Reading Time: 5 minutes Outside of maybe the health care field, there are few sectors that are as innovative and changing as rapidly as agriculture. It’s what I’ll write about in this series of columns for Country Guide, because frankly, some of the technologies that are coming off the drawing boards are going to challenge the way we think […] Read more
Could the future of farming lie indoors?
Innovation: The scale seems much too small, say farmers. But that may be its greatest strength
Hanson Acres: Trading places, like it or not
Harvest finds the Hansons catching up with the season, and the season catching up with them
Reading Time: 4 minutes The Hansons were close to the end of harvest on the Monday morning when Donna stopped in at her daughter-in-law’s house to drop off her empty lunch cooler and thermos from the evening before. “The canola on the Richards’ quarter is yielding way better than I thought it would,” Donna told her daughter-in-law, Elaine. “Great,” […] Read more
Practical data
Brands look to break down the barriers that prevent farmers from integrating big data across lines
Reading Time: 2 minutes When telematics and digital data gathering technologies began appearing as options on major brand equipment a decade or so ago, it was a world full of boundaries — between those digital program offerings, that is. Some brands decided early on to go down the path of proprietary systems. Buy a green tractor, pair it with […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Scooting around the old farm never felt quite like this
When Aunt Trina comes for a visit, it’s hard to keep your feet on the ground
Reading Time: 4 minutes Eight-year-old Connor was happy to see his aunt Trina when she came to visit the Hansons in July. Connor’s mother Elaine was happy to see that Connor managed to wait almost a full 10 minutes before asking, “Did you bring us anything?” Connor wasn’t generally greedy, but since Trina had started working for an ag […] Read more
Rolling with the Tweel
Michelin expands its line of Tweel airless tires to include UTV applications
Reading Time: 3 minutes In mid-May, Michelin held a press conference to announce the expansion of its Tweel line of airless tire and wheel assemblies. The company has already released versions of the Tweel for lawn care equipment, golf carts and even skid steer loaders. Now it’s introducing a Tweel designed for the UTV market, specifically for those UTVs […] Read more
Interview: A taxing time for manufacturers
Ag manufacturers see uncertainty and higher production costs from steel tariffs
Reading Time: 6 minutes The opening salvos in a trade war initiated by the current U.S. administration are already having an impact on all the manufacturing sectors in Canada, the U.S and around the world, most of it negative. For example, it’s been announced that Harley Davidson, that icon of U.S. brands, feels it’s necessary to move some of […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Dale and his auto-steer… the second day
Somehow the technology wasn’t thinking quite like an old farmer
Reading Time: 4 minutes Dale was breathless. He leaned against the tractor tire, using one hand to pull his phone out of his inside jacket pocket. He took a deep breath, then let it out with a sigh. He didn’t want to make this call. He squinted down at his phone, cursing the way his self-darkening glasses made it […] Read more
New farm trucks
Detroit’s Big Three are redesigning their pickups for 2019
Reading Time: 3 minutes This year, Ford, GM and FCA’s Ram brand marketing staff had a lot to talk about at the major auto shows. All three have given their pickup truck lines some serious overhauls, with new engines and a wider range of materials in their bodies and chassis, plus new drivetrain configurations all working their way into […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Four men, a boy and a dog, and the toughest job of all
It’s spring on the farm, almost. The equipment is ready, the seed is ready. So...
Reading Time: 5 minutes It was such a bright spring day outside that it took Dale’s self-darkening glasses a few seconds to adjust to the lighting inside the Hanson farm shop. Even so, he could hear shouting and sense movement in the building in front of him. As he hesitated in the doorway, a sudden dark shadow flew toward […] Read more
Keeping the place up
Manufacturers offer new yard care machines for 2018
Reading Time: 3 minutes As the warm weather comes on, a job on every farm is to pull the yard care equipment out of storage and get it running again. If that’s getting to be a nuisance, you might want to look at some of the new offerings in the lawn and sub-compact tractor segments that manufacturers have introduced […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
