Reading Time: 7 minutes The disruptions to business and industry caused or worsened by COVID-19 have been well documented in the media. How, exactly, are equipment makers being affected, and how are they fighting back? Are they all experiencing similar problems, and how significant are they? To find out, Country Guide spoke with senior executives at three Canadian manufacturers. […] Read more
Coping with uncertainty
A look at how senior executives are dealing with COVID-19’s effects on their firms
Farm machinery scores big in 2022
It used to be that trophies were won with brute strength. Now it’s electronics that score the big prizes and shows us what farming is on its way to becoming
Reading Time: 5 minutes When I spent a summer working as a mechanic’s helper at an Allis Chalmers dealership in 1978 as one of my first jobs, I recall a brand marketing rep coming out to hold a customer information session. He brought cut-away examples of some of the features being built into their newest tractors, including the brand’s […] Read more
The right sprayer for the job
Farmers are in love with the self-propelled sprayer, but it isn’t always the right choice
Reading Time: 5 minutes Anyone who has walked the aisles of Agritechnica in Germany, the world’s premiere global farm machinery event, would have quickly noticed the many and varied sprayers and brand names behind them that serve the European market. Farmers there have a virtual smorgasbord of brands and models to choose from. And there is another surprise too. […] Read more
CNH gets a new boss
Autonomous machinery is coming fast, but electrification not so much. Scott Wine, the new CEO in charge of Case IH and New Holland, sees a company in position to do business with a ton more farmers
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s a very, very big ship that Scott Wine has taken the wheel of, so earlier this fall, Country Guide sought an opportunity to interview the new CEO of CNH Industrial, the parent company of Case IH and New Holland. Wine took over last January, so he’s got his feet under him now and we […] Read more
Deere’s technology breakthrough
In a major move, John Deere adds market-ready autonomy to its portfolio. Your chance to buy is coming soon
Reading Time: 6 minutes At first, these two big deals seem very similar. In 2017 John Deere spent US$305 million to buy Blue River Technology, a firm that was developing artificial intelligence for agricultural robotics. Then, this past summer, the green brand announced it is bringing another tech firm into the fold, this time spending US$250 million on a […] Read more
Machines vs. climate
Shrewd machinery purchases have always been essential on the farm, but not like this. Emerging technologies mean huge potential payoffs for getting it right, and even bigger penalties if you don’t. Think precision farming. Think surviving climate change
Reading Time: 8 minutes In the last two or three decades, farmers have been offered a dizzying array of new features on ag equipment. There’s more power, more capacity, auto guidance, the list goes on. Yet now, looking to the future, it will be even more crucial to make the best possible purchase decisions and to integrate your technology […] Read more
A “manual” for the farm
Luke Sheppard’s lessons from 20 years at Deere
Reading Time: 5 minutes What do you get when a John Deere insider writes about business? Well, this is no run-of-the-mill self-help book. It’s designed and written just like that tractor service manual on your shop shelf. It’s packed with specific instructions, diagrams and spreadsheets, all designed to help the reader take logical steps and methodically correct problems or […] Read more
The move to electric accelerates
When you talk about electric drive for farm machinery, don’t say “if.” It’s “soon”
Reading Time: 6 minutes When General Motors chairman and CEO, Mary Bara, made her presentation to an online audience during the Consumer Electronics Show in January, what she had to reveal was worth listening to, to say the least. GM, an automotive brand that has been building vehicles with internal combustion engines for over 100 years, is committing to […] Read more
Getting back to reality after COVID-19
Will farm shows and machinery events ever be the same again?
Reading Time: 6 minutes In my time as machinery editor, getting to publicity events held by equipment brands has meant spending a lot of time in hotels and on airplanes. My schedule saw me, on average, flying somewhere every six weeks, and you get to experience a lot of unusual things that way, like when a flight attendant on […] Read more
The green path forward in farm machinery
Deere’s autonomy manager talks strategy for a technology-driven future
Reading Time: 7 minutes A couple of years ago I was walking through the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Illinois, when I noticed, parked on its own in its own corner, something I hadn’t seen in a good long time. It was the first autonomous concept tractor the green brand had ever shown to the public. Streamlined, roughly 60 […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
