Could this field robot be the tipping point in equipment design?
It left me saying to myself, “Get your head around that!” There was no real doubt about it, after all. The industry’s biggest surprise this summer was the out-of-the-blue introduction at the Ag in Motion farm show near Saskatoon in July of SeedMaster’s autonomous new implement carrier, dubbed the DOT. Not only is the DOT […] Read more
Farmer-owned Capricorn Bay bridges the planter-drill divide
The Prince family runs a large-scale family farm in southwestern Manitoba, where for years they have wished for a single, effective piece of seeding equipment that they could use for all of their crops. Now, they’ve turned that dream into a market-ready implement and a fledgling equipment brand. Their on-farm creation, the PPS planter, can […] Read more
Be glad you aren’t the CEO of a major machinery manufacturer in the new era of Donald Trump
Ever since Donald Trump sold 62 million American voters on the idea that, by applying border taxes, he could recreate a manufacturing landscape last seen in the 1950s, there have been sweat stains on the collars of manufacturing executives everywhere. Now, more of those executives within the U.S. are speaking out about what they think […] Read more
New combines figure big in the green brand’s plan to get you buying
Stretched out across the large grassy lawn in early June in front of John Deere’s Harvester Works in Moline, Illinois, was a broad assortment of equipment, with marketing staff showing off to the farm media from Canada and the U.S. what Deere would be adding to its product line for 2018. Several of the machines […] Read more
This systems supplier is integrating cutting-edge automotive safety systems into off-road equipment cabs
A few years ago I had the pleasure of interviewing the industrial designer who styled the cab and body of the first Challenger 65 belted ag tractors, which were then part of the Caterpillar brand before coming under AGCO ownership. Before coming to Cat, the designer had spent several years working for General Motors and […] Read more
Australian manufacturer K-Line makes a big jump into the North American market
If you were a farm equipment manufacturer in a country that is its own continent, where would you look to make your first expansion into the international market? For the Australian company K-Line, the choice was easy. Head to North America. “It’s really one of the best moves we’ve made, as far as our company […] Read more
At 82, Amilcare Merlo is still planning the long-term future of the company that will be his legacy
In February I was invited to tag along with a group of dealers and their customers as they paid a visit to telehandler manufacturer Merlo’s assembly plant just outside the historic old city of Cuneo, Italy. When everyone had arrived, we stood on a balcony at the plant and watched several telehandlers go through a […] Read more
The green brand offers a glimpse of what’s to come in 2017
Next month, John Deere will host a formal event to pull the wraps off several new additions to its equipment line. What will be under the covers? In February, at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, the brand teased showgoers by unveiling a couple of new products that are bound to be included […] Read more
New machines designed to broadcast dry fertilizer are hitting dealerships for the 2017 season
For years, one-pass seeding systems that incorporate fertilizer application with the seeding pass had producers turning their backs on dry spreader systems. Many older designs of spinner spreaders lacked the precision that producers could now get from direct-seeding systems. But the logistical demands of getting everything done in one seeding pass have a few growers […] Read more
As Canada’s largest ag dealership chain turns 10, Country Guide sits down with its senior executives to look at how it got here, and where it’s going
Suspicion. Unease. Uncertainty. They were all sweeping across the West a decade ago when farmers began seeing their local Case IH and New Holland dealerships get gobbled up by a new and unfamiliar company. Then they started hearing the name — Rocky Mountain Equipment — but that didn’t help. Except as the outsiders buying their […] Read more
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