Saskatchewan manufacturer develops world's largest air seeder

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

An innovative new machine produced by Langbank-based implement manufacturer Seed Hawk Inc. lends credibility to their slogan as “The Emerging Leader” in the agricultural equipment sector.

The company’s new 84-foot air seeder is the largest in the world, adding to Saskatchewan’s reputation as a global leader in agri-business innovation.

Seed Hawk co-founder and president Pat Beaujot says the project has been several months in the making. “We have a very talented professional engineer, Dave Hundeby, who has about 35 years of experience designing cultivator frames. We put him to work on this specific project about a year ago,” he stated.

“When the design process began, we had certain parameters set. We wanted to try to keep the design under 17 feet high, and we succeeded at that. The transport width is wider than we would have liked, but to get an 84-foot machine down a road can be quite difficult. It ended up being 24 feet across the bottom and 27 feet across the top.”

This particular unit differs from a standard-size seeder in several ways. Hundeby beefed up the hitch to accommodate pulling the machine along with large carts and product. All of the hinge points were also redesigned for improved strength, and replaceable bushings were added to the hinge points on the wings.

“The biggest model we used to make was 66 feet as a five-plex design, but with the increase in width to the new seeder, we had to go to a seven-plex design. We have added a third set of wings, but it is still our standard depth from front to back,” Beaujot noted.

With an 84-foot toolbar, the new unit can seed 50 acres an hour traveling at five miles per hour, making it possible for a producer to comfortably seed 640 acres in a single day.

The seeder was designed to address a growing demand in the industry. With the average farm size increasing and labour becoming increasingly difficult to find, Beaujot says producers are seeking larger equipment.

“Timing is everything in the spring, and certainly if farmers can get their crops planted in the window between May 1 and 15, they will get a much better crop,” he noted. “If it takes farmers three weeks to seed their crops, and they don’t get three weeks of good weather, then they will be giving up some yield.”

Beaujot says it is important to stay innovative with respect to equipment design in the agricultural industry, because farms and demands are constantly changing.

“Technology is evolving every day, and new innovations such as GPS and auto-steer are being incorporated into tractors, making it easier to seed with an 84-foot drill and be within a foot of accuracy. Years ago, farmers wouldn’t have been able to seed with that many feet and do it accurately, but nowadays, things are changing rapidly, and the agricultural industry is no exception,” he stated.

“Seed Hawk has to feed industry demands and be more creative then ever before in order to help our customers become more profitable. If our customers are more profitable, then we’ll be more profitable, too.”

Beaujot says Saskatchewan has a lot to be proud of when it comes to its very resourceful and inventive agri-business industry, and he’s happy to be a part of it. “Saskatchewan has by far the most innovative bunch of seeding equipment manufacturers in the world. Seed Hawk has grown to become one of the top competitors in the market,” he stated.

“It has been our company philosophy from the start, and we are certainly on top of it. We want to be the leader, and we clearly are the leader in many areas with regard to seeding equipment.”

More information on this and other Seed Hawk products can be found on the company’s website at www.seedhawk.com.

For more information, contact:
Pat Beaujot, President
Seed Hawk Inc.
Phone: 1-800-667-4295
E-mail: pat@seedhawk.com
Website: www.seedhawk.com