The Redline Honey Badger owes its name to Triple C Farms of Jerome, Idaho.
Redline Manufacturing officials held a contest to name the new multi-use beet cart at the Eastern Idaho Ag Show last January in Pocatello. Dozens of names were submitted from growers across the Rocky Mountain region. Triple C Farms of Jerome, Idaho, won the $1,000 cash prize by submitting the name "Honey Badger." It's named after one of nature's fearless predators.
The Honey Badger is designed to handle 60,000 pounds of payload. The newly designed discharge boom is built to handle seed potatoes right into your planter. The 18-inch auger is designed to quickly move the 1,100 bushels of grain products it's capable of carrying. It will unload 30 tons of beets in less than five minutes.
"Using the Redline Honey Badger helps reduce compaction in the field," said Charles Leonardson, Redline division manager. "With its large floating tires and its ability to float over soft loamy soil, it's an ideal replacement for where semi- and 10-wheeler trucks struggle getting through the field."
Although initially designed to handle only seed potatoes, Redline engineers are developing ways to gently handle harvested potatoes for growers who find themselves double teaming harvest trucks with support tractors and personnel in both sandy and hilly terrain.
"The Honey Badger can fearlessly handle about anything you want to throw at it," said Leonardson. "We felt this icon matched the image we wanted to portray about this multi-use implement."
Initially the idea to expand the capabilities of the Redline beet cart came from growers attending the Idaho show.
"If you can make that implement carry and load seed potatoes directly into our planters, you couldn't build enough of them," Redline officials were told.
The team at Redline took the suggestion seriously and went to work to find a way to make that happen. They decided to incorporate the option of adding a grain auger.
Other functions soon followed.
With the optional spreader pans on the rear of the machine, load the Honey Badger with 30 tons of mulch and start spreading. The Honey Badger also is unparalleled in windrowing beets for the Ropa machines. Beet rows of 4-to-5 feet in height are possible by opening the back discharge door, reversing the bottom chain and running the pay load out the rear. This can also be done with corn or hay silage.
"The Honey Badger has the ability to replace the beet cart, grain cart and mulch spreader," Leonardson said. "As the implement continues to develop and enters new areas, Redline is finding more and more chores this fearless new machine can tackle for the grower. Growers will have a tool they can use for more than one or two months out of the year."
It has been in development for more than three years. Newer versions are still in development and targeted for the 2014 growing/harvesting season. Redline officials are offering carts for the 2013 harvest season on a limited basis. The original beet cart model is still standard and available from Redline.
The cost largely depends on the number of options ordered. On the low end, it costs $75,000 and increases to $125,000 with all options added.
It is available from Redline Manufacturing in Blackfoot, Idaho. Call 208-785-1369.