Calhoun Super Structure and Natural Light Joint Venture

Calhoun Super Structure is pleased to announce a joint venture with Natural Light Fabric Structures at the 8th Annual Dealer Conference at Niagara-on-the-Lake on April 20, 2016. This alliance expands the Calhoun product line to include Natural Light fabric buildings.

The joint venture was a natural fit for both companies. For over 20 years, Calhoun, a Canadian-based company, has crafted the strongest, most reliable, engineered fabric building on the North American market. The team of Natural Light Fabric Structures, based Minnesota, USA, offers decades of experience in general and fabric building construction, steel fabrication, and manufacturing engineering. The alliance with Calhoun will enable easy, cross-border access to both product lines, and allow for the sharing of design and engineering expertise.

“Calhoun dealers can now offer customers the largest product line in the fabric building industry. Products will be manufactured in the USA and Canada to bring together the strengths of both companies,” said Jeremy Calhoun, Owner, Calhoun Super Structure.

Calhoun and Natural Light have been considering this partnership for several months given their well-aligned business strategies. The importance of engineering,attention to detail, and customization made both companies well-suited to work together. Natural Light products are available to order now through authorized Calhoun dealers throughout North America.

About Calhoun Super Structure: Calhoun has been the industry leader in fabric structures in North America for over 20 years. Supported by an authorized dealer network, each Calhoun structure is engineered to meet the highest quality standards and is fully customizable to a variety of industries and uses. Calhoun creates the safest and most reliable structures on the market.

For more information call (800) 265-3994 or visit www.calhounsuperstructure.com.

UF/IFAS Program Helps Small Cow-Calf Producers Get Ahead

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is showing small cow-calf producers how using the latest reproductive research leads to larger profits.

The UF/IFAS Florida Heifer Development Program was developed by Kalyn Waters, UF/IFAS Extension Holmes County director, and Cliff Lamb, professor of animal sciences and assistant director of the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center, Marianna.

Both Lamb and Waters saw a need for a program to help ranchers improve the productivity of their herds. “The success of any cow-calf operation depends on each cow producing one calf each year. When cows become unproductive due to age or other factors, they are replaced with heifers, female cattle who have not yet had their first calf,” said Waters.

Waters explained that heifer development gets heifers ready to breed, and successful development depends on a heifer’s nutritional and reproductive management over her first two years of life.

Lamb’s team at NFREC has developed a system that makes heifer development more efficient. This system uses artificial insemination to impregnate heifers early in the breeding season, which allows them to have their calves earlier in the season.

All calves are sold on the same day of the year regardless of their birth date. When calves go to market, those born earlier in the calving season will weigh more than those born later, and since calves are sold by weight, earlier calves fetch a higher price, Waters noted. According to Waters and Lamb, this increase in profitability is a strong incentive to use artificial insemination in cow-calf

operations. There are long-term benefits as well. “When you develop your heifers properly, it really increases their longevity and productivity in the cowherd,” Waters said.

The UF/IFAS Florida Heifer Development Program lets smaller producers nominate their heifers for development at the NFREC. Smaller producers often do not have the resources and facilities to do effective heifer development, Waters said, so the program is meant to give producers more productive heifers and introduce producers to research-based development techniques. The program will run between October 2016 and April 2017 and will include 100 heifers.

According to Waters, current research predicts that 90 to 93 percent of the heifers will become pregnant. Lamb hopes this program will allow producers to eventually adopt research-based development techniques. “The ultimate goal would be for folks to go, after a few years, ‘I think we can do this,’” he said. This is only the first year of the program, and Waters and Lamb anticipate that it will grow and expand in years to come. “We are hoping that one day it will reach the level of the Florida Bull Test,” Waters said.

Please see the NFREC web site for more information and registration, nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu > Beef Cattle Programs.

News from John Deere

To help ag service providers and large-scale producers apply fertilizer and lime to more acres per day during short, busy application seasons, John Deere introduces the F4365 High Capacity Nutrient Applicator.

This new machine off ers increased capacity with a 330-cubic foot New Leader dry spinner spreader that can apply fertilizer at rates up to 1,100 lbs. per acre and lime at rates up to 6,600 lbs. per acre. Another important feature is the machine’s ability to variable-rate apply up to four diff erent products during a single pass, with spreader widths of 60 to 90 feet.

The F4365 High Capacity Nutrient Applicator is powered by a John Deere PowerTech™ PSS 9L engine and features an IVT transmission. These machines integrate the latest in technology, including a new Generation 4 CommandCenter™ Display with SpreadStar,™ Auto- Trac,™ and Section Control at your fi ngertips.

These machines are also equipped with JDLink™ Connect with Service Advisor Remote and Wireless Data Transfer to connect your fleet. AgLogic is available to optimize the machine with the tendering fleet and maximize productivity. All this is designed to ensure accurate product placement and make it seamless and easy to collect and transfer important data.

