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The Rural Voice, 2000-01, Page 13Scrap Book New harvester could be on sale by next year The inventor of a new harvest- ing system hopes to have the first units on western Canadian farms by next year's harvest. Bob McLeod, of McLeod Harvest equipment put his equipment through its paces this fall on a dairy farm east of Winnipeg and by next summer hopes to have five systemsin place on farms, with full production by 2001. The system which McLeod has been working on since 1995, breaks down the work of the combine harvester into separate operations. A pull -type in -field harvester has a tank that holds 550 bushels of what McLeod calls graff: a combination of grain, chaff and weed seeds. The tank fills every 15-20 minutes and can be unloaded in three minutes. The graff is taken by trucks with a silage dump end -gate to the cleaning mill processor unit where the gain is cleaned to export standards. Weed seeds are captured and ground up by the machine so they can be used for cattle feed. The mill can process about 10 acres worth of grain per hour and, powered by a large horsepower electric motor, it costs about one dollar per hour to run. Target price for the system is $175,000 for both units, a saving of about $40,000 over a traditional combine. The operating cost is • $60.65 per hour compared to $75.43 for a combine. The company claims farmers gain about $36.59 per acre (all figures based on western yields and prices) because of the value of feed, reduced herbicide use, less grain loss and cleaner grain. The drawback for some farmers, is the extra trucking required. One farmer estimated it would require two trucks to haul the "graff' when the harvester was operating at full capacity.0 — Source: Western Producer IIIr �I!�I filip )v AC Taho - Quantum Pacific - AC Brio Hard Red Spring Wheats r r . ra z:CM � Y seeds XIMIFFIECT 'ydraulic -um. Hoses Bearings Hydraulic Pumps Cylinders SNOWBLOWERS Designed for Strength Built for Durability Now available front -mount snowblower kits for skid steer loaders i - & tractor loaders - oalb 44;-71' d:44.111111r • Hydraulic Cylinders repaired, rebuilt & manufactured • High test cap screws in English jand metric sizes to 25 mm. or 1" • Taper, ball, roller and thrust bearings • V belts in A,B,C, multigroove and timing belts CALL FOR PRICES AND AVAILABILITY OF NON -STOCK ITEMS. B BAR FOOT'S an WELDING AND MACHINE INC. 517 Brown St., Marton (519) 534-1200 1-800-265-6224 JANUARY 2000 9