Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Farm equipment maker Deere and Co. posted a 43 per cent fall in first-quarter profit and cut its full-year profit forecast as lower corn prices and weak farm income weighed on demand for agricultural machinery. The company, which gets nearly two-thirds of its revenue from farm and turf machinery, cut its 2015 net […] Read more
Deere cuts profit forecast as farm equipment sales decline
High-speed planters turn more heads
Corn Guide: More manufacturers join the competition to sell high-accuracy, 12-m.p.h. planters
Reading Time: 7 minutes One hundred hours. It’s barely more than four days of 24-hour planting, and it can seem like it goes by in a blink of the eye. But depending on farm size, it’s the typical number of hours you get in the spring to plant your corn and soybeans into optimum conditions. In some years like […] 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
New planters offer speed, greater precision
Machinery Guide looks at three new models ready to dive into the 2015 crop year
Reading Time: 3 minutes Spring seems to come faster every year, which is all right on the farm because speed is also the focus of today’s newest planter designs. Getting the job done faster, and with greater precision and improved seed singulation are the hallmarks of this year’s newest models, which are embracing enhanced electronics and some incredibly innovative […] 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
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
A lean year ahead for combine sales
Innovation, improvement is making for the best new combines ever
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s said that yield is the ultimate measure of a growing season, and if that’s true, then the combine is the ultimate device for measuring success. Sales of combines, like most farm machines, are admittedly finding the going tough these days. In its most recent assessment, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) reported that North […] Read more
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
Machinery Guide: Compact and utility tractors
Don't be fooled by appearances when it comes to performance
Reading Time: 3 minutes The word “small” can be very misleading, especially when it comes to farm tractors, so shift your thinking with a look at today’s compact and utility tractors. We’re hoping you’ll see that when it comes to performance, you can’t let yourself be fooled by appearances. These five manufacturers are touting designs and specifications that have […] 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
Get ready to “make hay” with new offerings of mowers and windrowers
Reading Time: 3 minutes If the number of product launches is any indication, there’s a sense of anticipation in forages this year. In this edition of Machinery Guide, you’ll see that mower conditions and self-propelled windrowers make up an exciting segment of offerings from manufacturers wanting to “make hay” in 2014. Check out these descriptions, first, then get ready […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
