"Twin Fins" Improve Cultivator Performance

Twin Fins Improve Cultivator Performance CULTIVATORS Cultivators 58C Ken Tatarliov says he achieved his goal of better weed control on his organic farm by designing twin cultivator fins that do a better job of slicing through weeds     After six years of product development and testing Tatarliov has patented the twin fin design and put it on the market     He says the idea is equally useful on any sweep whether it be 11-in air seeder sweeps or 16-in bolt-on deep tillage shovels     The fins themselves are 4 1/2 in tall welded to the sweep at an angle They re made from soft flat steel bar 836/44w that s 2 in wide and 1/4 in thick      Our design kills more weeds per pass and saves us time fuel equipment wear and money he explains Throughout our testing period we observed that our fins consistently demonstrated a weed kill as close to 100 percent as what we believe is mechanically possible     Tatarliov says the fins keep tap-rooted weeds from slipping around the outer edge of the shovel blades cutting them off Although the fins are only 1/4 in thick the plant material they collect increases their width to about one inch thus increasing the soil disturbance and controlling more shallow-rooted weeds as well     Since he operates a certified organic farm Tatarliov relies solely on tillage for his weed control His invention has allowed him to improve his weed kill success as well as limit the number of passes      Since perfecting the fins we ve been able to omit our second round of summerfallow work and we no longer need to pre-work most of our spring seeding acres Any pre-work we do is spot control on small areas of weed flush     Since the high-carbon hard steel shovel does most of the work the already loosened soil simply falls away from the shank and into the fins there s very little wear on the soft material plus Tatarliov wanted the fins to be able to bend rather than break if they hit a stone It s simple to straighten them with a pipe wrench while refueling he says During an entire season he may need to straighten only one or two fins     Tatarliov s company Bema Industries sells the twin cultivator fins by modifying new McKay shovels parallel wing design only The 16-in wide 1/4-in thick tillage sweeps done up with fins are currently priced at $19 23 Can each which is only about $3 more than standard sweeps Bema Industries also sells twin fin-fitted Nichol shovels for the same price     All fins are guaranteed for the life of the shovel This means they will stay affixed and not wear out before the sweep     Over the 2003-2004 season the inventor says it cost him $77 50 Can more than standard shovels to outfit his own 31-ft cultivator and he got two seasons use out of them      We save about $1 700 in fuel because of the reduced passes and that doesn t include our time improved weed control and lower wear and tear on the machine he adds     Shipping is charged FOB Bema s plant other than U S orders where in this case the freight costs begin from Plentywood Montana     There s a video on the company s website of the modified shovels at work     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bema Industries Ken Tatarliov P O Box 69 Minton Sask Canada SOC 1T0 ph 306 969-2275 evenings ; ken@bema industries com; www bemaindustries com

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