substantial result of a partnership between the school system and the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce's Manufacturer's Council. Along with Augusta Technical College and the National Science Center, the groups plan to introduce programs that will create a more qualified work force and excite students about technological careers. "It's the first tangible product to represent the quality level of where we're going with the partnership," said Gordon Renshaw, the chamber's executive director. "It's the first item we can take to the media and public that represents what this partnership is about." The manufacturer's council was so excited by the John Deere video that they have pledged $15,000 to upgrade equipment for the technology labs at Greenbrier and Evans high schools, Mr. Renshaw said. Eventually, he hopes Columbia County schools can produce more videos for local manufacturers. The videos can be used as recruitment and training tools for companies, but also can be used in schools to highlight manufacturing occupations available to students in the county. "I'm really excited by this project because it benefits the kids, the teachers, the (guidance) counselors and the manufacturers," Mr. Canady said. Lakeside graduate Maria Rojas worked on the John Deere video last year as a senior. Along with other students, she shot more than an hour of raw footage for the project and edited it down to a 14-minute film. "It was the first thing I had done that was for a real company,"
the 19-year-old Augusta Technical College student said. "It was
a great experience being in John Deere, seeing what they do and
then putting that together as a professional video package." Lakeside
High technology teacher Jason Stark supervised production of the
video and said he's looking forward to other projects with manufacturers.
"We have a lot of fun in here doing the stuff we do," he said. "It's
great to enjoy doing something that everyone else also seems to
enjoy." Talladega shuffle was on full displayBrian Vickers finally got his first career Nextel Cup victory in a controversial finish in Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Vickers, finishing out his final season in the No. 25 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports, was running third behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, who's also a Hendrick driver, on the final lap. As that trio went down the backstretch, Johnson and Vickers laid back a bit hoping to get a run on the leader. Johnson pulled down to try to make the pass with Vickers trying to push. But Earnhardt Jr. moved over to stunt their momentum, and Vickers got into the rear end of Johnson's Chevrolet. That turned Johnson's car into Earnhardt Jr., sending them both off the track and into the infield grass. Vickers kept control of his No. 25 Chevrolet, and when the caution flag flew that meant Vickers had his first win in his 107th career Cup start. "That was pretty exciting," said Vickers, who will move to a Team Red Bull Toyota in 2007. "I wanted to get a win in this car, but that's not quite how I planned it." Vickers said that Johnson had to check up when Earnhardt Jr. moved to block the No. 48. "When he jerked down to avoid the 8, I just got into the back of him," said Vickers, who was showered with boos from the pro-Earnahrdt Jr. crowd. "That's the last thing I wanted to do. But when the 8 chopped him and Jimmie swerved, I got him." Johnson had a different view. "I got a run on the 8 and got inside of him and then got hit from behind," Johnson said tersely. "We had a chance to make up some points and got crashed by teammate. I just got hit. " Earnhardt Jr. said he thought Vickers got "a little excited there." "I am not that upset," Earnhardt Jr. said. "That's the way racing goes here." Johnson's hopes for picking up ground in the Chase for the Nextel Cup stemmed from a 13-car wreck on Lap 138 that took out some Chase drivers and then some bad luck for leader Jeff Burton. Burton was lined up fifth for a restart with 10 laps to go, and if things had wound up anything close to that way he'd be in command in the Chase going into next Sunday's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. But just as the green flew on Lap 179, Burton came on his radio and told his team had had a flat tire. He had to come to pit road and get four fresh tires, losing a lap and winding up 27th. "Everybody's going to have some luck in this thing," said Burton, who walked away with just a six-point lead over Matt Kenseth. "Today was our day. All we can do now is go to Charlotte and race." The results, which included Kenseth fourth behind Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch, had Chase drivers Kevin Harvick sixth and Mark Martin ninth. That leaves Martin third in the standings, 10 behind Burton, with Harvick 33 back and rookie Denny Hamlin 51 points behind. The lead kept switching in typical Talladega fashion as the teams made it through their first two fuel runs before the first caution. That yellow came on Lap 73 when Dave Blaney lost a rear tire and left debris on the backstretch. Even though many of the leaders had just been in for the second green-flag stops, they came back again for fuel and tires. To that point in the race, Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray and Earnhardt Jr. had all led significant laps. Gordon was leading just after the restart, and on Lap 80 he was leading the low line while Greg Biffle had the point topside. Halfway through the race, there'd still been only the one yellow flag and 10 drivers had already officially swapped the lead a total of 32 times. The leader at the halfway mark was McMurray, with Kyle Busch second and Mike Wallace third. Johnson stalled his car on pit road on his second pit stop and was about to lose the lead draft. But the caution had prevented that, and as the race moved past Lap 100 he had the No. 48 Chevrolet back in the top five. Earnhardt Jr. slowed on the backstretch on Lap 103 and limped the No. 8 Chevrolet to pit road with a flat tire. Johnson was second behind Vickers on Lap 108 as some of the lead lap cars began a round of pit stops. After the stops, Vickers was in the lead and going around Earnhardt Jr. to put him a lap down. But he and Earnhardt also managed to pull away from the pack just a bit, with Gordon leading the seething mass behind them. A perfect example of what happens at Talladega happened to Gordon on Lap 125. He started that lap as the leader, but got shuffled out of the draft and hung out by himself. When the No. 24 Chevrolet crossed the line to finish that lap, he was in 27th position. Rookie Clint Bowyer was taking a turn leading the pack on Lap 130 when a caution for debris slowed the field and brought the pack back to pit road. Earnhardt Jr. was still the first