Forgotten combine tuned up for harvest again

Sep 18, 2023

The saying, “they don’t build things like they used to,” was on the mind of rural Saskatchewan resident Borden Ylioja as he set about restoring a 1947 Cockshutt combine left to rust for decades in a field, covered in trees and which had become a home for porcupines.

Ylioja said he stumbled across the combine while riding his all-terrain vehicle and after taking a closer look, he realized it was probably fixable.

“There’s nothing seized on it. Everything still turns and I thought that would be a good fixable project,” he said.

Ylioja isn’t a farmer and has no experience with fixing combines, but he does auto body repairs on cars and thought it would be a good challenge to get the vehicle running. He said it has likely been idle for the last six decades.

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Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies