Space-age tool helps farmers reap savings

Guidance system lets plow drivers leave a precise amount of overlap between rows

Calgary’s CSI Wireless Inc. is beating the U.S. Defence Department’s high-tech swords into more efficient plowshares, helping Manitoba farmer Ronald Sabourin save thousands of dollars a year on necessities like fuel, fertilizer and chemicals.

“Saving that much money is important to guys like me when you consider that the cost of crop insurance is worth almost more than the crop itself,” he says.

Maybe even better, working his 2,200 acres near St. Jean, a 45-minute drive south of Winnipeg, has become much less stressful, Mr. Sabourin says, since he can even work at night if the crop demands it. “I can’t begin to tell you the difference this equipment makes to farmers like me. I am 55 now and I think it has added years to my working life.”

The object of his praise is literally space-age technology.

Globe & Mail