May 07, 2009

The Season… for Planting!

Posted to Theresa Larsen

I was driving to Burlington, Wisconsin to work with a first-time home buyer and came across this new machine being worked on by two men from the HAGIE Company out of Clarion, Iowa. It was such a high-tech looking piece of equipment that it made me take a second look and I decided if they were still there on the way back, I would stop. And so they were. While we talk about the lakes and the quality of living in Walworth County, agriculture is an important economic force and the advancement of farm equipment is serious business. And, although the population of Walworth County has increased by 25% in the past decade, over 60% of the county is still farmland. So, while standing in the field, I found out that this particular machine is a self-propelled liquid fertilizer sprayer and the twist is that the booms are upfront with a span of 90 feet. 90 feet! And there are 9 separate spraying sections that can be shut off when needed based on width of the field, turning radius and all that needs to be taken into consideration to increase spraying precision. For ease of transportation the booms have adjustable fold joints so that they can fold to12 feet in width. With the booms up front the operator can visually see obstructions and handle changes in the field. It also has what they call a Vision Series Cab – which is really a panoramic, floor-to-floor wrap-around glass office that gives a 210 degree view of the field as you move over it. And now let’s get to the guts, 1400 gallons for liquid fertilizer, up to 175 gallon fuel tank with up to a 365 hp Cummins turbo diesel engine. Of course there is A/C, GPS and air filtration in the cab. I don’t have all the specs on the machine but there are now 2 in Walworth County and this one is on the family farm of Don Fredrich off of Hwy 11. The HAGIE spray application is being used on this farm for wheat; one of Walworth County’s top commodities. Grain ( which includes corn) sales by dollar volume in 2004 were $28.7 million, Milk followed at $28.2 million and then Greenhouse and nursery a far third at $5.30 million, hogs, pigs, sheep and goats followed. These statistics were supplied by UW-Extension, WI Farm Bureau Federation, and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Dairy and grain production definitely impacts the economics of Walworth County and as you have your toast and milk give a thought to the folks out in the fields feeding the world. Hats off to our Farmers!

Posted By: Margaret Canfield

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