This June, we joined Jason and Dalton Watt of J&K Farms in Kentucky for their winter canola harvest. What started as a SmartPan demo quickly turned into a full-blown MAD Concave conversion—and the results speak for themselves.
Day 1: The Challenge Begins
Harvest kicked off with two John Deere S680 combines running aftermarket “one-concave-fits-all crops” setups. Yields were strong—74 to 78 bu/ac—but grain loss was a concern, fluctuating between 0.75 to 1 bu/ac. The sample was chaff-heavy, and unthreshed pods were showing up both in the tank and out the back of the combines.
The green stems made for a tough thresh, causing engine loads to jump erratically by 10–20%. Despite the challenges, rain was in the forecast and soybeans needed planting, so Jason and Dalton pushed forward with the current set up of concaves and challenges.
SmartPan Demo Results:
- Real-time grain loss monitoring
- Immediate feedback on combine performance
- “That’s a no-brainer for that price!” — Jason
But the night took a turn…
Late Night Text: “Our Concaves Blew Up!”
Jason messaged us late that evening: the concaves he’d previously been running – aftermarket units from another provider – had completely failed. The welds gave out, breaking the concave in half and jamming the augers beneath. The next morning, we had a MAD Concave set ready for pickup at TriGreen Equipment in Tennessee, getting Jason back up and running without delay.
“WOW that is customer service!” — Jason
Day 2: The MAD Concave Difference
We installed:
- Splitframes in positions 1 & 2
- O-Grate one-piece in position 3
- .375 inserts in the first splitframe
- Fingergrates (FG) in the second for green stems and pods
With the split frame now installed and balanced, swapping inserts for different crops and conditions is quick and straightforward—giving Jason the flexibility to adapt without downtime.
Jason fired up the combine and within a few hundred feet, he called us:
“THIS MACHINE IS SO QUIET! Runs smooth and doesn’t rumble anymore!”
We checked the sample and grain loss—what a transformation.
Immediate Improvements:
- Grain loss: Down to 0.5 bu/ac, consistent across the spread
- Sample quality: Clean, minimal chaff, fully threshed pods
- Engine load: Stable at 95%, no more spikes
- Fuel efficiency: Improved due to smoother operation
- Ground speed: Increased to 2.5–2.8 mph, 12.3 ac/hr
All of this was achieved within a few passes.
Final Results from Jason:
- Yield: 74–78 bu/ac
- Speed: 2.5–2.8 mph
- Efficiency: 12.3 ac/hr @ 95% engine load
- Header: 40ft
“🥰✅ Bad ass, I know u made a believer out of us. Thank you so much!” — Jason
Bringing Global Learnings to Northern Harvests
We’ve been harvesting canola for months across different regions, gathering insights and refining setups. Every test, demo, and conversation feeds into our continuous innovation – bringing proven solutions to northern harvests when they need it most.
This wasn’t just a concave swap out. It was a rescue mission that added real dollars back into Jason’s pocket.
