Flow Shields Catching On Fast
July 10, 2018
An interesting fellow from Wisconsin stopped by our office the other day. Among other things, Curt Forde of Profit Organics is the inventor of a new add-on product for cultivators. “We’ve sold Flow Shields to farmers all over the country since you featured them this winter in the 2015 Best of FARM SHOW. There’s tremendous interest in this new method of cultivation, which lets you double your speed without damaging crops,” says Forde.
“This is a product that allows organic farming in a big way because you can cultivate at high speeds without the need for chemicals. Big conventional farmers can drop chemicals and no longer worry about chemical-resistant weeds. I’ve never seen a weed that’s resistant to a cultivator shovel.”
Forde came up with the idea while cultivating corn that was 6 to 8 in. tall. Large chunks of soil were wiping out plants. He went to the shop and made the first Flow-Shield, which breaks up soil coming off the shovel and directs it down toward the plants. “I knew I was onto something right away. It’s simple and it works. We’re getting interest from farmers, big and small, in nearly every state of the union. We still sell them for just $10 apiece, which is cheaper than you can make them. Shipping is just $18 for up to 40 units.”
Profit Organics is a coalition of farmers (you join for $25 at the website) who are testing many new methods of big-time chemical-free farming. That includes extensive work on solid-seeded corn harvested with custom-built “row independent” cornheads and new methods of incorporating cover crops into row crop farming. This spring they will be testing a first-of-its-kind planter that is a combination of a conventional row crop planter and grain drill. For example, it will plant corn in rows and seeds oats between the rows - all in one pass.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Curt Forde, Profit Organics, P.O. Box 141, Viroqua, Wis. 54665 (ph 608 606-0810; www.profitorganics.com).