PHOTOS: Overhauling trailer brakes

In this instalment of Shop Class, we inspect and repair the brakes on an old livestock trailer

After all your work is done, remember to adjust the shoes after installing the drum. That is done by sticking a screwdriver (or special brake tool) through a slot in the rear of the backing plate and turning the adjuster mechanism. Turn the adjuster until the shoes touch the drum, then back them off about […] Read more



(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Poultry, eggs from seven U.S. states still blocked at border

While the U.S. has declared itself free of high-path avian flu, Canada is still warning cross-border travellers not to bring in poultry or eggs from seven previously affected states. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on Thursday — a.k.a. Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. — rolled out a statement to remind travellers that Canada’s restrictions […] Read more


(JBSsa.com)

Brazil court probing state-backed loans to JBS

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s federal accounts court, the TCU, said it had identified irregularities on loans to JBS SA, the world’s largest beef producer, and is deepening an investigation into the company’s relationship with state-run lender BNDES. The TCU is probing loans used to purchase U.S.-companies Swift and Co, for about US$225 million […] Read more

Those awkward conversations about food production

Those awkward conversations about food production

Talking to urban consumers about food can be more uncomfortable than political debate

By the time you read this, the 2015 federal election will be history. Maybe you will have even re-friended any politically-obnoxious people you dropped on Facebook in the weeks leading up to the big vote. Maybe. As I write this, before the election, I’m filled with the smug satisfaction of a citizen who already cast […] Read more



The two compact C Series wheel loaders from NH are designed to offer a little more reach and lift and replace skid steers where close confinement or low doorways isn’t a problem.

New C Series loaders from New Holland

50 and 80 horsepower compact wheel loaders offer a step up in capability over skid steers

If you need a machine that does most of what a skid steer can do but you don’t need to get into confined quarters, moving up to something like one of New Holland’s new C Series compact wheel loaders may be a better investment. NH’s redesigned 50 and 80 horsepower C Series wheel loaders can […] Read more


Australia’s Treasurer Scott Morrison, shown here earlier this year, has blocked the sale of S. Kidman’s farmland holdings to overseas bidders. (ScottMorrison.com.au)

Australia blocks foreign firm’s deal for largest farm owner

Sydney | Reuters –– Australia on Thursday blocked the sale of the country’s largest landowner, private farming group S. Kidman and Co., to foreign investors, saying an agricultural area the size of South Korea should remain in Australian hands. Ownership of farmland is a sensitive political issue in Australia amid concerns that foreign buyers are […] Read more