Deere develops new field research tool
SAN ANTONIO, Tx. - John
Deere has developed a new
research tool which Company
engineers say will expedite the
develOpmentofmorelueieffrcient
tractors.
The machine, called a Dyna-
Cart, is a towed dynamometer with
instrumentation for monitoring
various tractor performance
features. Additionally, it is
programmable to duplicate the
load factors which would be im
posed by various types of drawn
agricultural implements.
“The Dyna-Cart measures and
displays drawbar pull, speed and
fuel consumption of tractors
operating under field load con
ditions. From these
measurements, it calculates
performance in terms of acres per
hour and units of fuel consumed
per acre,” says Bob Mayfield,
Semor John Deere Engineer in
charge of special projects.
“Additionally,” Mayfield says,
Mostly
CHICAGO A flat market lor
farm and agricultural equipment
is seen for most of 1982 in a'survey
of manufacturing members of the
Farm and Industrial Equipment
Institute.
The survey conducted by the
FIE I in late December and early
-January calls-for a five percent
increase in the retail dollar volume
of ag machinery to be purchased in
1982.
But’ this expected increase m
sides is attributed to rising prices,
a continuing shift to larger
machinery, a pent-up demand for
■equipment and an anticipated
' decrease in interest rates.
fy While the five percent increase is
y expected for 1982, as compared to
year ’-of -1981 i 'Sales
figures for the year would remain
a -substantially below figures
recorded in both 1979 and 1980.
Ail in all, survey participants
'believe- that 1982 will see sales
remain' flat for most types of ag
equipment and machinery with
any possible turnaround not
coming until late in the year.
"Deterioration in the U.S. farm
outlook has been caused by a
combination of things,” Robert L.
Green, J.l. Case executive, pointed
out in his survey report to the
Institute.
These include "depressed
prices, high interest rates, rising
total debt, and price increase in
farm production inputs. The ratio
of real prices paid versus prices
received is at its lowest level in a
decade. The unfavorable condition
of the farmer’s balance sheet will
have negative impact on his
buying intentions in 1982.”
Green went on to indicate that
the farm credit situation will
continue to be tight as lenders
become increasingly nervous
about the credit-worthiness of their
farm customers. Overall, these
concerns predict a flat market for
farm and agnucltural equipment
during most of this year.
- Figures in these States of the
Industry forecasts reflect the
median response range of 45 major
producers of field machinery and
46 manufacturers of farmstead
equipment. Members were asked
to respond to questions pertaining
to products they manufacture but
to make their predictions on an
industry-wide basis. Individual
segments broke down this way:
Farm Tractors
Unit sales of all tractors over 40
HP,are expected to increase by
1.8% to 105,700 units during 1982.
This level is 11% lower than 1980
and 24% lower than 1979. The
extended 1983 forecast indicates a
considerable rebound to the 113,000
range.
In the various horsepower
“the Dyna-Cart can be
programmed to follow a load cycle
such as would be imposed by an
implement being pulled in field
TMnditioiisrTheT»mbmation'Of-its
various measuring features, along
with its programmability,
provides us with a unit that can
give us the consistency of
laboratory measurements in a
field environment. ’ ’
Mayfield described how a
tractor equipped with telemetry
and pulling a towed implement,
such as a chisel plow, could
provide data on the load imposed
by the chisel plow as it is pulled
through a field with varying soii_
conditions. This data can then be
programmed into the Dyna-Cart’s
computer. Thereafter, a tractor
can pull the Dyna-Cart with that
programmed load and the com
puter will provide the' engine
performance information as if the
tractor were pulling the chisel
plow of the Dyna-Cart.
flat year seen in ag machinery sales
classes, 1981 sales of under 40 HP
tractors are-estimated to have
risen by 2% from the 1980 level and
are expected to gain an additional
0.8% in 1982.
The 1982 40-99 HP tractor market
is forecasted to increase to"5l,000
from the 50,966 level in 1981. At that
size the 1982 market will still be
down by 12% from 1980 and down
22% from 1979.
The sales of two-wheel drive
tractors 100 HP and above are
expected to increase by only 0.4%
from the very low level of 43,188
units in 1981 still significantly
below the 1980 level of 50,328 and
the 1979 level of 62,535.
' The four-wheel drive tractor
market is predicted to grow by
"'nearly 6:1%'.' | ThisgroWth Will bring
the 1982 market to 10,265 units,
nearly back to the 1980 level when
10,887 units were sold.
Combines
The sales of self-propelled
combines in 1982 should see a 3.5%
gam over 1981, when sales in
creased 4.2% over 1980. The ex
pected sale of 27,766 units would
exceed 1980 actual sales by over
2,000 units.
Frederick Toomey, 241 E.
Market St., Heilam, has been
awarded the professional
auctioneer designation by
the' Certified Auctioneers
Institute following 90 hours
of instruction at Indiana
University. Member of the
Kreutz Creek Valley 'Lions
Club, Riverside Lodge #503
F.A. & M. and St. James
Lutheran Church, he has
served as vice president of
the Heilam Borough Council
and belongs to both the Pa.
and National Auctioneers
Associations.
Mayfield was quick to point out
that testing with the Dyna-Cart is a
supplement to, and in no way a
substitute for, the more con
-ventional testing- which is con
ducted on test tracks.
"Concrete test tracks are still
important, and always will be, as a
means of minimizing the variables
and assuring the scientific validity
of some tests. The whole point is
that farmers do not farm on
concrete; they farm on dirt. The
Dyna-Cart is a device for
duplicating those conditions which
the fanner encounters in his fields,
as opposed to the conditions on a
track; and being able to duplicate
the field conditions to compare
performance features. ’ ’
In addition to its use in tractor
research, the Dyna-Cart will be
used for educational purposes.
