Introducing: Stephen Lester – Tech Expert Rural Roots Canada – Rolling Hills, Alberta
Stephen Lester has agriculture in his DNA. He is a fourth generation farmer and resides in Rolling Hills, Alberta. He has an in-depth knowledge of farm equipment having serviced equipment ever since he was first able to carry a grease gun. He is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Engineering program and brings a hands-on approach to everything he does. In his down time on the farm, he enjoys taking equipment apart and putting it back together to help optimize its performance and watching equipment demonstrations first hand or on You-Tube.
John Deere 2720 Disk Ripper
John Deere is out with a new piece of equipment for tillage just in time for it to be added to every farmer’s (who covets Deere equipment) wish list for Christmas. However, there’s a disclaimer, the John Deere 2720 Disk Ripper is not going to fit under most trees.
Its biggest attributes includes its high working depths, allowing the Laser Rip II points to shatter hardpan as deep as 15”. At the same time the back gang can be angled for varying field conditions. What may set it apart the most from its competition is its ability to level a field, which its competitors have a hard time doing.
The changes made to the latest disc ripper makes for less maintenance. Those changes include high-speed tires due to faster traveling speeds and the added sealed maintenance-free gang bearings on the gangs to eliminate daily greasing, which I am quite happy to see, because greasing those suckers can be a pain.
John Deere boasts this piece of equipment manages residue and compaction in the most adverse soil conditions.
The 2720 comes in four widths: 12 ft. 6 in; 17 ft. 6 in; 22 ft. 6 in; and 27 ft. 6in. The latter two models have three folding sections to allow farmers to more easily move it from field to field.
John Deere B-Wrap
John Deere B- Wrap will wrap up a large round hay bale, like a well wrapped Christmas present.
The company says the new wrap is the next best alternative to storing the bales indoors, which we all know is not always an option, with limited barn, shop, shed and shelter room.
The most impressive feature of B-Wrap is keeping moisture out, while at the same time letting it out. It’s the perfect scenario for the bales left unsheltered protecting them from the elements as well as keeping ground moisture out. This allows the bales to maintain their nutrient quality.
John Deere is using a patented material that features Tama SCM Technology™.
A great feature with B-Wrap is it allows the bale moisture to escape after it is made, reducing the rate of spoilage.
It is also very easy to swap between B-wrap and netting in the bailer for those times when you are baling poor quality hay and you’re not as fickle.
The B-Wrap comes just like net wrap and will work in JD 7, 8 and most 9 series Round Balers. Any dealer can install the B-Wrap kit, which then allows for an easy transition between the wrap and netting.
