Reading Time: 6 minutes In mid-July farmers in the Netherlands turned out en masse to block highways, an airport and various food distribution routes. Those acts of civil disobedience were sparked by resistance to the European Union’s “Green New Deal,” which establishes a host of new environmental regulations that Dutch farmers think will significantly affect their production methods. It’s […] Read more
The race toward precision agriculture
AGCO believes new environmental regs will shove farmers to invest more in precision ag
CRTC asks big telcos to share network with smaller rural players
Big firms also told to negotiate wholesale access rates
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada’s top wireless firms will now be required to accept requests for access to their networks from smaller companies, particularly those serving rural areas, and also to negotiate on wholesale prices, the country’s telecom regulator said Wednesday. The ruling comes as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) looks to lower the cost […] Read more
Arbitration leads to deal for CN signals staff
IBEW held 17-day strike in summer
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canadian National Railway (CN) has labour peace with its signals and communications workers through to the end of 2024 coming out of binding arbitration. The 750-odd workers, represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council 11, had agreed to take their dispute with CN to arbitration in early July, ending a 17-day strike. […] Read more
Ford, GM upgrade their heavy-duty pickup profit machines
New features aimed at business productivity
Reading Time: 2 minutes Detroit | Reuters — Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday took the wraps off the latest version of its Super Duty pickup, providing a look at how the U.S. automaker will manage one of the biggest challenges confronting Detroit. The problem: How to modernize the largest combustion pickups to keep demand strong and profits flowing, without […] Read more
The diversity gap
The slow progress by equipment manufacturers on racial and ethnic diversity is in marked contrast to their success with women
Reading Time: 6 minutes Canada’s population is becoming increasingly diverse. Statistics Canada estimates that immigrants made up roughly 22 per cent of the population in 2016, and our country expects to welcome over 400,000 more per year until 2024. This will almost certainly result in a continually growing percentage of visible minorities among Canada’s working age people over the […] Read more
Quebec’s UPA hit by ransomware attack
Farm organization, affiliate bodies affected
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec’s overarching farmer organization, l’Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), has confirmed its computer systems were hit by a ransomware attack earlier this month. UPA, in a release last Thursday, said it’s working with a cybersecurity firm to analyze the nature and scope of the attack, as well as any possible solutions to securely restore its […] Read more
CP arbitration ends in two-year deal for engineers, conductors
Dispute led to rail service outage in March
Reading Time: < 1 minute Mediation and arbitration hearings over the weekend have ended in a two-year labour deal for engineers, conductors and train and yard service staff at Canadian Pacific Railway. The agreement puts a formal lid on the latest round of contract disputes between Calgary-based CP and its 3,000-odd unionized employees represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference […] Read more
Ford raises prices of electric F-150 amid high commodity costs
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it would raise the prices of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup as the U.S. carmaker deals with surging raw material costs. The automaker said prices for its 2023 F-150 lightning will be increased in the range of $6,000 and $8,500 depending on the variant, with the cheapest Pro […] Read more
Foxconn to build autonomous electric tractors in Ohio
Tech firm to make units for U.S.-based Monarch
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, on Tuesday said it will build driverless electric tractors for California-based Monarch Tractor at its Lordstown, Ohio facility starting in early 2023. The announcement comes as heavy machinery manufacturers, including Deere and Agco, set their sights on the electric vehicle market as the U.S. agriculture […] Read more
Deere & Co mower production to move from Iowa to Mexico plant
Reading Time: < 1 minute Mexico City | Reuters – U.S. farm equipment maker Deere & Co DE.N will be moving production of mower conditioners, which are tractor attachments with rolling discs to cut and crush hay, from a factory in Ottumwa, Iowa, to an existing plant in Mexico over the next 18 months, the company said. The company told Reuters late […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
