UNDER THE HOOD
By Keith Berglind
Caution: Electronics on-board
Computers and advanced systems have changed the way we work on machines' electric circuits I have a couple of handy new tools you can build to help you do safe electrical work on newer machines and vehicles with electronics and computers. But first I'd like to cover a few DO NOTS that every repair person should be aware of. I'll cover the new tools next column.Fixing small electrical problems on machinery and vehicles used to be simple. We could use home-made test lights and old needle-style voltmeters. Before the days of diodes, we could even hook batteries up backward (reverse polarity), making lots of sparks without hurting anything.
Welding was easy, too. I'm sure lots of us have welded on trailer hitches and welded broken frames and truck boxes. Broken front-end loaders were welded right on the tractor. We just connected the ground clamp and started welding. Our biggest concern was that we would put the ground clamp on the wrong part of the tractor or vehicle and all the welding current would flow through a wheel bearing and weld up the balls - a funny but true story.
All this has ended. Each of today's vehicles and farm machines should be treated as if they have computers and/or electronic circuit boards somewhere on the chassis. A new tractor today might have up to seven computers/monitors mounted behind the seat. Here are the areas that create the need for caution.
Welding
Be smart. Don't arc or mig weld on any machine or vehicle with
on-board
computers. If you must weld the trailer hitch to your late-model
truck,
remove the computer box from the vehicle - just disconnecting it
is not
enough. This is easier said than done. There may even be more
than one
computer. So be careful.
A very experienced welder I know says he just does not weld on vehicles. Period. He'll weld up a trailer hitch for you, but it gets bolted to the frame. If a hitch breaks, he takes it off, then welds it.
He says welders warn of air bags being released by the static (voltage spikes) of arc welding. We haven't located anyone that this has happened to, but it pays to be cautious, especially considering the cost of a new air bag. Imagine getting paid $50 to weld a trailer hitch, then paying the customer $2,000 for an air bag.
I don't know what you should do about a combine equipped with a GPS computer when you have to weld a broken pick-up frame. I think it would pay to remove the GPS equipment first, because simply disconnecting the battery ground won't protect the computer. Talk to the combine dealer for sure.
Testing equipment
* Test lights. My old favourite - a 12-volt dash light bulb and
socket -
is history.
Always use a high-impedance test light. High-impedance means lots of restriction. The idea here is to restrict or control the amount of current that will flow in the circuit. Excessive flow will result in instant or delayed failure of electronic components.
Some manuals state that self-powered test lights must use a high-impedance bulb with no more than a 1.5-volt battery.
Solution: Better to buy this tool than build one from old parts.
* Voltmeters/ohmmeters (multimeters) are my favorite electrical repair tool. But now it's important to use up-to-date meters.
Use a high-impedance (minimum 10 megohm) digital voltmeter/ohmmeter for circuit testing. An analog or needle-style voltmeter/ohmeter will cause electronic component damage. Again, too much current will flow in the circuit.
Note how an ohmeter works: It sends out a metered amount of current to measure the resistance. An old-style ohmmeter will send too much current through the circuit being tested, causing a burn-out of sensitive components.
Solution: Buy a new, high-impedance multimeter. Put the old needle-style multimeter on the back shelf, reserved for emergency use only.
Think before you work
*Body static. Body movement can generate up to 30,000 volts. A
careful
mechanic or technician learns how to ground all body static
before touching
sensitive components.
I keep forgetting to do this. I start the job by grounding my hands, but somewhere through the job it's too easy to go for one more tool, then return to the job and send a fresh static spark into a computer.
Solution: Practice makes perfect.
* Poorly installed accessories - especially CB radios or cellular phones - can foul up a job. Strong transmission signals within 18 inches of the computer can cause it to act up or distort the signals from the computer. Some CB or radio installations either interrupt the power supply to the computer or cause the line voltage to drop lower than the computer's minimum voltage needs. Random computer failures are often traced back to power-supply problems caused by other equipment.
