Gerrit van der Scheer, CEO of Mechan’s parent firm Zweegers Equipment Group, with Toromont senior advisor Larry Moffatt (l-r). (Photo courtesy Mechan International)

Toromont to sell Manitoba Agco, Claas dealer chain

Dutch firm to buy AgWest

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s Caterpillar equipment distributor for Manitoba and points east is set to sell a major Manitoba dealer of Agco’s farm equipment brands as well as the province’s exclusive dealer for Claas combines. Toromont Industries announced Monday it will sell its AgWest Ltd. arm to Dutch equipment distributor Mechan International, effective May 1. Neither company would […] Read more

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Colorado passes first U.S. right-to-repair legislation for farmers

Manufacturers fear safety, emissions systems could be overridden

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Colorado farmers will be able to legally fix their own equipment next year, with manufacturers such as Deere and Co. obliged to provide them with manuals for diagnostic software and other aids, under a measure passed by legislators in the first U.S. state to approve such a law. The Consumer Right to Repair […] Read more


Journalists moved between different “stations” in the field at Maricopa, Arizona, to hear from product specialists on new machines.

CNH shows off its new farm tech

Technology day event gives a glimpse of what’s to come from its brands

Reading Time: 6 minutes We are in a difficult world,” said Scott Wine, CEO of CNH Industrial, as he took the stage to welcome a group of journalists to the company’s Technology Day near Phoenix, Arizona, last fall. “It’s brutal out there.” He was referring to a number of pressures manufacturers are feeling from global concerns affecting all brands […] Read more

A General Motors illustration featuring a display version of its 2024 Silverado EV pickup, due for release in the fall of 2023. (Media.GM.ca)

GM buyouts cut 5,000 jobs, CFO says

Not much more room seen to raise prices

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — About 5,000 General Motors salaried workers took buyouts to leave the company, putting the company well on the way to hitting a US$2 billion cost-cutting target, the automaker’s chief financial officer said Tuesday. GM shares were trading down nearly two per cent at midday, even though CFO Paul Jacobson said demand for GM’s […] Read more


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International farmers may ease Canadian human capital crunch

A global retirement crunch is coming and Canada is ill prepared, report says

Reading Time: 3 minutes As other nations reduce their agricultural footprints in an effort to boost sustainability, their loss could be Canada’s human capital gain, a new report suggests. “The immigration of scientists, data engineers, and entrepreneurs has been recognized as critical to Canada’s growth. A similar approach needs to be adopted to attract farmers,” the authors wrote. The […] Read more

(Outback Guidance video screengrab via YouTube)

CNH to buy Outback Guidance’s parent firm

Case IH, New Holland maker to pay US$175 million for Hemisphere

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNH Industrial, parent of the Case IH. New Holland, Steyr and Flexi-Coil farm equipment brands, has signed a cash deal to buy satellite positioning tech firm Hemisphere GNSS, parent of the Outback Guidance aftermarket GPS, precision ag and autosteer business. CNH announced Thursday it will pay $175 million for Hemisphere, which has been owned since […] Read more



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Carbon price exemption for farm gas clears Commons

Bill C-234 next headed to Senate

Reading Time: 3 minutes Legislative amendments that would exempt farmers’ eligible purchases of natural gas and propane from federal carbon pricing are now en route to Canada’s Senate. Bill C-234, a private member’s bill sponsored by Ben Lobb, the Conservative MP for the southern Ontario riding of Huron-Bruce, passed third reading for adoption in the House of Commons on […] Read more


The autonomous Case IH Trident was on display and demonstrated to journalists at the Arizona event.

Putting autonomous machinery to the test

Saskatchewan farmers get a chance for a season with an autonomous fertilizer spreader

Reading Time: 5 minutes Anyone who has operated or worked on repairing machinery has from time to time cursed the engineer who came up with an awkward design, or when fighting with a part that is nearly impossible to remove and replace when it fails. But what if one of the major brands knocked on your door and asked […] Read more

File photo of a CN locomotive. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN, mechanics avert strike with tentative deal

Ratification votes pending

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian National Railway and the union representing its mechanics and intermodal and clerical workers have reached a tentative labour deal, averting a potential strike. CN, Unifor Local 100 and Unifor Council 4000 on Monday announced they have reached four new tentative collective agreements to cover about 3,000 railway employees, who had voted earlier this month […] Read more