EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY— WHAT SOD PRODUCERS 'CAN’T FARM WITHOUT'
By Kelsey Sandbothe
Editor’s note: Tis is the TPI Leadership, Innovation, and Technology (LIT) Committee’s article addressing innovative solutions.
Tere is always one piece of equipment or technology that is vital to each sod farm operation. It might save time, save money, make farming easier, or just get the job done better. Tis article asks five sod farmers what their ‘can’t farm without’ piece of equipment or technology is, why they chose it, and how it helps them operate their farm. Tough it may—or may not—be the most expensive, advanced, or most used, read on to see what other sod farmers consider their MVP (Most Valuable Product).
Bahat Pevzner with Deshe-Itzhar (Yitzhar Grass) in Kfar Monash (Monash Village), Israel
30 minutes) to avoid contaminating the other species. All that water does not always go hand in hand with the sensors the machine has. In addition, the distance from the company is noticeable. We will juggle our contact between the team in the U.S. and the team in Australia according to the hour and who is up at this time of day (or night). Both teams are very helpful and fast to respond, even during the occasional holiday/weekend (though I try not to disturb them a lot then).
Sarah Nolte with Blue Grass Enterprises, Inc., Alburnett, Iowa
Photo courtesy of Sarah Nolte Photo courtesy of Bahat Pevzner
FireFly Automatix, Make/Model: ProSlab 155 Function/How Used on Farm: Sod Harvester Why is this piece of equipment/technology so valuable on your farm? It's hard to say which of our machines is the most valuable on our farm. I don’t think any sod grower will let go of their mower or sprayer, for example. With that said, I think the improvements we had after we changed our older slab machine to the ProSlab 155 Sod Harvester are big, in the time required to harvest, and the quality of the pallets we produce. Compared to the old machine, we work twice (or more) as fast now with the ProSlab 155, and the pallets are coming out straighter. Any cons to this product? As always, with all the benefits of the new technology, every time we have a problem that is not pure mechanics, it is a bit of a struggle. We grow eight species of grass and usually will harvest four or five species every day. Every time we move from a field of one species to a field of a different species, we wash the machine (which takes around
14
Maschio Rototiller, Make/Model: Pantera 620 Function/How Used on Farm: Tis rototiller has a working width of approximately 20.5 feet (6.28 meters). We use our 8R John Deere tractors with this implement (with a full set of front weights because it is HEAVY). Why is this piece of equipment/technology so valuable on your farm? We have used several rototillers over the years and this one is by far the most impressive in terms of quality of tillage done with each pass. In fact, we like this implement so much—we own two of them! On our farm, our soils range from heavy clay to light sand—depending on the field. Tis implement gives us good control over both depth and speed, which can help us be responsive to what kind of soil conditions we are experiencing. We especially appreciate that we can change the depth of the implement and the pressure on the rear rollers on the go, which has been a total game-changer. Additionally, it can be fitted with a shield guard which dramatically reduces the amount of dust that gets kicked up while the rototiller is working. Tis allows you to have a better idea of how the machine is working in real-time, instead of guessing how things are going while working in a dust cloud.
TPI Turf News November/December 2023
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