Phoenix Rotary Closing Down

Phoenix Rotary Equipment, a manufacturer of rotary harrows commonly used for residue management in no-till fields, is going out of business.

Ag Equipment Intelligence reported in mid-November that Phoenix, based in Nisku, Alberta, Canada, has started bankruptcy proceedings and the management team was let go.

Calls to the company offered only a recorded message and no option for speaking to a live person.

It was unclear whether Phoenix would be purchased by another company that would continue production, and there was no word on what would happen with dealer warranties on Phoenix equipment.

Phoenix was a widely known player in the no-till market. The other major player in the rotary harrow market, Precision Metal Fabricating of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, was recently purchased Kelley Manufacturing, Tifton, Ga.

The demand for rotary harrows could increase due to the greater residue management needs of continuous no-till corn, which is growing more popular as corn prices rise.

Roller Plans Available Free on the Web

Technical drawings for a no-till cover crop roller developed by The Rodale Institute can be downloaded free online at http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/login/register.php?comp=no_till. The roller is in development as part of a project looking at one-pass mechanical control of cover crops and no-till planting achieved by mounting two implements on the same tractor.

The roller pushes over and crimps the stems of a standing cover crop in front of a tractor that also pulls a no-till planter.

Rodale describes its “No-till Plus” system as a no-till, no-spray maneuver that…