A century ago, planting a field meant putting seeds in the ground by hand. Today, farmers can map every seed, steer equipment by GPS, and even program a tractor to plant a corn maze – a striking example of just how far farm implements have come over the past century.
The Press visited McBlain Farms just outside of Caledonia to speak with farmers Tyler McBlain and Paul Makey about how modern implements are transforming work in the field.
CALEDONIA—Paul Makey and Tyler McBlain of McBlain Farms in Caledonia have embraced a number of agricultural technologies. They provide some perspective on just how large a combine header is. 
A vintage hand planter used by farmers over a century ago. 
CALEDONIA—McBlain Farms planted this corn maze at Carluke Orchards, made possible using automated and GPS technology to ensure perfect accuracy for planting. —Submitted photos.
“It’s a big thing in agriculture to make sure you get your seed in the ground, you get the right amount of seed in the ground, and you get it to the right depth,” said Makey. “That has really progressed from the days of a hand planter … to a mechanical planter … to what we have now, which is a precision planter.”
When McBlain was asked about planting a field of corn at Carluke Orchards for a corn maze, he saw an opportunity to prove just how precise the machinery can be.
“They were going to go in with a weed whacker and lawnmower and try and draw a picture,” he said.
Instead, the technology available meant they could simply program a design into the tractor to seed the field as needed. This summer marked their second year planting the maze.
“We actually plant both ways just to get a denser population because it’s a maze,” said McBlain of the crop, which will be harvested later this season. “It’s kind of a neat pet project. We’re pretty excited about it, just to be able to do that.”
That accuracy creates big-time cost savings in McBlain’s daily operations.
“I’m mapping every seed we put in the ground. We’re putting 36,000 seeds; my phone has each individual seed mapped,” said McBlain.
A century ago, that work was all done by hand. Twenty years ago, seeds would fall to the ground from two feet up, bouncing as they landed. Today, seeds are deposited within an inch from the ground and with exact precision.
“We want every kernel to be six inches apart. This machine will do that for us,” said McBlain.
While farm equipment varies depending on the operation, McBlain Farms relies on several modern implements to carry out its fieldwork.
Strip Tiller
The tiller is used to help prepare the field before planting begins and to apply fertilizer.Because the tiller is equipped with variable rate technology, it applies a far more efficient coat of fertilizer, deploying a proportional amount needed to grow and no more.
Makey said in the past farmers would plow the fields and then work the land with a series of implements, such as a disc or cultivator.
“We don’t want to disturb the ground, right? We want to leave the worms where they are. So, this only tills a strip six inches wide every 30 inches for the corn and puts the fertilizer down automatically into the ground instead of what they used to do, which is just broadcast it on top,” he explained.
McBlain noted the implement is not yet a common tool in the province, largely due to the cost to buy in.
“This is where things are going because of our cost of production, our cost of fertilizer. We need to do a better job utilizing fertilizer. That’s part of the reason we wanted to adopt all this technology,” he said.
Corn Planter
This implement runs on a central commodity system, where seed is placed inside and then routed to two central hoppers. The modern version uses conveyors and augers to get seed into the planters, significantly reducing the previous manual labour requirement.
“It also allows us greater distance that we can go with one fill…. It’s all controlled by GPS, so the rows are perfect…. It’s all auto-steered,” said Makey on its other benefits, noting the planter can operate perfectly up to 10 miles an hour (16km/h).
The technology also allows different pieces of equipment to communicate, allowing Makey and McBlain to drive separate machines on the same field without risk of crossing paths.
“They know exactly where each other’s been,” said Makey.
Air Seeder (Drill)
“This is what we use to plant soybeans, wheat, and oats,” said Makey of this implement, which stretches to 36 feet wide when fully unfolded. The implement works by placing seeds into the unit’s hoppers, which are then pushed by air into individual tubes for each row planted.
While the implement now makes light work for its operators, originally that seed was spread by hand before advancing to a mechanical drill that would drop the seeds into the ground at random.
Now, using variable rate technology, the modern implement can automatically increase or decrease the amount of seed dropped in specific areas based on several factors it can automatically determine.
“It’s full GPS-guided,” said McBlain. “Everything’s monitored, so we know if we have an issue.”
While the tractor pulling these implements has autonomous capabilities, McBlain and Makey still prefer to see a driver behind the wheel.
Grain Buggy
This implement runs alongside a combine, allowing a more efficient process during harvest to offload materials without having to stop the combine.
“It’s a piece in our operation that’s worth a lot,” said McBlain. “We put tracks on it, so it reduces compaction (compared to) tires.”
With technological advancements, the buggy can also be controlled from within the cab of the combine driving alongside it.
Makey said in the past, once the combine was full, you would have to drive it back across the field to empty it into a truck or wagon.
“This (new system) has added great efficiency because you want that combine running all the time,” he explained.
The buggy is also equipped with scales that can determine exactly how much weight is inside, providing accuracy when offloading the material to trucks for transportation off farm.
Maintenance
Advanced implements require advanced maintenance as well.
Makey said many technical issues with on-farm machinery can now be diagnosed and even repaired by a remote technician off-site.
“You can log in right from your phone,” he said.
McBlain said that when a technician is required on site, the first tool they grab isn’t a wrench – but a laptop.
“They know we have a problem before we do. It’s all wireless,” he said, demonstrating how he can monitor every piece of equipment on the farm from his cell phone.
He continued, “It’s good in a sense, but it’s also a pain because we’ve had situations where we’ve updated the software for the air drill, but didn’t update the software for the tractor, and now they won’t talk.”
This kind of mistake can lead to delays as the second piece of equipment must download the needed software update.
All of this can lead to higher maintenance bills, but McBlain believes they pale in comparison to the money saved through efficiency, with those costs lowered further through preventative measures.
“We go through everything every winter, every implement, just to make sure that when it’s go time, we’re not dealing with things that we could have prevented.”
