Ensure a productive harvest with combine prep

Sep 06, 2024
By Farms.com

Key steps to prepare combines for harvest season

With the harvest season fast approaching, preparing your combines is key to a successful and uninterrupted operation. Jerrad Bourne of Ziegler Ag Equipment in MInnesota advises farmers on critical pre-harvest preparations to enhance the performance and reliability of their machinery.

Starting with a thorough visual inspection, farmers can identify potential issues with essential components such as gearboxes, feeder house chains, and hydraulic systems.

The owner’s manual provides invaluable guidance on service needs and intervals, crucial for maintaining combines based on their operational hours. Additionally, updating and testing technological features like GPS and yield monitors are vital steps to ensure seamless functionality once in the field.

Ziegler Ag suggests detailed preventative maintenance inspections, helping farmers understand the condition of their equipment and necessary repairs before the harvest rush. Preventative maintenance is designed to prevent the frustration of in-season breakdowns and promote efficiency throughout the harvest.

Farmers are also advised to keep spare parts readily available to swiftly handle common issues. With these preparations in place, supported by expert advice and services from thei trusted dealer, farmers can expect a smooth and productive harvest season.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.