Agricultural machinery Archives

In the not-too-distant future, a farmer’s job will be more about managing data than managing soil.

Farming in 2030: Big data

The last time there was a change this big in farming, it was mechanization. The question is: are you open to exploring how it can work for you?

By Angela Lovell February 24, 2020

Reading Time: 5 minutes If you’ve got a cell phone anywhere close to you as you read this, you’re part of the data revolution in agriculture, whether you realize it or not, and whether you want to be or not. That’s probably a good thing. Certainly, the potential benefits are amazing. “The smartphone is going to be one of […] Read more

The next decade could see a return to smaller fields due to the higher-intensity management made possible by driverless technology such as the DOT.

Crops, Equipment

Changes in agriculture are coming your way

These production challenges mean we’ll all have to stay sharp through the 2020s

By Angela Lovell January 16, 2020

Reading Time: 4 minutes Just because we can predict many of the production challenges heading our way doesn’t mean they’ll be easier to avoid, or that they’ll be easier to manage. In fact, by the time the new decade starts winding down in 2030, Canadian producers will have their hands just as full as they are today, if not […] Read more

The main atrium at John Deere’s new ISG R&D building in Des Moines, Iowa, is the hub of a unique work environment for engineers and scientists in tech and robotics.

Equipment, Machinery

John Deere builds a new home for rare talent

The green brand is on the lookout for 'unicorns' in high-technology fields, and with farm backgrounds

By Scott Garvey December 20, 2019

Reading Time: 6 minutes In today’s high-technology world, a new startup tech firm with the potential to go really big is often described as a unicorn. That term is also used to describe a software engineer or skilled programmer with exactly the right background and combination of skills to drive a company forward, simply because both of those are […] Read more

AGCO adds two new models with Dyna-4 “brake-to-clutch” transmissions to its MF 5700 Global Series tractor line.

Equipment, Machinery, Machinery Guide

AGCO adds to its Global Massey Ferguson tractor line

Two new 5700 Series models hit the market for 2020

By Scott Garvey December 12, 2019

Reading Time: 2 minutes In the last couple of years, major brands have been producing utility and mid-range tractors with powershift transmissions that don’t require clutching. In October AGCO announced it, too, is adding that type of transmission to its “Global” 5700 Series Massey Ferguson tractor family. Two new models, the 100-horsepower 5710D and 111-horsepower 5711D models will join […] Read more

John Deere has added two new completely redesigned tractors to the mid-spec 6M line, the 6110M and 6120M.

Machinery, Machinery Guide

John Deere revamps its 6M tractor family

New models and more options to appeal to different buyers

By Scott Garvey November 19, 2019

Reading Time: 3 minutes John Deere has been offering a pretty wide range of tractors designed to appeal to an equally wide group of buyers looking for power in the mid-horsepower class. In the 105- to 250-horsepower group, the green brand’s 6 Family of tractors already offers an impressive 20 models from the economy 6Es to the high-end 6Rs. […] Read more

Guide Business, Machinery

Why Kubota thinks you’ll buy more of its farm equipment

The Texas-based manufacturer sees both end-users and retail dealers as its customers

By Scott Garvey October 31, 2019

Reading Time: 5 minutes As I walked through Kubota’s new headquarters in Grapevine, Texas, one particular observation stood out to me. In other companies’ offices and engineering centres that I’ve visited, there was never any shortage of images of the brand’s machines lining the hallway walls. The offices in the Kubota building were stylish and comfortable with plenty of […] Read more

Developed in conjunction with Bosch, the Xarvio Smart Sprayer determines when and what chemical to spray, which requires multiple nozzles or multiple lines to a single nozzle.

Machinery, Machinery Guide

Smart sprayer knows which herbicide to apply, and when

BASF’s Xarvio advances application technology

By Scott Garvey October 11, 2019

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s clear that public sentiment about perceived food safety and the environment is beginning to have a significant impact on consumer choices. An easy case in point is the marketing of meatless burgers at fast food chains as a way to save the planet from climate change. In crop production, meanwhile, the use of herbicides […] Read more

Staff demonstrate how the DOT autonomous power platform connects to an implement, using the Pattison Connect sprayer.

Equipment, Machinery

Autonomous farm machinery drives out into the desert

DOT Technology Corp. holds an impressive demo day in Arizona

By Scott Garvey August 15, 2019

Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s obvious that Norbert Beaujot invests a lot of time thinking about the coming transformation of ag machinery, and about how to explain it to the farmers who are going to be at the very centre of the action. Beaujot is founder of DOT Technology Corp. and the inventor of the DOT autonomous power platform, […] Read more

Machinery

One line, two brands?

Kubota and Versatile partner up to build a tractor

By Scott Garvey June 25, 2019

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s been no secret that Winnipeg-based Versatile has had a new tractor line in development for the past several years. But maybe there’s more you need to know. Versatile has long been thought of as a producer of high-horsepower tractors. Historically, though, it has had a presence in a lower horsepower class with production of […] Read more

Mixing products in the wrong order can create serious problems, particularly when time is a rare commodity.

Crops, Equipment

‘My sprayer’s a mess’

In the new era of weed resistance, your risk of a plugged tank or boom is climbing

By Ralph Pearce June 3, 2019

Reading Time: 7 minutes There may be no better phrase that symbolizes agriculture than “timing is everything.” Planting, fertilizing and harvesting are obvious fits, but the term also applies to pesticide applications, planter preparations and seed purchases. Another area where timing is important is in the mixing of chemicals, although some may argue that it’s more a matter of […] Read more

COVID-19 and the farm: Stories from the GFM network

Klassen: Feeder market in summer mode

Canola fund short position smallest in six months

GFM Network News