Weed Seed “Terminator” Designed For Deere Combines

Weed Seed “Terminator” Designed For Deere Combines COMBINES Accessories A new Seed Control Unit SCU from Redekop Mfg reduces germination in weed seeds passing through Deere combines by 98 percent according to Trevor Thiessen Redekop Mfg “We started working on this in 2015 after seeing what was happening in Australia with weed seed control systems Our business partner is an engineer who designed a simpler more efficient system ”     What Redekop now offers is a weed seed “devitalization” system that doesn’t require chopping shearing or grinding the seed Their research showed that when seeds are hit at least 4 times at high velocity germination is reduced 98 percent     Fully integrated with Redekop and Deere straw choppers seeds and chaff are separated from the straw ahead of the chopper and directed to the SCU They enter 2 side-by-side impact mills composed of a rotor and stator The rotor includes 2 rings of round pins and center fan blades The fan blades accelerate seed entering a mill against U-shaped stator elements     The 2 impact mills spin in opposite directions discharging material in the middle of the assembly and blasting it into the straw stream This ensures the devitalized seeds chaff and dust are well distributed in the field and away from the combine reducing air filter maintenance and the risk of fire     The side-by-side design involves mirror image components that are fully reversible As they wear down on one side of the mill they can be flipped doubling their effective life and reducing costs     The SCU drive is incorporated with the chopper driveline This allows the SCU to be quickly disengaged when weed seed is not a concern Internal guide walls in the chopper are folded back to allow chaff and straw into the chopper     After multiple years of testing and refinement the SCU has now been brought to market However Thiessen is quick to emphasize that it is not likely in its final form since they continue to run extensive field tests     “We still have room to improve as we introduce the next generation ” says Thiessen We are constantly trying to improve and make it more efficient ”     Redekop is selling the SCU on the company’s MAV straw choppers adapted for Deere combines as well as on Deere straw choppers The company plans to launch it for use on Case and other brand combines soon It is also available as a retrofit kit for use with MAV and Deere straw choppers     In June Deere announced that SCU retrofit kits for 2017 and newer combines will be available from Deere dealers Starting with the 2021 model year Deere customers will be able to order the SCU as an option on new combines equipped with straw choppers Redekop will continue offering the retrofit kit for older Deere combines equipped with straw choppers In all cases the SCU sensors and operations are fully integrated in the Deere terminals No separate screen or controls are needed     While the SCU is well-adapted to northern small grains canola and beans it is also being evaluated in corn-on-corn and corn/soybean rotations     “The straw choppers can handle the residue of corn but the increase in chopping headers mean there is less material coming out the back end of the combine ” points out Thiessen “However volunteer corn is a problem and needs to be controlled Whether that is enough of an economic benefit hasn’t been fully tested ”     Redekop is selling the MAV SCU for $75 000 The SCU alone for use with a Deere straw chopper is priced at $70 000 Thiessen estimates $5 000 to $7 000 in wear per year     “The SCU has a high price tag ” acknowledges Thiessen “We are still not making the volume of units needed for efficient production to lower costs ”     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Redekop Manufacturing Hwy#16 West Saskatoon Sask Canada S7K 3J7 ph 306 931-6664; www redekopmfg com

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