"We plan to use the Dyna-Cart,”
says BUI Holstun, Manager of
Row-Crop Tractor Marketing for
John Deere, "for demonstrations
Tillage Equipment
Sales for disk harrows and field
-cultivators are expected to in
crease by 5.3% and 4.7% respec
tively while the market for
moldboard plows is expected to
continue to decline by 8.1%. This is
down nearly 30% from the 1980
level and down 46% from 1979. The
market for chisel plows is expected
to rise by 4.8% m .1982, after
declining 4.0% in 1981.
Hay and Forage Equipment
Sales of round balers m the over
200 lb. bale class are expected to
contmue gaming popularity with
Weed scientists
to meet in Boston
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The 22nd
Annual Meeting of the Weed
Science Society of America will be
held Feb. 11-11 at the Park Plaza
Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts.
WSSA is a 2,000 member
organization of weed scientists
from universities, government and
industry throughout the world
dedicated to reducing economic
losses in agricultural production,
and meeting other areas of
society’s needs in weed control.
“New demands are facing the
producers of the food and fibers we
depend on for survival,” said
WSSA President, Donald E. Davis,
“and those of us in weed science
must meet the challenge of helping
world agriculture.”
“Nearly three hundred technical
papers, representing some of the
best science available, will be
presented at the WSSA Annual
Meeting in Boston,” Davis said.
“The work described will influence
the contributions of weed science
to improved agricultural
productivity in the next decade.”
The theme of the 1982 annual
meeting is “Weed Science Op
portunities in the Eighties.” Topics
Broiler numbers increase
HARRISBURG - Placements oL Placements in the 19 key poultry
broiler chicks in the com- producing states were 78,577,000,
mon wealth during the week ending one percent above the same week a
Jan. 23 were 2,190,000, according to y ear earlier but slightly below the
the Pennsylvania Crop Reporting previous week. Average
Service. placements in the 19 key states
The placements were five during the past nine weeks were
percent above the corresponding two percent above a year ago.
week a year earlier but six percent Broiler-fryers slaughtered in
belqw the previous week. Average Pennsylvania under federal m
placements during the past nine s P®ction during the week ending
week were one percent above a 13 totaled 1,421,000, with an
year ago. average liveweight of 4.11 pounds.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 6,1982-C3
-'eet jyna-Cart, programmed to duplicate
implement loads pulled by a tractor in the field, can duplicate
the load an infinite number of times, always to within one'
percent of accuracy.
to farmers to show the advantages
of properly ballasting tractors,
properly matching implements to
tractors, the advantages of radial
tires, mechanical front-wheel
drive, and other features.”
in this manner John Deere
sales uicreasmg by 3.1% in 1982.
This is opposed to an expected
decline of .8% in sales of under 200
lb. balers during the same period.
Sales of mower conditioners should
be up 2% in 1962, although the
market of 18,900 units will still be
2.9% below the 1980 level.
Forage harvesters should see a
3.9% increase in sales, however
this gain is considerably offset by
the 19.6%-drop experienced in 1981.
The wmdrower market is also
expected to be offagam in 1982 at a
level of 6,600 units. This is down
26% from 1979 and down 7% from
the 1980 level.
to be covered include research on
integrated pest management and
weed control in reduced tillage
systems.
The general session, to be held
the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 9,
will be opened by the Honorable
Michael S. Dukakis,' former
governor of Massachusetts, and
now director of Intergovernmental
Studies of Harvard’s Kennedy
School of Government. Addresses
will be made by WSSA’s president,
D.E. Davis of Auburn University,
as well as Gideon Hill of DuPont
Co., H.M. Singletary of the North
Carolina Department of
Agriculture and George Templeton
of the University of Arkansas. The
general session will be chaired by
WSSA’s president-elect, T. Jack
Sheets.
At the honors and awards lun
cheon scheduled for Wednesday,
Feb. 10, recipients of Honorary
Membership, fellowships and
awards will be announced.
Recognition will be given out
standing weed_ science-related
performance in research, ex
tension and graduate work,
teaching and writing.
*
hopes to use the Dyna-Cart not only
in the development of new tractors
but as a teaching device to show
farmers how they can get
maximum performance out of
their present tractors.
Sales of grmder/mixers are
expected to be up by 7.2% in 1982 to
6,700 units. Manure spreaders are
expected to increase to 13,350
units, upA.9% from the 1981 level.
Farmstead Equipment
In the following categories,
manufacturers forecast the
change in retail dollar sales;
Portable farm- auger and
elevator sales will increase by 5%
in 1982. Sales of bin type crop
dryers are expected to increase by
10%, while batch and continuous
flow type are expected to remain
flat in 1982 then rebound by 8% in
1983.
Gram bin sales are expected to
increase by 10% in 1982 and 1983.
Sales' of milking machines are
anticipated to remain even in 1982,
but rising by 5% the following
year.
Farmstead equipment for hog
production is expected to gam 3%
this year and 13% in 1983, while
farmstead equipment for dairy
and beef production is expected to
stay even in 1982, but increase by
10% in 1982.
Sales of chemical application
equipment m 1982 will rise by 6%
and increase an additional 5% the
following year.
Joins Sire Power
R. Rinell Vincent has been
named to a new staff position
of National Sales Manager for
Sire Power, Inc.,
Tunkhannock. He will be
responsible for Sire Power
sales throughout the U.S.,
outside the membership
areas of West Virginia,
Maryland, New Jersey and
Eastern Pa. For the past 9‘/z
years, he had served as a
district sales manager for
American Breeders Service.