Reading Time: < 1 minute Duesseldorf | Reuters –– Germany’s anti-trust regulator said Friday it was investigating a possible cartel of companies making agricultural machinery, particularly tractors. It did not name any targets of the probe. German agricultural trading group Baywa said the cartel office had searched its headquarters earlier this week on suspicion that some of its employees were […] Read more
German regulator investigates possible tractor cartel
Used farm equipment sales perk up
As sales of new equipment cool, good used machines are holding their value, and in some cases gaining ground
Reading Time: 5 minutes To put it mildly, sales of new farm equipment were terrible — even worrisome — in January and February, based on numbers tallied by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). Purchases of four-wheel-drive tractors were down an astonishing 55 per cent compared to 2014. Worse yet, new combine sales had virtually collapsed, slipping 60.6 per […] Read more
Deere to cut over 900 U.S. workers as ag economy weakens
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Deere and Co., the world’s largest maker of farm equipment, will lay off more than 900 employees at plants in Iowa and Illinois in the latest round of job cuts spurred by a decline in grain prices that is hurting demand for agricultural machinery. The layoffs, which represent about three per […] Read more
Deere chain Cervus buys two Alta. dealerships
Reading Time: < 1 minute Two John Deere farm equipment dealerships in southern Alberta are set to become part of Deere dealer chain Cervus Equipment. Cervus announced Wednesday it’s bought the assets of Deer-Country Equipment, which owns and operates Deere dealerships at Vulcan and High River. The deal “represents a strategic opportunity for Cervus to expand our western Canadian presence […] Read more
Deere sees equipment sales falling further as farm incomes drop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Deere and Co. said it expected equipment sales to fall further as lower grain prices discourage farmers from buying tractors, harvesters and other machinery. Shares of the world’s largest farm equipment maker fell as much as four per cent in premarket trading Wednesday. Deere’s sales have been hit as bumper corn harvests drive […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
