All have something in common – recognizing a need to do something better and coming up with a way to meet that need.

Have an idea for a future innovations feature? We’d love to hear from you. Click here to email an editor with your information to be considered for an upcoming issue.

Auto Dry Track System
Ryan McConnell lives in Nebraska and runs registered Angus cattle, as well as growing hay and corn on their ranch.

After “countless trips and many frustrating hours” spent digging out pivot irrigation towers, Ryan felt there surely needs to be a better way, and the idea for the first Auto Dry Track System was born.

Ryan’s brother-in-law and partner, Lloyd Parsons, describes the system as “an application for pivots...like a smart app for your phone.” It serves to improve the operation and functionality of a new or existing pivot.

The system fits on any brand of center pivot and is designed with a solenoid valve that ties directly into the gearbox to redirect the spray of water to the back side of the tower and tires, no matter which way the pivot is traveling.

This helps keep the wheel tracks dry and eliminates the deep ruts that generally occur during watering.

It requires no structural changes to the pivot itself and easily allows for height adjustment. As an added benefit, the gearboxes and drive motors also stay dry, extending their lifespan.

For additional information, click here,  or call Ryan at 308-235-5187 or Lloyd at 406-366-3194.

35A Round Bale Accumulator
The concept for this innovation came from a farmer in North Dakota and was then picked up by Randy Clark and RCI Engineering.

They have been working for about two years to refine and further modify the original design.

Some of the biggest challenges in bringing the accumulator to market were working with different crops and field conditions.

It has been tested and modified to improve the original design in order to make it more adaptable for these varying situations.

While not necessarily intended to be used to move bales to their final storage location, having the accumulator directly behind the baler means fewer trips through the field, saving time and fuel. Simple to operate, once you are accustomed to using it, very little additional time (around two seconds per bale) is needed.

A rear gate control inside the cab of the tractor alerts the operator when a bale has cleared the rear door and when the unload gate is unlocked.

To view a video of the accumulator in action click here. To learn more, contact your local John Deere dealer, click here to e-mail  or call (920) 387-9804.

A Bar J Three-Point Bale Spear
About two years ago, Joel Schreurs was watching a neighbor load round bales with a double spear on the back of his tractor and noticed that the net wrap would tear off as the bales rubbed against the ground.

He wondered if maybe he could design something more efficient.

After doing some work in his barn, he came up with the idea of the A Bar J Three-Point Bale Spear.

It has six long spears in three sets of two. A producer can pick up the first two bales with the spears on the outside.

Mounted on hydraulic wings, once the third bale is picked up in the middle, the two sides can fold up for easier transport from the field.

Two long spears go through each bale for stability. The 1,100-pound set of spears is made of 5-by-7-inch, 3/8-inch tubing and is powder coated and painted to match any model tractor. The spear setup works on category 2 or 3 narrow 3-point hitches of 120 hp or higher.

“If the tractor is big enough, you can take two more bales on the front, also,” Schreurs says, making it possible to move a total of five bales at one time.

For more information click here to e-mail Joel, or call 605-940-0879 , or click here to see video clips of the system in the field.

Protinus
One of the two founding owners of Wolf Trax, Geoff Gyles, has seen the company grow from a small, local business in Canada to a multi-million-dollar company selling products around the globe.

Their unique, patented micronutrient technology has led them to a new option for seed treatment.

Protinus is a seed-applied fertilizer that provides access to small amounts of nutrients right after germination, before the young, growing plant can access other soil-available nutrients.

This allows for faster, more even emergence and larger, more vigorous seedlings that are better able to withstand challenging growing conditions.

In addition, plants develop larger, more developed root systems to provide better access to water and other nutrients available in the soil.

Formulated as a dry powder, Protinus also works by optimizing the pH around the seed for uptake of nutrients and delivering zinc, manganese and iron in a way that they are immediately available to the young seedling.

Click here for more information, to e-mail click here or call 1-855-237-9653.  FG