“We’ve designed the F4365 to be the best-in-class high capacity nutrient applicator in terms of performance and productivity in the field,” says Dave Mulder, product manager with John Deere Crop Care. “We’ve improved the overall durability, ride quality, and operation of this machine, and extended service intervals to make service and maintenance easier — all to increase uptime in the fi eld.” In addition, John Deere has enlarged and enhanced the operator environment with a

CommandView™ III cab, making it more comfortable and quieter for operators spending long days running over rough fi eld conditions. Plus, the company has improved seat swivel and added cameras to give operators better visibility to the field, dry box and rear spreader pattern.

These new machines have a 46 mph road transport speed and up to a 30 mph application speed, reducing the time it takes to get between fields and over fields. “The versatility, dependability and productivity of the F4365 applicator is what sets it apart from other self-propelled applicators,” Mulder adds. “Service providers and large-scale producers can cover more acres faster, and in greater comfort, with the ability to variable-rate apply up to four different fertilizers in a single pass.”

New Row Guidance Products

Two new AutoTrac products are available to help row crop producers and ag service providers more accurately navigate row-crop fields when making postemergence sprayer applications.

AutoTrac Vision utilizes a single-lens camera to detect crop rows and help steer the sprayer down the center of the row for early postemergence applications. AutoTrac RowSense uses a row sensor similar to that used on combines to detect crop rows and steer the sprayer to the center of the row for later season post applications.

Doug Felter, product marketing manager for John Deere, says the introduction of these two new AutoTrac guidance products is designed to help large-scale row-crop producers and ag service providers work more quickly, cover more acres and reduce run-over damage to crops when spraying in the fields.

“Because of field terrain, planter drift, or irregular planting without guidance, spraying in row crops can present challenges for sprayer operators making post emerge applications,” Felter explains. “These two new guidance applications help sprayers track more accurately between the rows, resulting in reduced crop damage, less operator fatigue and more effective field applications.”

New AutoTrac Vison uses a monocular camera mounted on the front of the sprayer to detect crop rows and to steer the vehicle between the rows for early season postemerge applications. It is currently approved for use in corn, soybeans and cotton planted in 30-inch rows starting when the crop is at least 6 inches tall. It can be used until there is at least 3 inches of soil showing between rows or up to 90 percent canopy closure.

AutoTrac RowSense uses a sensor paddle mounted on the sprayer wheel to detect crop rows and to help steer the machine down the center of the row. Designed to be used later in the growing season, RowSense is currently approved for use in corn at least 4 feet tall planted in 30-inch rows.“While these two sprayer guidance systems are completely separate and are to be used one at a time, both have performed well in a variety of field conditions and crops,” Felter adds.

“Both automated vehicle steering systems allow the operator to spray at faster speeds with little manual steering and cover more acres per day with less damage to crops.” Both systems are available as field-installed kits on currently operating machines or from the factory on new John Deere R4023, R4030, R4038 and R4045 Sprayers. A GS3 AutoTrac RowSense activation is required.

Updated Combine Offers Improved Capacity & Uptime

For model year 2017, John Deere T670 model walker combines will have significant enhancements to boost productivity, threshing capacity, and straw quality for baling while making service and maintenance much easier and less time consuming. These are all benefits that U.S. and Canadian small grain producers will appreciate when it comes to harvesting during often tight windows and tough conditions.

According to Terry DeMay, senior marketing representative for John Deere Harvester Works, the newly updated T670 Combine will lead the industry with several new features, helping to make it the most productive walker combine available.

“The new model year T670 combine has one of the largest active separation areas and largest cleaning shoe of any walker combine on the market today,” says DeMay. “We’ve increased productivity by 15 percent in wheat and increased unloading rates by 50 percent. We’ve also made it easier to switch between small grains and canola, and improved the service points to allow producers to spend more time harvesting and less time waiting.”

For customers harvesting both canola and small grains, the new T670 has a new swing-in Booster Bar that makes switching between crops easier and faster — often in less than 5 minutes — and easier to adjust as crop conditions change. In addition, John Deere has increased the size of the overshot beater, concaves, separator drum and grate,and walker area as part of its updated T-concept solution.

These are all designed to improve threshing speed, throughput, and straw and grain quality during harvest while making it easy to change over to other crops and optimize harvesting performance. Greater throughput and capacity means operators need more speed to unload. As a result, the T670 with its Xtra Fast System can offload grain at 3.3 bushels per second. The new T670 Combine has optimal maintenance intervals with easier access to those service areas and fewer filters to check and replace.

To make servicing and cleanout more convenient, the new T-series comes with an optional factory-installed 16-gallon air compressor with 33-foot hose and three quick-coupler points to access different areas of the machine. Like its predecessor, the new model T670 has a spacious, comfortable and quiet Premium Cab, and transmission options. “Compared to the previous model T670 combine, this new model offers significant improvements that customers will quickly see and appreciate,” DeMay says. “When added up, these enhancements help producers harvest more acres per day and spend more time being productive.”

For more information on these products, contact your local John Deere dealer or visit JohnDeere.com/ag.