Caterpillar - Finning Canada

Challengers boost farm servicesbusiness in safety and efficiencyB Y T O N Y K R Y Z A N O W S K ITractor PullWhen Red Deer area farmers, Norm Scottand son Richard, developed a strategy todiversify their farming business, the planincluded a custom manure managementdivision. It was a way to generate enoughincome to support two families. It was awinning business plan. However, that planwas altered by a near-tragic incident.When the Scott’s started Sno-ValleyManure Management Ltd. three years ago,they purchased a four-wheel drive tractor tohaul manure tanks from storage lagoons onhog and dairy farms to nearby fields. “Myson was coming home from a job, and as hemade a turn at the top of a hill on a gravelroad, the manure tank pushed him downinto the ditch and rolled the tractor,” says(Norm) Scott. “So we made a decision thento buy something more stable, which turnedout to be a second hand, Challenger 65 serieswith tracks instead of wheels.”Not only did the decision provide a safertractor, but it also attracted business fromarea farmers because the Challenger tractor’ssuperior flotation results in less soil compaction.The business continued to grow, leadingto the acquisition of a used Challenger75 series and another manure tank. WhileSno-Valley’s main customer base is hog farmoperations, an influx of Dutch dairy farmersimmigrating into the central Albertaregion has created opportunity and growth.The new arrivals are primarily focussed onmilk production, not farming. Sno-Valleyprovides custom seeding, combining, silageharvesting and delivery services for thedairy farms. The summer operations maintaincash flow between the busy spring andfall manure application seasons.Business is good on the manure side. Sno-Valley has booked $100,000 more work thisspring than last, and traded in its two oldermachines for two new Challenger MT765tractors to improve productivity. In addition,the company’s manure management equipmentfleet includes two, tandem 5,000-gallontanks. These are equipped with NuhnIndustries Ltd. manure injection systemsand an Aer-way brand pasture rejuvenatorimplement for applying manure on pastureand hay fields. Sno-Valley also uses a smallertractor to power the pump used to fill tankswith effluent from the lagoon. The companyis ahead of the curve on established trendsand practices in manure management –PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN GAUCHERwww.finning.ca Summer 2005 • TRACKS & TREADS 17