Steel in the Field: A Farmer’s Guide to Weed Management Tools

	Agronomic Row Crops Side-Shift Guidance (electronic sensing/controls, hydraulic adjustment) Overview: A side-shift unit works best with straight rows and on cultivators with shorter fore-to-aft clearance. Suitable for conventionally tilled or no-till fields. It keeps the cultivator toolbar parallel to the tractor axle at all times. Insert sway blocks to hold hitch arms rigid. Stabilizing coulters not necessary with side-shifters. System does not influence tool’s range of crop or height capacity. Design Features: These units have two interlocking parts with a quick-hitch tool attachment: a front frame that mounts to the tractor’s three-point hitch, and a rear plate to which the implement is attached. By blocking the tractor swaybars, the front frame remains stationary. A hydraulic arm pushes against it to move the rear plate left or right in response to the sensing device’s signals through an electro-hydraulic steering control box. In-cab electronic monitors show movement and maximum adjustment. Dual rear tires or bias ply rear tires increase tractor stability, helping to transfer shifting force from tractor to cultivator when needed. List price: $4,000 to $4,930 Sources: 37, 49, 74 Next section Agronomic Tool Index