Giant Roller Pushes Rocks Underground

Giant Roller Pushes Rocks Underground ROCK PICKERS Rock Pickers 4-3-16 If you've got rock problems, you'll be interest in a home-built machine that, instead of picking rocks, pushes them underground where they're out of sight and out of the way. The rock pusher is a giant-size roller measuring 6 ft. in dia., 16 ft. long and weighs a whopping 20 tons when filled with water. Baldur Stefanson, co-developer of this new way to farm rock-infested ground, operates 1,200 acres of rocky, clay-gravel fields near Steep Rock in central Manitoba, Canada. About 700 of those acres are seeded to grasses and alfalfa to feed his 125-head beef herd and the rest is native hay and pasture. He also leases 450 acres of pasture. Stefanson, and his partner, Baldur Jonsson, have picked rocks for years but found that, in their soil, no matter how many they picked, there were always enough left to do damage. "We were always breaking up equipment," says Stefanson, who teamed up with Jonsson in search of a better way to farm their rock-infested land. The giant 20-ton roller they developed is made of 3/8 in. steel plate. Ahead of the roller, 4 rows of flexible tines and a salvaged, 14-ft. long seeder dig up the soil and plant. As the machine is pulled at about 4 mph, seed is dropped, harrowed and covered by the ridge of soil pushed up by the roller. Any rocks in the way, up to 2 ft. in dia., are pushed into the ground. "It does a good job when the ground is soft and mellow, such as in the spring of the year. We've used it for grain and flax crops with good results, and to roll established fields of alfalfa and grass," Baldur told FARM SHOW. "It does seed shallow so you might have trouble if the ground was dry and you had dry conditions after seeding." The two farmers, sharing the machine, pull it a little more than half full of water with an 85 hp. tractor. "Tillage work before seeding is the same as with an ordinary seeder," says Stefanson. The inventors point out that the roller can be used any time to level and clear rocks, even after seeding with conventional equipment. They've tried it in a number of situations and are still experimenting. "We're not even sure how long one treatment lasts since we've only had the machine less than two years," says Stefanson. Four baffles are built inside the drum for extra strength. They have holes in them so water can circulate when rotating. Axles fit tightly into pipe castings at either end of the drum. Brass bushings and sprockets, which hold the ends of the axles to the frame, are connected to the axles on the seeder by roller chains. The only problem so far is that in real wet soil, the drum tends to bog down, no matter how much water it contains. Total cost, including work done by a Winnipeg machine shop, was $4,000. Stefanson notes that Canadian government researchers have done some experimenting with the new roller-seeder/rock-pusher. They think it has possibilities for reducing land development costs since, in addition to rocks up to about 2 ft. in dia., the roller can also bury roots and other debris beneath the soil surface. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Baldur Stefanson, Steep Rock, Manitoba, Canada (ph 204 449-2311), or Baldur Jonsson, Ashern, Manitoba, Canada (ph 204 768-2898).

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