Reading Time: 3 minutes Ever since ownership of the Case IH and New Holland brands was consolidated under Fiat’s CNH Industrial division, new product releases from the red and blue brands have become increasingly co-ordinated. At the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, in February, Case IH launched its updated Maxxum and Farmall 100A Series tractors. Just a […] Read more
New Holland T6 and TS6 tractors take the stage
Models updated to 90 to 125 PTO horsepower range, a variety of transmissions are available
JCB finds niche in the North American farm equipment market
JCB used to be a construction brand. Now it is a farm brand too, with advanced materials-handling capability
Reading Time: 5 minutes In early March I spent a day in a Georgia field with a line of JCB equipment designed especially for the ag market, including the unique Fastrac tractor that is capable of breaking speed limits in the field. Then that evening, I joined other ag journalists in Savannah for dinner with some of the U.K.-based […] Read more
A new farm show hits the Prairies
Ag in Motion will focus on practical demonstrations and field plots in Western Canada this summer
Reading Time: 5 minutes As a machinery editor, one of the places where I’ve come to feel most at home is in the aisles of a farm equipment show. I’ve logged many miles walking those aisles in the last few years. But I’ve also come to learn that those aisles aren’t all the same. Clearly, not all farm shows […] Read more
Secret deals for agricultural equipment regulations
Free trade with the EU is supposed to offer a chance to standardize ag equipment regulations, but the talks are behind closed doors, and the industry is getting worried
Reading Time: 5 minutes During Agritechnica 2013 in Hannover, Germany, I was invited to an informal dinner with some representatives of DLG, the German Agricultural Society, which organizes the show. I ended up sitting next to DLG’s agricultural economist, so it was a perfect opportunity to discuss a variety of topics affecting farmers on both sides of the Atlantic. […] Read more
Shifting borders in the farm machinery business
Get ready to buy a whole lot more from your equipment dealer than just equipment
Reading Time: 5 minutes Have you ever seen an International Harvester refrigerator, or a Massey-Ferguson cream separator? They were farmyard fixtures at one time. Farmers bought them from their local farm machinery dealership while buying a wide variety of other essentials too. Over time, those equipment dealers evolved from that “everything-you-need-we’ve-got” business model to become machinery specialists, strictly purveyors […] Read more
Manufacturing talent
Executives at the major equipment manufacturers know their brands can’t succeed without the right people on the payroll
Reading Time: 5 minutes Among the Big Four farm equipment brands, John Deere owns the largest slice of the North American market, and the bosses at its world headquarters in Moline, Illinois, have no intention of letting that change any time soon. In December they revealed their updated, long-term corporate strategy to investors, outlining how they intend to keep […] Read more
Have higher farm incomes changed the way you think?
The management performance of corporate CEOs falls when they are overcompensated. Does the same apply to farmers?
Reading Time: 5 minutes There is one undeniable fact underlying farm equipment sales all around the world. When farm incomes rise, machinery sales numbers rocket right along with them. Higher farm profits are re-invested, with producers willing to spend money and even take on debt, especially on equipment. Farm fleets do need to be regularly updated, of course, but […] Read more
To the South Pole and back, on a Massey Ferguson
A modified MF 5610 and its crew gets a chance to prove their stuff, retracing the route of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic 1958 adventure to the Antarctic
Reading Time: 4 minutes At the North Pole, it was December 9, and the jolly old elf in the bright red suit was preparing as usual for his annual Christmas Eve sleigh ride. A world away, meanwhile, and even more incredibly, an expedition aboard a bright red Massey Ferguson 5610 tractor was powering its way to the geographic South […] Read more
A new colour in farm tractors
Kubota moves toward its goal of being a major player in the ag equipment market
Reading Time: 5 minutes The rumours had been building for months. There were even spy pictures posted on the Internet as possible proof. Then in September, Kubota’s global headquarters made it official. The company is taking direct aim at the farm market. More specifically, Kubota launched a new, powerful line of M-7 Series tractors, and these new tractors are […] Read more
It won’t be easy being green — or red, or blue
Tough decisions lie ahead, with all the major brands needing to throttle back production but still keep up with changing market demand
Reading Time: 5 minutes What a difference a year makes. The heady days of overfilled order books at ag equipment assembly plants have faded into history. By the end of September, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) was reporting year-to-date sales of four-wheel-drive tractors in Canada were down by 19.8 per cent. Combine sales had slumped even further, dipping […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
