Reading Time: 4 minutes A few years ago I had the pleasure of interviewing the industrial designer who styled the cab and body of the first Challenger 65 belted ag tractors, which were then part of the Caterpillar brand before coming under AGCO ownership. Before coming to Cat, the designer had spent several years working for General Motors and […] Read more
A Genius in the tractor cab
This systems supplier is integrating cutting-edge automotive safety systems into off-road equipment cabs
‘Senior’ management
At 82, Amilcare Merlo is still planning the long-term future of the company that will be his legacy
Reading Time: 5 minutes In February I was invited to tag along with a group of dealers and their customers as they paid a visit to telehandler manufacturer Merlo’s assembly plant just outside the historic old city of Cuneo, Italy. When everyone had arrived, we stood on a balcony at the plant and watched several telehandlers go through a […] Read more
New from John Deere
The green brand offers a glimpse of what’s to come in 2017
Reading Time: 3 minutes Next month, John Deere will host a formal event to pull the wraps off several new additions to its equipment line. What will be under the covers? In February, at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, the brand teased showgoers by unveiling a couple of new products that are bound to be included […] Read more
Ag-market sees new interest in dry-product spreaders
New machines designed to broadcast dry fertilizer are hitting dealerships for the 2017 season
Reading Time: 5 minutes For years, one-pass seeding systems that incorporate fertilizer application with the seeding pass had producers turning their backs on dry spreader systems. Many older designs of spinner spreaders lacked the precision that producers could now get from direct-seeding systems. But the logistical demands of getting everything done in one seeding pass have a few growers […] Read more
The paint does matter
Versatile draws on inspiration from its past to position itself for future growth
Reading Time: 5 minutes It isn’t much of a surprise when Versatile shows up for the annual Manitoba Ag Days. The show, after all, is just two hours from the Versatile factory, so the company’s regular attendance is pretty much a given. Local farmers expect to see the brand put in an appearance there every year, and they’re never […] Read more
China powers up
The world’s most populous country gets serious about farm machinery
Reading Time: 6 minutes Like so much of China, the country’s agriculture is in a state of transition. While some sectors of the industry are barreling full speed into mechanization, with impressive rates of technology adoption to match the latest in global production standards, the road to modernizing agricultural production isn’t always a smooth one. China is the world’s […] Read more
Spreading it around
New fertilizer applicators rush onto the market
Reading Time: 4 minutes In 2016, farmers were introduced to several new machines capable of meeting their fertilizer spreading needs. Among them was the new self-propelled F4365 spinner-spreader from John Deere, a high-capacity machine designed primarily for large operators and custom applicators. The F4365 sports a 330-cubic foot New Leader dry spreader box, and can apply up to 1,100 […] Read more
Trumping it out
Will a protectionist administration in the White House force our ag equipment industry to move south?
Reading Time: 6 minutes It was a stunning move. Ford’s CEO and president Mark Fields appeared on CNN in January to announce that his company was scrubbing its long-planned construction of a US$1.6 billion assembly plant in Mexico. Instead, Ford will invest U.S.$700 million in a Michigan facility and boost its workforce in that state by 700. It looked […] Read more
Krone wants you to buy
Is this the right time for offshore brands to make a play for a bigger chunk of the North American equipment market? Is it even possible for them to get onto your farm?
Reading Time: 5 minutes As he stood in front of a group of more than 100 farm journalists from a wide range of countries, Bernard Krone, president of Krone, a family-owned forage equipment brand based in Germany, wanted us to know why his company had partnered with Lemken, another German manufacturer, to hold an international media event in northern […] Read more
More new tractors from McCormick
The Italian brand adds both low- and high-spec utility models
Reading Time: 4 minutes For several years now, ag machinery has been all about technology. But the more advanced our tractor design becomes, the more push-back we see from a segment of the market demanding machines without all the newest features and technology. After all, tractors have been doing farm chores since the early part of the last century […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
