�It's a perfect venue to showcase it and introduce it to the farming community,� said Andrew Cummings, president of Shafter-based Nikkel Iron Works. The company invented the AccuRake and will display it at North Street space 62 at the World Ag Expo.

The AccuRake precision hay raking system enhances the proven DARF wheel rake.

The system provides for precise depth control of the rake tines regardless of terrain. The main benefits of the system are cleaner, higher quality hay and reduced tooth wear. The exclusive, patent pending design also provides for less stress and wear on other components. The precise control of rake tooth height keeps clods and stones out of the windrow and also results in much less dust while raking.

�Since the teeth aren't in the dirt, you aren't going to have that wear and tear. You will double or triple the life of your hay rake teeth,� Cummings said.

The idea for the AccuRake was born three years ago when a Utah grower approached Nikkel Iron Works for help. The farmer was having trouble turning a profit on his hay because his raking system was gathering up rocks and dirt, Cummings said.

But that's changed since the Utah grower turned to the AccuRake, which has been tested on thousands of acres of fields in Utah and Central California � areas chosen specifically to test varying conditions. He now has a higher grade of hay, Cummings said.

The AccuRake� system is available on all DARF overhead style rakes beginning in spring 2007. In business for more than 80 years, Nikkel Iron Works is based in Shafter. For the past 20 years, the company has produced DARF Hay Rakes, the No. 1 hay rake in the Western United States.