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Looking to speed soybean harvest and improve yield, we purchased this machine from a Canadian company.

Kyle Stackhouse 2

April 15, 2022

2 Min Read
Unloading roller from a trailer
NEW PURCHASE: It took a bit more than we expected to unload the 26,000-pound machine, as we had to bring in two forklifts to assist the wheel loader, but we got it done. Kyle Stackhouse

The last couple of years we have rented a land roller to try it out and determine if it would benefit our operation. The answer: we liked it.

I’m sure we got a cleaner cut, had fewer repairs, and maybe drove a little bit faster during soybean harvest. That was reason enough for a roller to make it from our purchasing radar to an actual purchase. I’m not sure if there is an increase in yield or more branching/pods as a result of rolling, but we are already doing a lot to encourage the soybean plants to make more blooms per node and keep more pods.

We priced several different brands of rollers. After we got over the sticker shock of rising steel prices, we dug a little deeper into the different models. We were leaning toward a Canadian-made model from Bach-Run Farms Ltd. We liked the X fold design of this 42-foot machine. (Several brands feature a rear fold, trailing transport design which are necessary for larger models, but we thought it might be more difficult for some of our drivers to operate.) Dad made some calls to the manufacturer and to other producers who had this brand to verify product quality and integrity before the purchase was made.

Bach-Run is a farmer/manufacturer. We purchased directly from them. There was a little apprehension on our part as we aren’t used to making international purchases, however, everything was quoted in U.S. Dollars and our bank took care of the wire transfer.

Bach-Run and the trucking company took care of any necessary customs paperwork. Originally, the 400 miles between us and the manufacturer wasn’t a big deal, but when the bridge was closed during the trucker’s protest a few weeks before delivery was scheduled, a bit of uncertainty was added to the apprehension.

In the end, everything worked out fine. The roller arrived on time. It took a bit more than we expected to unload the 26,000-pound machine, as we had to bring in two forklifts to assist the wheel loader, but we got it done. The hitch was quickly bolted to the frame and it was ready to run.

We can’t wait to get in the fields and use it!

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress. 

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