Sask Polytechnic is well-known for training the next generation of technicians to work on combines, tractors and other agricultural equipment.

Recently, the head of the Agricultural Equipment Technician program added another challenge to his workday. Chris Thomson and other staff have been building an economical and easily repairable propulsion system for wild rice harvesters in northern Saskatchewan.

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Fifteen wild rice harvesters from northern Saskatchewan provided input on what they wanted in a new prototype.

Current harvester boat propulsion systems use components made for the recreational industry, which regularly fail, are expensive and become obsolete quickly.

The new design is the same length of boat—but a little wider with more power. It will also be able to handle more wild rice because bagging can be done on the harvester, reducing the number of trips to shore.

Real-life testing of the new harvesters will begin in August at Beauval when the wild rice harvest begins. Saskatchewan had a bumper crop of wild rice last year, due in large part to the dry conditions.

SaskPolytechnic partnered with NWC Wild Rice, which is 100 per cent indigenous owned and operated. The company sells on behalf of about 40 wild rice harvesters in northwest Saskatchewan, stretching from La Loche to Beauval. The cost for a pound of wild rice is just under $15.