One of the most unique pieces of equipment on display at the Farm Progress Show was a wind machine. This hurricane on wheels is named after the Greek God of the cold north wind – Boreas. Unfortunately we couldn’t fire this monster up for a demonstration due to safety concerns but it still got a lot of attention.
To find out just what Pioneer is using it for I spoke with Scott Nelson, Agronomy Research Manager. He says it was developed to screen all their hybrids for tolerance to brittle snap, early root lodging and late stand ability. Every hybrid gets screened by the machine. The machine has 85 hp. fans that can drive a wind up to 100 mph. Scott says waiting for natural winds was too unreliable so this machine has increased their ability to test more frequently. There are four of these machines in use. He says this program has improved their product stand ability tremendously.
You can listen to my interview with Scott here: Interview With Scott Nelson