Organic Farmer Praises In-Row “Robo Weeder”

Organic Farmer Praises In-Row “Robo Weeder” CROPS Miscellaneous Manitoba farmer Jeremiah Evans thinks the new Robocrop InRow Weeder that he began using on his farm in 2015 is going to be a complete game changer for organic farmers Evans who farms about 500 acres of organic crops told the Alberta Farm Express that he purchased the 22-ft weeder because he needed better mechanical weed control The machine removes wild oats thistle and quackgrass from in the rows The Robocrop made by UK machinery manufacturer Garford is guided by two video cameras that achieve accuracy to within 3/8ths of an inch The cameras use color and pattern recognition software to identify weeds then synchronize that information with the weeding discs The discs rotate like a precisely-controlled hand held hoe and eliminate the weeds but not the crop Evans has used the Robocrop on peas mustard beans wheat barley and flax He can cover 10 to 12 acres in an hour At first Evans was nervous about the machine’s accuracy but a few hours in the field carefully viewing the monitor checking the crop and driving slowly convinced him it was performing exactly as planned Evans says the machine consistently cuts down weeds that are a few inches tall and ready to rob nutrients from the productive crop His farm now has test plots to help him determine if the machine has a bearing on overall crop yields After just one season of use he’s convinced the Robocrop’s $80 000 price tag was well worth the investment The manufacturer Garford says Robocrop can be used in any vegetable and salad crops and also works for herbs flowers and trees Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Garford Farm Machinery Ltd Frognall Deeping St James Peterborough PE6 8RP England ph 011 44 1778 342642; www garford com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.