Big Sky, Big Farms, Big Tools – The 5th Annual Ag & Construction Expo

BIG SKY, BIG FARMS, BIG TOOLS

With the tremendous population and residential housing growth
across Montana, and the boom in construction, it’s easy to forget that
agriculture is still Montana’s number one industry.

And, in spite of the nationwide trend towards corporate-owned
farms, Montana still retains its heritage of family-owned farms and ranches.

As of 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
64% of Montana’s vast space was in agricultural production. Many of those farms
and ranches, like the state itself, are huge. Consider that more than 25% of
Montana’s farms are 2,000 acres of more; and nearly all – 90.4% – are family
owned.

Montana is also the third largest exporter of wheat in the
nation, exporting $369.8 million worth in 2005. And wheat, according to the
USDA, is only the second biggest commodity produced by Montana’s farmers. Cattle
and calves, which bring in more than 49% of the state’s total farm receipts, is
Montana’s top commodity.

Montana’s incredibly productive farmers and ranchers,
laboring in often unforgiving weather conditions, are getting help from another
highly productive sector of the nation’s economy: cutting-edge equipment
manufacturers.

DeImna Heiken markets and sells GPS units from her Ft.
Benton-based Triangle Ag Services. GPS (Global Positioning System) is a
satellite-based navigational system consisting of 24 satellites placed into
orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. Initially limited to military
application, GPS was made available for civilian use in the 1980s. In the early
21st century, GPS has found a place among Montana’s large, family farms, or more
accurately, on Montana’s tractors and combines.

“The biggest trend we see in agriculture, as far as GPS goes,
is auto-steer systems,” says Heiken. “As farms get bigger, farmers need that
technology.”

GPS auto-steer is attached to either the hydraulic system of
a tractor or combine, or any other farm machine, or on to the steering wheel,
making it portable from vehicle to vehicle. “It reduces skips and overlaps,”
says Heiken, “and it reduces stress on the driver and allows him to cover more
acres and pay more attention to his equipment. It’s a big deal.”
A GPS also can be used in conjunction with a combine’s yield monitor so the
farmer can determine bushels per acre and adjust fertilizer use accordingly.

Younger farmers, in particular, are snapping up GPS units,
says Heiken. “The younger generation we’re working with have grown up with
computers,” and they’ve easily adapted them to farm use, she says.

Farms are getting bigger. In 1997, according to
Montana Department of Agriculture statistics, farms consisting of 5,000 acres or
more grew from 2,839 in 1997 to 3,207 in 2002. With combines so large that
drivers can’t see their fields, GPS units keep them on track and on task.

Heiken and Triangle Ag Services will be one of numerous
exhibitors displaying the latest in Ag technology during the 5th Annual Ag &
Construction Expo held January 11, 12 and 13, 2007 at the MetraPark Expo Center
in Billings, Montana.

“The Ag & Construction Expo (or ACE Show) has been expanded
from the popular Ag Technology Show, and features manufacturers unveiling their
newest technology in the Ag and construction industries. ACE is a big iron and
heavy equipment tradeshow”, says show producer Cynthia Berst.

Both admission and parking at the expo is free. For more
information, log on to http://www.AgandConstructionExpo.com.

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http://www.brightcatproductions.com

Cynthia Berst,

President

Bright Cat Productions, Inc.

PO Box 20044, Billings, MT 59104

406-855-5765