Duck Foot Parts of Saskatoon has released the DF5, a paddle tine designed for Agco and Massey Ferguson 9255 and 9300 DynaFlex draper headers, which it unveiled at Ag in Motion this summer.

The company's tines are fitted to header reels to reduce header loss and feed the combine more evenly. "The biggest thing that Duck Foot does is help with harvest efficiencies," sales manager Kris Kristjanson said, adding that in most cases operators have also been able to raise their ground speed.

Kristjanson said the DF5 will probably be used more in Brazil and other export markets than in Canada, where fewer farmers run these headers. Co-founder Steve Kastning said the first DF5 prototype went on an Agco header in Brazil during the soybean harvest, held in place with hose clamps because it did not yet fit; Agco then asked the company to build one that did, and the retaining clip has since been modified to lock the paddle in place during operation.

The DF5 joins a lineup matched to other header brands: the DF1 for MacDon, the DF2 for older headers and Hart Carter reels, the DF3 for John Deere and the DF4 for Claas. The company plans DF6 and DF7 models to cover more manufacturers.

The idea for Duck Foot came in 2015, on-farm testing began in 2016, and after changes to the mould in 2017 the first sale went to a customer in Australia through Twitter. The products are made in Canada. The report is by Greg Berg.

Source: Manitoba Co-operator