Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Thousands of Deere and Co. workers were set to go on strike, days after overwhelmingly rejecting a six-year labour contract that was agreed on by United Auto Workers negotiators and the tractor maker. Earlier this month, the world’s largest farm equipment maker and the UAW reached an agreement after weeks of negotiation on […] Read more

Deere’s U.S. workers set to strike as UAW fails to reach deal

Deere lifts 2021 forecast on solid equipment demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Deere and Co. on Friday raised its full-year earnings forecast after quarterly profit topped Wall Street estimates on the back of strong demand for farm and construction equipment. The world’s largest farm equipment manufacturer now expects net income in fiscal 2021 to be between $5.7 billion and $5.9 billion, up from a range […] Read more

Brandt to buy Deere dealership chain Cervus
Regina firm to pay $302 million in all-cash deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes The world’s biggest privately-owned chain of Deere construction and forestry equipment dealerships is set to expand its reach into Deere farm equipment in a major way. Brandt Tractor, the equipment sales arm of the Regina-based Brandt Group, on Monday announced an agreement to buy all of publicly-traded Cervus Equipment Corp. for $19.50 a share, valuing […] Read more

Biden seeks to lift limits on U.S. farmer dealings with tractor makers, packers
Executive order to address corporate 'abuses of power'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Joe Biden wants to give that country’s farmers more power in negotiating the sale of livestock to big processors and in deciding who repairs their tractors, the White House said on Tuesday. The executive order, expected within days, will also address such competitive issues as delayed airline baggage, cellphone […] Read more

CNH to buy Raven Industries
Heavy equipment maker to pay US$2.1 billion for precision ag firm
Reading Time: 2 minutes The parent company behind Case IH, New Holland, Flexi-Coil and Steyr farm equipment is set to absorb a significant U.S. supplier of precision ag tech to its product lines and others. CNH Industrial on Monday announced a friendly all-cash agreement to buy up all shares in Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Raven Industries for about US$2.1 […] Read more

Feather sector’s on-farm upgrade program underway
Applications now being accepted for funding
Reading Time: 3 minutes The federal free trade compensation program to help Canada’s poultry and egg producers pay for on-farm upgrades, renovations and improvements is now taking applications. The $646.8 million, 10-year Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program (PEFIP) is now formally underway, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced Monday. Each eligible Canadian producer is entitled to an amount proportional […] Read more

Cervus expects chip shortages may continue into fall
Deere dealer chain books increased Q1 profit
Reading Time: 2 minutes The semiconductor chip shortage plaguing automotive and equipment manufacturers may last into the second and even third quarters of the year, farm equipment retailer Cervus Group says. Calgary-based Cervus — which operates 64 dealerships in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, including 38 devoted mainly to Deere farm equipment — expects increased demand to run up […] Read more

Ag equipment maker buys WHL’s Regina Pats
Brandt takes full ownership of hockey club
Reading Time: 2 minutes Regina-based machinery manufacturer the Brandt Group is levelling up from partner to full owner of the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats. Brandt, which since 2005 has held the naming rights to the Pats’ home arena, Brandt Centre — formerly the Regina Agridome — said Friday it has approval from the league’s board of governors and […] Read more

Spring road bans coming into effect across Prairies
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Warming temperatures and melting snow across Western Canada may cause some disruptions to grain and livestock movement over the next few weeks as seasonal spring road restrictions come into effect across the Prairies. The annual spring road restrictions set axle weight limits for vehicles moving on certain roads in an effort to reduce […] Read more

Equipment dealer chain Rocky Mountain to go private
Publicly traded CNH dealer's top brass make offer
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s biggest farm equipment dealership chain has made a deal to take itself private after almost 13 years on the TSX. Rocky Mountain Dealerships (RME) announced Monday it has an agreement in place with a numbered Alberta company controlled by CEO Garrett Ganden and board chairman Matthew Campbell, for 100 per cent of RME at […] Read more