Reading Time: 3 minutes The steady advance in technology across the farm machinery sector has caught up with the design of good old-fashioned tillage equipment too. We’ve seen a steady stream of new and more sophisticated versions introduced this year from many brands. Take a look at just some of what debuted in the past 12 months. Versatile introduced […] Read more
PHOTOS: Digging into tillage
New tillage tools on the market show manufacturers are finally setting their engineers free to rethink some of our most basic jobs
A jolt for heavy trucks
In contrast to the farm sector, electrification is making rapid gains in heavy trucks
Reading Time: 6 minutes Over the past several years, whenever Country Guide has tracked progress toward electrification in ag equipment, we’ve seen a stop-and-go process with manufacturers showing several new concept models one year, followed by little if anything the next. The contrast with the heavy truck sector is striking. There, we’re seeing a consistent and rapid march toward […] Read more
Upgrades for 8R and 9R John Deere tractors
Deere makes changes to its highest horsepower tractors
Reading Time: 3 minutes John Deere’s two biggest tractor lines, the 8R and 9R Series, will see a host of upgrades beginning this fall. “For the 2019 model year (8R and 8RT) tractors, we’re making the Premium CommandView III Cab with cab suspension standard on all 8RT Series tractors,” says Tiffany Turner, product marketing manager, large tractors for John […] Read more
Self-driving versus the lawyers
Fully autonomous farm vehicles are already here, but setting the rules for their use won’t be simple
Reading Time: 5 minutes The Senate of Canada had a pretty simple question when it held the hearings that led to is report, “Driving Change, Technology and the Future of the Automated Vehicle.” It’s a question farmers are asking too. When is all this technology going to arrive? You couldn’t exactly say the experts answered it with precision. Their […] Read more
New combines from Case IH
For 2019, the 250 series debuts with impressive new technology
Reading Time: 4 minutes If your goal is to introduce new combines to North America, why not do it right where those machines are built. That was the logic behind Case IH’s July media event at its combine assembly plant in Grand Island, Nebraska. Members of the North American farm media were invited there to get a first look […] Read more
The new AGCO strategy
The company gets serious about launching FENDT as its high-tech brand in North America
Reading Time: 6 minutes When I received my invitation from AGCO to attend a media event earlier this summer, I was told there would be a surprise. It was, said the company’s PR agent, to be the unveiling of the new IDEAL combine. Hardly a surprise, I muttered to myself. AGCO had debuted the IDEAL in Germany last November, […] 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
Building machinery at a glance
AGCO’s Jackson assembly plant expands the use of Google Glass
Reading Time: 6 minutes Several years ago while I was researching an article on the former Massey-Ferguson combine assembly plant in Brantford, Ont., I spoke to a handful of engineers and employees who had worked there in the 1960s. I distinctly recall one of them mentioning how innovative and advanced it was at the time to see a “computer” […] 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
AGCO sees Draper headers top demand
Company says better performance results in customer preference for Draper heads
Reading Time: 3 minutes AGCO launched its 9250 flexible Draper header back in 2010. It was compatible with all the company’s Gleaner, Massey Ferguson and Challenger branded combines. Since then, though, engineers have made a few tweaks to its design, and a version of the current design remains in use across all three combine brands. “We’ve had quite a […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
