DLG’s test centre also has the ability to test multiple systems on a tractor simultaneously. Here tractor power is being used for PTO and hydraulic systems as well as pulling.

Virtual testing for real world conditions

Manufacturers turn to computer technology to validate new machine designs

Reading Time: 6 minutes A few years ago I was interviewing a retired engineer who had worked at Massey Ferguson. We were talking about his involvement in testing prototypes, and he recalled how a group of employees would have to take shifts running newly designed machines over the “bump track” behind the engineering centre. That was a track with […] Read more

combine harvesting canola

Planning to straight cut canola?

PAMI has a few quick tips to help ensure your harvest hits the bin

Reading Time: < 1 minute If you’re planning to straight cut canola this year, you should first have a look at the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute’s report on considerations for the practice. These are quick tips from the report, which is available in full at pami.ca. Quick tips Seed early, to allow time for natural drying.  Shatter-resistant varieties pose a […] Read more


Massey Ferguson’s Brantford, Ontario combine assembly plant, which opened in 1964, used the most modern assembly techniques, and rivalled the most modern auto assembly plants of the day.

A glimpse into the past: How we got to the modern combine

Want to see how much change has come to farming in your parents’ lifetime? Just look at how they get the harvest in

Reading Time: 6 minutes A few years ago I was at John Deere World Headquarters in Illinois for the official unveiling of the brand’s S Series combines. To put some perspective on how big a deal this was, Deere’s marketing team guided us to the building’s large auditorium. There, they put their spotlights on a gleaming, impressive new S9, […] Read more

The used equipment market has seen “unprecedented” price increases and demand, especially for four-wheel drive tractors.

Used farm equipment sees big demand

There’s something very new — and unsettling — about this year’s used equipment market

Reading Time: 7 minutes This year, any farmer expecting a new tractor in time for spring seeding knows they shouldn’t hold their breath.  It may or may not arrive on time. Problems including staff shortages, transportation bottlenecks, a shortage of components — all a result of COVID-19 in one way or another — have hit ag equipment manufacturers simultaneously […] Read more


Buhler Industries board member Konstantin Babkin, shown here at left with the company’s then-president Dmitry Lyubimov during a visit to the company’s facility in Winnipeg in 2007, is seen as particularly vulnerable to sanction from Canada. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Equipment maker Buhler distances self from Ukraine invasion

Reading Time: 2 minutes A Winnipeg farm equipment manufacturer is distancing itself from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Buhler Industries, which manufactures the Versatile tractor line and Farm King equipment, is majority-owned by the Russian firm Combine Factory Rostselmash. That firm purchased an 80 per cent stake in Buhler in 2007 and boosted that to 97 per cent ownership in […] Read more

Russia’s Rostselmash in November 2021 launched a new Delta Track line of heavy-duty tractors, based on a similar line made at the Buhler plant in Winnipeg. (Rostselmash.com)

Versatile tractor maker’s majority owner boosts stake

Russia's Rostselmash raises ownership to almost 97 per cent

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Russian farm equipment manufacturer which held just over 80 per cent of Canadian tractor and equipment maker Buhler Industries has now taken up near complete ownership. Winnipeg-based, publicly-traded Buhler Industries announced Wednesday that Combine Factory Rostselmash has bought another 16.3 per cent of Buhler shares for $3 per share, or about $12.25 million. Buhler, […] Read more


(ClaasOfAmerica.com)

Claas sees more semiconductor chip snags in 2022

'It's going to be a tough next six months'

Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — Agricultural machinery maker Claas said Thursday it expects difficulties in securing semiconductor chips to persist for the first half of next year, which could curb a surge in profits linked to booming farm demand. An upturn in orders from farmers, who are benefiting from high crop prices after several lean years, […] Read more

Claas’ current certified pre-owned inventory includes this 2020 Jaguar 990 self-propelled forage harvester, on offer in Nebraska for US$435,000 (about C$559,500). (ClaasUsedEquipment.com)

Claas retools certified pre-owned equipment program

'Claas Used' plan set up for Canada, U.S. markets

Reading Time: 2 minutes The North American arm of German aq equipment maker Claas has revamped the warranty and financing options it offers on sales of company-inspected pre-owned tractors, combines and forage harvesters. The new program, dubbed ‘Claas Used,’ will offer warranty protection on certified late-model units in Canada and the U.S., along with lower-rate financing through Claas Financial […] Read more


A promotional photo of a MacDon FD2 FlexDraper header in a soybean field in Montana. (FD2.Macdon.com)

MacDon to make draper headers for Case IH, New Holland

Co-branded combine headers up for order next year

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian harvest equipment maker MacDon Industries will make draper headers for Case IH Axial-Flow and New Holland combines for the major manufacturers to sell through their own dealer networks in the new year. Case IH and New Holland, both owned by CNH, said separately Thursday they have partnership agreements in place with Winnipeg-based MacDon to […] Read more

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks with striking workers at Deere’s Des Moines-area farm equipment plant at Ankeny, Iowa on Oct. 20, 2021. (File photo: Reuters/Scott Morgan)

Deere’s striking U.S. workers accept revised offer

Operations to resume Wednesday night, company says

Reading Time: < 1 minute Production and maintenance workers at 14 Deere and Co. plants are expected to return to work starting Wednesday night after voting to approve a new contract. United Auto Workers (UAW), which represents over 10,000 Deere employees in the U.S., said late Wednesday its members voted 61 per cent in favour of new six-year collective bargaining […] Read more