Magnetic induction between wires, especially heavy current flow wires, will disrupt computer operation. Do not run computer wires parallel to other existing heavy flow wires.
We had a problem years ago with some of the early combine monitors. After we wasted a lot of money trying to please a few customers, we discovered they were all using illegal signal boosters for their CB radios. They wouldn't tell us they were using these boosters, and we only found them out when a hired operator mentioned that the monitor only failed when he tried to talk to a close-by truck.
Solution: Always follow installation instructions when installing accessory electrical equipment.
Keith Berglind is a licensed heavy-duty mechanic living near
Gimli, Manitoba
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Soybeans are done - So is the slump
In May I wrote a commentary warning that, with good yields, soybean futures could slide to US$5. At that time, the U.S. government was projecting cash prices of less than US$5. As it turns out, after a brief late-June rally to above US$6.40, the weather was good enough to supply a normal yield and a break by the November future to US$5.15 in September. During September and early October, cash beans at many U.S. locations were under US$5. Had it not been for less than normal rainfall during August, the Nov-ember future could have fallen below US$5. That could have knocked Ontario elevator boards below C$7.Now that the weather-sensitive season is over and harvest is wrapping up, the US$5.10 area should hold as a major low for several months, and you probably don't have to worry about C$7 beans in Ontario. At the same time, don't look for any windfall rallies soon.
Here's why the market should hold above the September lows of US$5.10, keeping Canadian bids over C$7.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop report released Oct. 9 lowered the U.S. production estimate sharply from the September forecast. USDA pegged production at 2.769 billion bushels, down from 2.909 a month ago. Average yield is estimated at 38.7 bu/acre, down from last month's forecast of 40.6 bu/acre. Evidently, the more recent survey found a sizable acreage that will yield little or nothing because of dry August weather.
Ending stocks will be much more manageable than previously expected. In September, USDA thought 1998-99 ending stocks could swell to 485 million bushels. Now, the projection is 395 million. That's still a big number. But expressed as a percentage of use, it's nowhere near the glutted levels of the mid-1980s that pushed futures well under US$5 for several months. See U.S. Soybean Ending Stocks.
USDA also cut the global soybean supply projection. Production losses in China, caused in part by flooding, are estimated by USDA at 300,000 tonnes, which many in the trade believe to be a very conservative estimate. Global production for the 1998-99 marketing year is pegged at 153.6 million tonnes - almost three million tonnes less than a month ago, and down slightly from 1997-98.
In addition, USDA reduced its global meal and oil ending stocks projections. Meal demand is expected to stay strong this winter, with large numbers of hogs to feed in North America and Europe and solid demand by China.
Could beans go lower? Yes. In today's uncertain economic environment all markets are vulnerable to unexpected breaks. In the big picture however, the record-large U.S. soybean crop seems to be fully reflected in the low prices of the past two months; USDA statistics strongly suggest that the worst of the bear market appears to be over and that any dips to new lows should be short-lived.
Once the U.S. harvest is complete and soybeans are under cover, any buyer want-ing to garner a supply has to pull the beans from farm and commercial holders. And how aggressively might buyers have to bid? This brings us to a discussion on how high prices might get this winter.
Farmers could use some price targets. One target would be the US$6 area by the January future. That's a round number at which U.S. farmers might let some supplies go. Any weather problems in South America could cause rallies to that area. If the market rises past that zone, the next target might be around US$6.70, where nearby futures peaked last July during weather scares.
A key factor blunting rallies could be slow exports. Record production was harvested in South America during March and April, and the soybeans and soy products from that huge crop are still being distributed into the international market place. Brazil has a lot of crop yet to sell, competing against U.S. exports. In fact, U.S. export inspections to date this marketing year are about 27 per cent less than a year ago at this time.
Global buyers don't need to bid aggressively for U.S. supplies when they know they can buy from South America.
Domestic buyers won't have to hoist bids too much to coax beans from farm bins because farmers are living with last year's memory. They wish they had marketed their 1997 crop during harvest through January. It didn't pay to store into midsummer. They'll be tempted to be more aggressive sellers this winter.
