An eastward-facing view from the north edge of the crossing at Mile 98.14 of CN’s Ashcroft subdivision, where BCWS suspected the Lytton fire began. (TSB photo)

No evidence trains sparked Lytton fire, TSB says

Transportation Safety Board now stepping out of ongoing fire probe

Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s no proof the fire that largely destroyed a British Columbia village, damaged a key rail bridge and led to cuts in rail speed limits in high-risk areas was sparked by train traffic, the federal Transportation Safety Board says. The TSB on Thursday said its investigation, launched in early July, “has not revealed any evidence […] Read more

(Deere.com)

Deere’s U.S. workers on strike after rejecting deal

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Thousands of Deere and Co. workers began a strike on Thursday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) said, days after overwhelmingly rejecting a six-year labour contract that was agreed on with the tractor maker. Earlier this month, the world’s largest farm equipment maker and the UAW union reached an agreement after weeks of negotiation […] Read more


File photo of the Port of Montreal. (Guy Banville/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada concerned about supply chain issues, watching ports ‘closely’

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters –– Canada is concerned about the challenges facing global supply chains and is watching the country’s ports very closely, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday. Freeland, speaking to reporters in Washington after meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said she was broadly optimistic about the strength of Canada’s economic recovery […] Read more

File photo from CNH-owned FPT Industrial’s Bourbon-Lancy engine manufacturing plant in eastern France. (Photo courtesy CNH Industrial)

CNH to temporarily shut several plants in Europe

Eight-day shutdown due to supply disruptions

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Italian-American vehicle maker CNH Industrial said Wednesday it will temporarily shut several of its European agricultural, commercial vehicle and powertrain manufacturing facilities due to the disruptions of procurement of components, including semiconductors. The maker of farm machinery, Iveco commercial vehicles, construction equipment and powertrains plans to shut the concerned plants for eight working […] Read more



Screengrab from a Wheelman autosteer installation video. (HandsFreeFarm.com)

Kubota to buy autosteer maker AgJunction

All-cash deal worth about $91 million

Reading Time: 2 minutes Autosteer and ag equipment guidance system maker AgJunction is poised to sell itself to farm equipment maker Kubota Corp. in a $91 million all-cash deal. Publicly-traded AgJunction, which is registered in Calgary but based at Scottsdale, Ariz., said Thursday its board has unanimously approved Kubota’s 75-cents-per-share proposal and recommended shareholders vote in favour. AgJunction would […] Read more


(GFM file photo)

Cargill, ADM sell GrainBridge to ag software firm Bushel

'Network effect' expected in grains sector

Reading Time: 2 minutes An online service farmers use to manage grain sales with ADM’s elevators and processing plants across Canada — along with Cargill and ADM elevators in the U.S. — is under new ownership. ADM and Cargill, the two major U.S.-based agribusinesses that set up GrainBridge in 2019, announced Tuesday they’ve sold it to Bushel, a Fargo, […] Read more

A side view of Trimble’s EZ-Pilot Pro guidance system mounted on a tractor’s steering column. (Agriculture.trimble.com)

Trimble dealer shores up cross-Canada coverage

Vantage Canada picks up Ontario rights

Reading Time: 2 minutes The company handling sales and service for Trimble precision ag technology across most of Canada has reached a deal to handle the rest of it. Vantage Canada announced Friday it has bought the Trimble dealership rights and assets for Ontario from Premier Equipment, a John Deere dealership chain with nine locations in the province’s southern […] Read more


Technology updates on the 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 pickup, due to be released this fall, are expected to include a new version of Super Cruise, a hands-free driving feature for use on “divided and compatible” highways. (Media.gm.ca)

GM says chip situation improving

All of automaker's pickup truck plants operating

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Top U.S. automaker General Motors said on Friday the semiconductor chip shortage that has hit production at automakers worldwide was abating, while reporting its first quarterly sales fall in a year. “As we look to the fourth quarter, a steady flow of vehicles held at plants will continue to be released to dealers,” […] Read more

Intelligent, interconnected digital technologies will be the key value features of the next generation of farm equipment.

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