A machinery Christmas carol

Tis the season when writers at all publications seem to feel an irresistible urge to summarize the year that was. I’m not immune to that force, but this year I have something better to tell you about. I was actually visited three times by ghosts who represent farm machinery, past, present and future. Last night […] Read more



They said “you’ll just love Quebec City”

I’ve been in Eastern Canada less than 24 hours and I’ve already eaten veal liver twice. I had it once yesterday at the Toronto airport because it was recommended by the waitress, (maybe it was difficult to move) and I had it again last night for dinner at a trendy little restaurant on St. Jean […] Read more

Massey Ferguson goes to the South Pole

With cold temperatures back again, most prairie farmers are resigning themselves to the task of operating farm equipment through another Canadian winter—forecast again to be a nasty one. At the same time, one group has taken their tractor to the coldest continent on the planet—on purpose! The Antarctica2 expedition intends to retrace the path of […] Read more


Tire-d of the cold

With the latest “Polar Vortex” to sweep across the Prairie, getting machines to operate in those frigid temperatures usually requires some additional effort. And if you climbed into your late-model pickup truck and noticed a tire pressure warning light come on, you’re not alone. According to General Motors, the first hard dip in temperatures each […] Read more

The digital race is on

Once upon a time, not long ago farm equipment dealerships were all about iron. Walk in the front door and all you’d see were oil filters, batteries and new machine posters. Out back, in the service department, it was all oil and grease. But that was then. As I spoke with John Schmeiser last week, […] Read more


Tuck it in right

Now that most field operations have finished for the season and the first snow storm has hit the prairie, it’s time for farmers to think about end-of-season maintenance procedures before tucking those big machines into a storage shed for the winter. AGCO has some tips on just what should be done to ensure machines are […] Read more

A bushel of Guinness

I can’t even remember all the world record-setting attempts I’ve read about in the last few years involving farm machinery in Europe. There was the one for the most tractors more than 20 years old working in one field, another was for the most vintage self-propelled forage harvesters working together, then there was the most […] Read more


Northgate project really opens U.S. market

There is an interesting grain handling and export project about to begin shipping wheat and canola from Saskatchewan and Manitoba into the U.S. this fall. At the community of Northgate in southeast Sask., a Canadian company with U.S. interests is developing a rail terminal to buy and transport grain and oilseeds south into U.S. markets […] Read more

Kubota’s M7 Series

More ponies under Kubota hoods

When North American Kubota dealers get together at the company convention later this month, they’ll be in for a treat. The brand will pull the wraps off a new line of higher-horsepower tractors called the M7 Series. Their introduction is designed to help dealers grab market share away from the major brands in the mid-horsepower […] Read more