Equip Blog

I think one of the most motivating phrases to ever become ingrained in the minds of a society has to be the one that came from a fictional, little green movie character who could master the ways of the Force but not the English language: Yoda. “Do or do not,” he famously said in “Return […] Read more

As I continue to log hours of travel time on the road and in the air attending machinery-related events across Canada, the U.S. and on other continents, I’ve come to the conclusion that Murphy got it right when the famous “Murphy’s Law” was discovered. On the off chance you don’t know what that refers to, […] Read more

A few years ago when the smartphone began to really gain market share and we found we could do much more with it than something as lame as actually talk to a person, I wrote a blog entry comparing it to Captain Kirk’s Star Trek communicator. Just like Kirk’s small communicator, the smartphone allows you […] Read more

In my last post I talked about the scale of some of today’s largest farm machines and what the future may—or may not—have in store for them. As technology advances, however, the question is becoming how much longer will we see very large scale equipment at work on broad-acre farms. The reason I say that […] Read more

The dynamics in the ag machinery industry in recent years have been pretty interesting. Until this year, new, very high capacity machines sold in record numbers. Traditionally, new machines have eventually trickled down to that group of farmers who rely primarily on used equipment. But the size of some new machines on the market now […] Read more

When AGCO’s Fendt brand introduced its newest tractor line, the 1000 Series, to North America at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, in February, it gave us another entirely new and very different choice in high-horsepower tractors. Until recently in our market front-wheel assist tractors topped out at about 380 horsepower. But that […] Read more

We once had a combine that had more than its fair share of mechanical problems. It frequently left me walking back from the field in the middle of the day, so we spent a lot of money on it for parts and service over the years. Every summer when it came out of the shed, […] Read more

I once counted up all the tires in use on equipment around the farm. Even though I knew each machine and how many tires were on it, when I consciously tallied the total number I had to say, “Wow. That’s a lot”. The same was true for the number of engines, large and small, that […] Read more

It seems the people at General Motors are a happy bunch these days. I suppose they should be. 2015 was good to them. The company is on its way to setting a record in net sales for this fiscal year. A big jump in the number of Silverados driving off dealer lots helped make that […] Read more

Many years ago I stopped listening to talk radio, those channels that invite people to call in by the dozens and express their opinions on some topic or another. I didn’t stop listening because I don’t want to hear other opinions on important things. It’s just that I’d rather hear informed opinions, and there are […] Read more