Reading Time: 5 minutes It was a rare sight to see this tractor return to the factory where it had been built nearly four decades earlier. But that was exactly what I saw while standing inside the R&D facility at Versatile’s Winnipeg tractor assembly plant earlier this winter. The one-off prototype model 1080 tractor, which became affectionately known as […] Read more
A return to tractor marketing
There are gaps in tractor assembly lines again, and manufacturers are looking to marketers to fill them
VIDEO: eQuipTV: “Big Roy” 3: A tractor ahead of its time
Reading Time: < 1 minute Scott Garvey pays another visit to the Versatile plant in Winnipeg to get an update on Big Roy’s restoration and gets some history on the big eight-wheel-drive tractor from Grant Adolph, Versatile’s COO. Video editing by Greg Berg.
The first true robot tractor
Machinery Guide: The Greenbot autonomous tractor hits the market
Reading Time: 3 minutes Complete automation may well be the dominant focus of ag machinery design in the coming decades. We’ve already seen various levels of robotics introduced into conventional equipment, and a few limited-use autonomous machines have appeared. But no company has yet been willing to offer fully autonomous, market-ready tractors for general field duties — until now. […] Read more
VIDEO: eQuipTV: “Big Roy” 2, the restoration continues
Soon-to-be-completed restoration will see the big Versatile returned to the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin
Reading Time: < 1 minute Grainews returns to Versatile’s R&D shop in Winnipeg to check in on Big Roy’s progress, and we talk to Adam Reid, Versatile’s marketing manager, about what else the company has in store for its 50th anniversary celebrations. Video editing by Greg Berg.
German regulator investigates possible tractor cartel
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
VIDEO: Driverless tractors and open-source software
Reimer Robotics takes first prize in Manitoba Ag Days Inventors' Showcase
Reading Time: < 1 minute Matthew Reimer was as surprised as anyone when he was awarded first prize for his driverless tractor system at Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon on Jan. 20, but his invention is worthy of the title. The Inventors’ Showcase winner, and president of Reimer Robotics, has built a system to move tractors – driverless no less, with […] Read more
The quality revolution in agricultural machinery
Business has changed. You can’t build a tractor the way they used to. Farmers won’t let you
Reading Time: 6 minutes At first, we all thought he must have been exaggerating. It was 2013 and we were at the Hesston, Kansas combine assembly plant where Hans-Bernd Veltmaat, AGCO’s senior vice-president was discussing the plant’s US$40-million expansion, which included a new state-of-the-art paint system. “This paint centre is a major building block for AGCO,” Veltmaat said. “With […] Read more
VIDEO: Eight-wheel drive tractor “Big Roy” begins restoration at Versatile
Reading Time: < 1 minute As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, Winnipeg-based Versatile brought its model 1080 prototype eight-wheel drive tractor, dubbed Big Roy, home for a makeover. Although it’s now officially owned by an agricultural museum, the tractor will play an as-yet unspecified role in Versatile’s celebrations through public appearances arranged by the brand this coming season. Age […] Read more
John Deere lays down some new tracks
Machinery Guide: The four-track John Deere 9RX tractor makes its official debut
Reading Time: 3 minutes At a dealer convention way back in August of 2014, John Deere gave farm media a glimpse of what was then its pre-production prototype 9RX tractor, a 9R Series articulated model that rode on four tracks instead of tires. It made me ask, why break with standard practice? Why reveal a machine not yet ready […] Read more
Pearce: Outdoor Farm Show hosts Kubota’s ‘triple play’
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show is no stranger to ribbon cuttings and product launches, but not many companies open a new show-site facility and pull the wrapping off two new products all at once. Kubota Canada this year didn’t even wait for the official start of the Outdoor Farm Show, but did it all a day […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