There is another reason to expect just moderate recovery the next few months. Historically, bear markets like 1998's tend to bottom in October. Often there is a test of the low in February or March, and sometimes there's another test in spring. Many times you don't get full-fledged bullish recovery until July or even August. History teaches that it takes time to work through major lows like this.
This summer, the complexion of the market could be very
different. But for
the time being, it is enough to conclude that the market has met
its
downside objectives. That job being done, you can expect a
bottoming phase
with moderate rallies during winter and into early spring.
Market analyst and commodities specialist John DePutter operates
a
telephone hotline, Ag Alert (519) 433-0133, and publishes a
monthly
newsletter
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New act could mean
new environmental efforts
BY ANTHONY FLEMING
Last May, the Farming and Food Production Protection Act replaced the Farm Practices Protection Act. And though some protections have been improved under the new act (farmers are exempt from municipal bylaws that apply to normal farm practices, and the protection against getting sued is broader), farmers must still be aware of potential liabilities they face under environmental protection legislation and how "normal farm practices" interact with environmental laws. Farmers should also understand that normal farm practices are changing all the time - not keeping up with changes may expose farming operations to environmental prosecutions and law suits.This issue, I'll look at some of the issues that define "normal farming practices." Nov. 16, I'll cover what the act means in terms of civil nuisance claims, municipal bylaws and farmers' efforts to comply.
Defining normal
farming practices
"Normal farming practices" are not what a farmer normally does
for the
purpose of the new act. They are defined as farming practices
conducted in
a manner consistent with proper and acceptable customs and
standards in
similar agricultural operations.
The ultimate decision of what is an acceptable normal farm
practice is
left to the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board, which may
make its own
guidelines, adopt ministry guidelines or policies, or consider
other
policies. Some lessons learned from court decisions on due
diligence may
provide some guidance in deciding what a normal farm practice is:
1. Just because you have always operated a certain way doesn't
mean that
you follow normal farm practices: The standard or best practice
of the
industry as a whole sets the standard, not your particular way of
doing
things.
2. Even if most farmers follow a certain method, if that method
is
unacceptable or creates unacceptable risks, it will not qualify
as a normal
farming practice. If everyone breaks the law, it's no excuse for
you to do
so as well.
3. Normal farm practices don't require superhuman efforts or
perfection.
What is required is an appreciation of risks and some effort to
predict and
address those risks.
4. The definition can and will change with time. As methods and
technology
improve, and as appreciation for how to protect the environment
improves,
so, too, should the methods used.
5. Environmental protection measures must be monitored to ensure
that the
proper procedure is being followed and problems are dealt with
efficiently.
The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) - developed as a co-operative effort with government ministries, farm groups and farmers - can help identify environmental problems and solutions. On successful completion and review of an EFP, farmers are eligible for up to $1,200 in federal government funding to assist in implementing the plan on-farm. By following the EFP program, a farmer should be able to justify that the farm meets normal farm practices and is also duly diligent. Due diligence may still be a valid defence where problems are being dealt with in a systematic fashion based on a priority list and available financial resources.
The existence of a voluntary program such as the EFP may eventually raise the standard of normal farm practices. If the majority of farmers comply with EFP standards - and many farmers are conducting assessments and implementing action plans to meet these standards - then those standards could become the industry standard, and by definition a normal farm practice. Industrial standards are always evolving, and with this evolution the definition of due diligence - and by implication normal farming practices - evolves as well.
What the future will bring to farm standards will depend to a
large extent
on how the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board defines normal
farming
practices and what outside guidelines and policies it recognizes.
The key
to operating an environmentally sound farm is to continually
assess your
farm's impact on the environment and how you might minimize
damage.
To keep up with the law, then, it seems wise to use the EFP to
evaluate
your farm and implement an environmental action plan.
Anthony Fleming is an environmental lawyer with Loopstra, Nixon &
McLeish
in Toronto
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