car a lap down, so he got that lap back with the yellow flag. Bowyer led at the restart on Lap 135, with Kenseth second and Kurt Busch third. Three laps later, the big wreck that has become so common at this track broke loose as the field went into Turn 1. It seemed to begin when Carl Edwards' car wiggled in traffic and clipped Casey Mears' Dodge, but however it started before it was over several of the Chase for the Nextel Cup contenders had suffered damage to vary degree. That list included Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin, and even points leader Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch, who were in front of the wreck, got a little bit of damage as traffic stacked up. At least 13 cars were officially listed as getting a piece of that wreck, but nobody was injured. Burton, despite having slight damage on his No. 31 Chevrolet, took over the lead when he didn't pit immediately under the yellow and got his five bonus points. As the track cleanup continued, Burton's team began to discuss whether he should pit before the green or not as they looked toward the end of the race to guard against getting caught out of sequence in the draft. With one lap to go before the restart, Burton elected to come in for four tires and fuel. So did Stewart and several others, leaving Kenseth as the leader just ahead of his teammate Martin on the restart on Lap 147. Two laps later, Reed Sorenson's car lost an engine
and brought out another yellow. That brought everyone back to pit
road, and this time some teams believed that they could go to distance
from there without stopping. Rookie Martin Truex Jr. didn't pit
and wound up with the lead on the restart at Lap 153. Johnson pulled
to the front on that lap, then Paul Menard got pushed to the front
on Lap 154. The next time by it was Johnson leading Vickers and
Kurt Busch. Stewart made a strong run on the bottom and, on Lap
157 he pulled into second behind Johnson. Stewart got to the lead
on the next lap, but before he could get back around Kasey Kahne
had surged into the lead with a push from Kurt Busch. The Talladega
shuffle was on full display. Kahne, Stewart and Johnson were fighting
up front, but a pack full of challengers was right on their collective
bumper. Kurt Busch got in the mix, too, until Lap 166 when Earnhardt
Jr. swung underneath Busch's Dodge and stormed to the front. With
20 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. and Kahne were side by side leading
a two-wide pack that stretched perhaps a dozen rows deep. On Lap
174, Stewart, Menard, Hamlin, J.J. Yeley and David Stremme were
involved in a spin behind the leaders that brought out a yellow.
With fuel a potential issue, still none of the cars was willing
to give up position on the track to come down the pit lane. Earnhardt
Jr. led Johnson, Vickers, Kahne and Burton to the green flag on
Lap 179 with 10 laps - and a lot of important things - left to happen.
1915 steam-engine tractor seize the show during Enid's antique power, gas engine eventIt's half the size of steam-engine tractors used almost a century earlier, but Tony Benda's replica of a 65-horsepower 1915 model gathered lots of attention Saturday at The Enid An-tique Power and Gas Engine Show. Attended by hundreds of people in a lot near the Hoover Building at Garfield County Fairgrounds, this year's show featured more than 50 restored antique tractors in addition to featuring antique cars, scooters and other farm items. Benda's tractor had some added advantages of drawing people because of its steam whistle and visible puffs of smoke. "It's got a lot of power. It's got enough (power) to start from scratch," Benda said, opening a hatch door to show coal burning in the bin. In addition to showing his tractor, Benda, 87, of Cashion is a good source of information. He remembers when rubber tires began replacing steel wheels in the early 1930s. "They didn't catch on at first. We had a neighbor who reluctantly put rubber tires on his tractor, but he kept his steel wheels," said Benda who grew up in Kingfisher County and farmed most of his life. He got his 4,000-pound, iron steam engine tractor from the Muskogee museum when it closed in 1994. "It was built by Tom Terning of Valley Cen-ter, Kan., and
had sat on display for 10 years," Benda said. Benda tinkered with
it and soon fired it up. It is complete with water tanks, gauges
and an original smoke box manufactured by JI Case Threshing Machine
Co. of Racine, Wis. It can be fired up to demonstrate work capabilities.
"I ran a hay bailer yesterday," Benda said. Across the way from
Benda and his steam-engine tractor, Kevin Labude of Blanchard wound
brooms on broom-making equipment left by his great-grandfather,
Thomas Dunfee, of Ohio. Born virtually blind in 1861, Dunfee learned
broom-making at Chicago Institute for the Blind. He built his machine
complete with foot pedal and vise to flatten broomcorn from plans
given to him by the institute. Labude demonstrated five phases of
constructing the broom with broomcorn, which is a type of sorghum
grass. "After the broom is wound, it is only half finished. It has
to be sewn. We put it in the vise that smashes it flat," Labude
said. Labude said he is a fourth-generation family member to make
brooms. Ariat has been awarded the Vendor of the Year by Tractor Supply CompanyAriat International, Inc., the leading manufacturer of innovative performance equestrian footwear, apparel, handbags, belts and accessories, has been awarded the Total Company Small Vendor of the Year Award at Tractor Supply Company's (TSC) Tenth Annual Vendor Awards Dinner. With 800 vendors competing, this is the first time a footwear or apparel company has been presented this prestigious honor, which recognizes TSC vendors for leadership in innovative product, superior account management, marketing creativity, in-store support and product merchandising. "We are honored to receive this important award from Tractor Supply Company," says Beth Cross, founder and CEO of Ariat International, Inc. "Together, over the past three years, we have grown TSC's Ariat business over 500% and expanded the brand across all 642 TSC stores." Partnering to develop exclusive lines of product and drive sell-through, Ariat has been a supplier of footwear and apparel to Tractor Supply Company for the past six years. Tractor Supply Company, founded in 1938, is the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in the United States. The company has grown from a small, mail order tractor parts business to a cutting edge retailer operating 642 retail stores in 34 states. TSC supplies to full-time farmers and ranchers as well as rural or suburban homeowners and is often described by customers as "a store you can trust." Source: equestrianmag.com |
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