a l l around
76 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com |August 2019
More ideas from readers on page 75.
Photography: Cassie Haak
THE FARM
̈
NO FENCE POSTS
With 5-foot-long braces made
of round 2-inch drill stem, the
panel requires no fence posts.
Since it’s wireless, it can go
anywhere the tractor goes.
BALL BEARINGS
The panel’s sliding movement
within 1½×2-inch angle iron
is enhanced by a bearing.
IDEA OF THE MONTH
STAY IN THE TRACTOR TO OPEN
THIS SOLAR-POWERED GATE IN A
FREESTANDING PANEL.
By Paula Barbour, Content Editor
Successful Farming (ISSN-0039-4432); August 2019, Volume 117, No. 8, is published monthly except for two issues in November by Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023. Periodicals postage paid at Des Moines, Iowa, and at additional mailing offi ces. Successful Farming reserves the right to refuse nonqualifi ed subscriptions. Subscription orders must show farm or ranch connections as owner, operator, or related occupation to subscribe at basic price: $15.95 per year in the U.S.; $27.95 (U.S. dollars) in Canada; $27.95 (U.S. dollars) overseas. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to Successful Farming, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508. In Canada: Mailed under Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40069223; Canadian BN 12348 2887 RT. © Meredith Corporation 2019. Your bank may provide updates to the card information we have on fi le. You may opt out of this service at any time. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
T
hunderstorms, 2 feet of snow,
thick frost buildup on the
solar panel. Derek Haak’s
farm invention took all of
these conditions last year and
kept on running. “It’s really durable.
It takes a lot to stop it,” he says.
The freestanding cattle panel in-
corporating a 15-foot-wide gate that
opens like a sliding door is powered
by a battery charged by the solar
panel. A ¾-hp. garage door opener
power head moves the gate with a
cable wrapped around a metal 1-inch
shaft rod on ball bearings.
Since it all runs wirelessly from a
solar panel, “there is no power sup-
ply needed, and no extension cords
are necessary,” Haak says.
The self-contained unit requires
no disassembly to transport. Once it’s
as compact as possible, “I can move it
out in a pasture or wherever I want
with the tractor,” he says.
He points out that the 15-foot-wide
gate opening fits all the farm’s
equipment. It has remote control
but can also be manually
operated.
DEREK HAAK
Family: Derek Haak, 16, is the oldest of six children;
he has five sisters. Parents Tom and Cassie Haak
operate a North Dakota farm first owned by Derek’s
grandfather, Albertus. They have Registered Black
Angus cattle, sell bulls, and grow wheat, oats, corn,
soybeans, and alfalfa.
Education: When Haak graduates from high school
in 2021, he wants to attend the
University of North Dakota to
study mechanical engineering.
Skeet shooter: His 4-H club
has a skeet shooting team, and
he participates in an annual
competition in Bismark.
Email: [email protected]
