Saying goodbye to an old friend

There were obvious signs of relief in many quarters this week as a new NAFTA agreement was finally reached. At the insistence of the U.S. president, however, it will get a new name. Now it’s the USMCA, which CBC’s comedy show ’22 Minutes” suggested in a tweet sounded like—and should be sung like—the classic line […] Read more

Drying up

Last week PAMI (The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute) released some tips for producers who are trying to dry out this year’s crop after getting it into the bin. It looks like some helpful stuff. So rather than me interpret it, here’s a direct excerpt from their press release: “We know producers are very concerned about […] Read more


Communications 101

This week a big group of the Glacier FarmMedia editorial team was in Ontario walking the aisles of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show. Glacier, if you didn’t know, is the parent company of all us here at Grainews, Country Guide and a few other magazines you’ve more than likely heard of. As a group, we writers […] Read more

Going, going…

The Humboldt Broncos bus crash not only shocked us Canadians, it made news headlines in several countries round the world. But here at home it wasn’t a here-and-gone item on the six o’clock news. The incident has been in the public consciousness since that day. Watching us as a society keep the victims in our […] Read more


Women drivers

A few years ago a small group of feeder cattle from our neighbour’s pasture broke through the fence and ended up in my yard. When my neighbour arrived to take them home, he brought his saddle horse and a Collie dog. As he herded that group of yearlings away, I couldn’t help but be impressed […] Read more

Space, the final frontier

I received a news release from the Two Hills, Alberta, RCMP last week, and it has to be one of the oddest I’ve ever seen. That detachment has located an old car described as a 1940 to 1949 Dodge. It was abandoned near an oil lease site in Lamont County, Alberta. The Force says, “All […] Read more


It’s the real thing, food is

Some of the most famous and effective advertising campaigns ever made came from the soft drink industry. I remember Coke’s “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” jingle, which debuted in 1971. A modified version of it became the song “I’d like to teach the world to sing (in perfect harmony)”, which was recorded […] Read more

A long and winding road ahead

Sometimes I find it hard to believe I’ve been at this machinery-writing gig for well over a decade now. Time certainly flies! Before Cory Bourdeaud’hui, then editor of Grainews, called me up and asked me if I could provide regular mechanical and machinery related content for each issue, I’d been doing freelance work for other […] Read more


Terrorist activities

Just when I think a week has gone by where the most significant events to comment on in this blog are the usual things we’ve come to expect in our normal lives, I read the paper and I’m proven wrong. It’s become impossible not to have our attention drawn south, across the 49th parallel on […] Read more

Pre-emissions diesel engine

A new regeneration

It wasn’t all that long ago a check of the oil pressure and temperature gauges was all you needed to determine if the big diesel in your machine was still running properly. Diesels have earned a reputation as sturdy workhorses over the decades. But since the introduction of stringent emissions regulations, the mandatory exhaust after-treatment […] Read more