Reading Time: 5 minutes What a difference a year makes. The heady days of overfilled order books at ag equipment assembly plants have faded into history. By the end of September, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) was reporting year-to-date sales of four-wheel-drive tractors in Canada were down by 19.8 per cent. Combine sales had slumped even further, dipping […] Read more
It won’t be easy being green — or red, or blue
Tough decisions lie ahead, with all the major brands needing to throttle back production but still keep up with changing market demand
Cautiously aggressive
What does it take to be inducted into a business hall of fame? CG asked Gavin Semple, the first inductee into the new Saskatchewan Manufacturing Hall of Fame
Reading Time: 5 minutes At first, the comment seemed counter-intuitive. I was sitting across a small table from Gavin Semple, chair of the Saskatchewan-based Brandt Group of Companies, during Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina in June. Semple had just been recognized as the first-ever inductee into the newly created Saskatchewan Manufacturing Hall of Fame, and I wanted to […] Read more
Small tractors nimble, but no shortage of power
Machinery Guide: John Deere 6R, Challenger MT500E, Massey Ferguson 7700, and Fendt 700 Series
Reading Time: 3 minutes The fall of 2014 will be remembered for all the improvements that manufacturers are making in small commercial tractors in the 120- to 220-horsepower class. Despite the trend towards “bigger, wider and more powerful,” these tractors are showing they can compete based on nimbleness, adaptability and durability. Below, we feature offerings from four different manufacturers, […] Read more
Meeting the customer’s need for farm equipment
New Holland veers away from corporate mega-dealers
Reading Time: 6 minutes When New Holland vice-president Abe Hughes spoke to a room full of farm media at the company’s North American headquarters in Pennsylvania in July, he wanted to talk about more than the shiny new iron parked outside. It was important, of course, to highlight the innovation in the brand’s 2015 equipment introductions, but Hughes also had […] Read more
Four middle-range tractors to get the job done
John Deere 7R, Massey Ferguson 8700, Fendt 800 and 900, and Case IH Puma series models
Reading Time: 3 minutes In an era when everything seems to be getting bigger, equipment manufacturers are investing heavily in updating and upgrading the middle of the pack. These are tractors in the 220- to 325-horsepower category, which means they’re big enough to haul and to load, and to dig into most of the toughest jobs on the farm, […] Read more
Meeting farmers’ needs with the right tool at the right time
German implement manufacturer Lemken bases its Canadian growth strategy on providing equipment tailored to local needs
Reading Time: 5 minutes This time the conversation was the opposite of what I’m used to. In the last few years it’s become common enough to hear North American machinery executives talk about how they’re going to get their share of the huge new markets in the emerging economies. But in May, I was at implement manufacturer Lemken’s factory […] Read more
CAN bus at your control
CAN bus technology is hardly new, but now it’s being perfected in farm machinery, opening up a world of great opportunities
Reading Time: 5 minutes In precision agriculture, there can be a steep learning curve with the newest systems on the market. Planter clutches and variable-rate fertilizer systems have their intricacies, for instance, and it can take growers years to customize key components to fit their particular operations. Now, however, there may be help, based on a connectivity technology that […] Read more
Return of the czars
Will the Putin effect hurt global ag equipment manufacturing?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Samuel Allen was blunt. “Today’s world is filled with uncertainty — fiscal, economic, and political uncertainty — that breeds extreme caution, disrupts thoughtful planning, and is generally bad for business,” the John Deere chairman and CEO wrote in the company’s 2013 annual report. Those words from December of last year now seem profoundly prophetic, given […] Read more
New tires from Alliance and Trelleborg
Part one of a two-part quick glimpse at new tire designs
Reading Time: 2 minutes In agriculture today, everything is getting bigger. The yields, the farms, and certainly the equipment have all grown larger in the past five years, and now the tire manufacturers have joined the trend. Late in 2013, more manufacturers began breaking the seven-foot barrier, crossing over from Group 48 into Group 49s and 50s, with diameters […] Read more
Grain carts and wagons: Part 1
Equipment to get your crops off the field when it's ready for harvest
Reading Time: 2 minutes Here it is, late April, with harvest still a distant dream, yet we’re talking grain carts and wagons? Yes, because with agriculture evolving so rapidly, there’s no such thing as an off-season in farming. Farmers are always learning, always looking for options. That’s why this post to Machinery Guide is taking a seasonally proactive approach. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
