Technotill: A Quiet Revolution
Invented and developed by Walter and Betty Schoenhofer.
From Betty Schoenhofer
owner of Technotill:
Walter and I established this family-owned business in 1996, to produce and market the Technotill Seeding System, developed on our farm near Wetaskiwin, Alberta. We wanted to develop a low cost, durable system that would maximize germination and emergence in a variety of soil types and moisture conditions, and reduce soil disturbance during the seeding operation.
Early Technotill prototype
Technotill was incorporated in 1996, and began marketing the Technotill Seeding System by participating in agricultural trade shows and zero till conferences.
The initial development of the Technotill 1.0 seeding system was assisted by consultation with the Alberta Research Council; evaluation by the Agricultural Technology Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta; and other test facilities.
Soil bin testing of Technotill 1.0
at the Ag Tech Centre in Lethbridge
3D printed TNT 2.0 prototype models were used for testing.
In 2015, we began experimenting with improvements to the Technotill 1.0 model.
Pictured left, an August, 2016 comparison of soil disturbance by Technotill 1.0 and Technotill 2.0.
Ag-Quest (Sask),Inc was contracted by Technotill to run field tests using a plot seeder equipped with 3 TNT1.0 models and 3 TNT2.0 models.
Observations:
1. Seed placement and pack were the same for both models.
2. Fertilizer placement was improved with the TNT2.0 model.
3. There was no obvious difference in soil disturbance.
Since 1996, our customers have been a valued source of help and encouragement as we improved Technotill. Their willingness to field test ideas, and provide advice, have helped us to improve our product’s durability, fertilizer placement, and ease of installation. It is farmer customers who have proven that Technotill works!
Plot seeding using Technotill 2.0
Battle River Research Group
