In the past two years there has been considerable interest in developing a supply chain for corn stalk harvesting to support new industries in Ontario like the biofuels sector. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has developed a new project to help and now that project is coming to Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (COFS).
The OFA has secured commitments from AGCO to display its large square corn stalk baler in Canada and from Stinger to introduce its large bale accumulator and stacker at this year’s show. Together with other partners like La Coop fédérée, COFS will be having a new Corn Stalk Baling Demonstration this fall.
“The Corn Harvest Demo at the COFS is a great opportunity to showcase the most recent innovation in corn stalk harvesting,” says Patrick Girouard, Coordinator, Renewable Energy and Bioproducts at La Coop fédérée.
The Corn Stalk Baling Demonstrations will be held at 2:30 pm each day in the Southwest Demo Field. Each demonstrations will be done as a two pass system. First windrowing with a Hiniker flail chopper followed by baling with the AGCO baler. Bale stacking will be performed with a Stinger 6500 unit.
“Since our equipment has produced over one million large square bales for ethanol facilities in Iowa and Kansas during the past three years,” says Ken Wagenbach, Business Development/Equipment Specialist for Biomass at AGCO, “AGCO is confident about both the performance and durability of its baler.”
According to OFA Vice-president Don McCabe, duplicating the two pass system is critical.
“It will allow producers to see how the scale of production and equipment efficiency are important to reduce field harvesting costs,” says McCabe.
AGCO and Stinger staff will be at COFS during the demonstrations to answer questions. The OFA and its partners will also be on site to provide extra information on emerging opportunities such as a second field demo scheduled for November in the Alvinston area. Interested producers can register for that event at COFS.
This OFA demonstration and project is developed in partnership with La Coop fédérée and its affiliates including its joint-venture AgroMarts, AGRIS Co-op, Wanstead Co-op, IGPC Ethanol Inc., Bioindustrial Innovation Canada and the Grain Farmers of Ontario. Funding for this project is provided by the Agricultural Adaptation Council as well as the Program of Energy Research and Development operated by Natural Resources Canada and administered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
As is often the case at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, the co-operation of many is resulting in one of the most innovative demonstrations for Canadian farmers to see this year.
Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show will be held on September 9, 10 and 11, 2014 in Woodstock, ON. For more information about this demonstrations and the other events in the Southwest Demo Field visit www.outdoorfarmshow.com or call 1-800-563-5441.
REMINDER: EXHIBITOR DEADLINES TO NOTE
July 23rd - Booking and Artwork Deadline for Official Show Guide (contact Kevin Lord at kevinlord@rogers.com or Amanda Macfarlane at amanda@canadasoutdoorshows.com)
August 1st - Early Bird Discount Deadline for RVS Furniture Rental
August 19th - Early Bird Discount Deadline for SHOWTECH Electrical Orders (beyond standard outlets)
September 1st - Early Bird Discount Deadline for Execulink Telecom Wireless Internet
Source: Outdoorfarmshow