Assiniboia-based agriculture company Flexxifinger has been nominated for an Innovation Award at the Salon international du machinisme agricole (SIMA) — the International Exhibition of Agricultural Machinery — one of the world’s largest international trade shows.
Flexxifinger is the only Canadian company nominated in the Soils and Crops category this year.
Established in 1922, this year marks the centenary of SIMA, which is held every two years in Paris, France. From the beginning, SIMA has made a point of celebrating and showcasing innovations in agriculture.
“I would say it’s about the second-biggest farm show in the world,” said Tobias Scheur, international sales manager at Flexxifinger. This will be Scheur’s third time representing Flexxifinger at SIMA. “Usually, I think they have around 250,000 visitors within five days, I believe that’s what the number is.”
Now an international company with over 500 dealers and distributors worldwide, Flexxifinger is still based in Assiniboia — and Dietrich is still inventing.
The product that has been nominated for the prestigious SIMA Innovation Awards is Flexxfinger’s Multi-Crop Valve. Dietrich invented it for a client who was experimenting with inter- or multi-cropping — the process of sowing and harvesting two different crops from the same field. Intercropping is healthier for the soil and can make fertilizing and watering more efficient.
Without the right tools, though, intercropping is too labour-intensive for most people.
“On a normal air seeder, if you have what we call air packages — so two fans, two tanks, or a tank with two compartments — then you’re able to install the Multi-Crop Valve after your header,” Scheur explained. “It’s basically making it way easier for the farmer to switch from real intercropping to a normal standard cropping situation by just opening and closing those gates on the valve.”
It is, of course, possible to do the same thing manually, Scheur noted. However, like Flexxifinger’s patented quick-detach crop lifter system, the Multi-Crop Valve saves a lot of time.
“We hope that it will make it easier for a farmer to consider intercropping because the issue they’re facing right now that it always takes some time to set up your equipment.”
Flexxifinger makes another intercrop product called the Flexxiselect that is also designed for relay intercropping. The Flexxiselect allows a farmer to harvest their first crop while leaving the second crop underneath to continue growing.
“Until we had our Flexxiselect, there was not really a method of harvesting two crops offset as a relay crop,” Scheur continued. “What that means is that you go in with the combine when the first crop is ready and just take that first crop off the top. Then you can let the second crop still stand in the field and let it ripen.”
Scheur said that over the last few years, Flexxfinger has worked with research institutes around the world to trial the possibilities of multi-cropping.
“Multi-cropping seems to increase yields substantially and decrease the use of fertilizer. … Overall, it makes financially good sense for farming operations.”
The SIMA nomination increases Flexxifinger’s exposure, which is always good for business. It is also a recognition of how valuable such innovations continue to be. The push for greater and greater efficiency in how farmers feed the world shows no signs of stopping, so having a world leader in farming innovation right here in southern Sask is a considerable point of pride.
SIMA takes place Nov. 6 to 10 at the Parc des exhibitions de Paris-Nord Villepinte, one of the largest convention centres in France.
