Honey Bee's new design uses front and rear three-point linkages to mount its prototype swather to a tractor. Wheels on the header support frame can be pivoted to put the attachment in transport position within minutes.

Honey Bee reintroduces the tractor-mounted swather concept

The company is currently assessing market demand for a new version of the tractor-mounted swather attachment it first produced in the 1980s

One of the most noticeable machines on display at Canada’s Farm Progress Show last June was Honey Bee’s tractor-mounted swather prototype. Now with the widespread availability of both front and rear three-point hitches on nearly every major brand of tractor, the company sees an opportunity to take advantage of that feature by reintroducing the mounted […] Read more

The Wilson family of Rathwell, Manitoba, brought their restored 1968 Versatile D145 to Canada’s Farm Progress Show last June.

Classic Versatile a family project

Fond memories of a D145 Versatile used on the family farm years ago prompted 
Ian Wilson and his sons to find and restore a similar tractor

Standing near his fully restored D145 Versatile four-wheel drive tractor, which was parked in a line of classic machines at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina in June, Ian Wilson of Rathwell, Manitoba, explained how fond memories of a D145 his family owned a couple of decades ago prompted him to find another one to […] Read more


Sunflower 6650 vertical tillage implements are now available in working widths up to approximately 48 feet.

New implements from AGCO

At the U.S. Farm Progress show in August, AGCO introduced wider working widths for Sunflower tandem disc harrow and vertical tillage implements

AGCO added new Sunflower brand models to two of its tillage implement lines in August —the 1436SW (the SW refers to the split wing frame design) tandem disc harrow and the 6650 vertical tillage tool. AGCO gave farmers their first look at them during the U.S. Farm Progress Show in the early fall. The new […] Read more

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


John Deere tractor

Grainews surveys used tractor values

We take a look at auction prices for two of John Deere’s popular tractor models: 9630 and 4440

Whether you’re in the mood to sell or buy, it pays to keep an eye on used machinery values. To help our readers do that, we’re starting a new feature in Grainews: our What’s it worth? Segment. We’ll regularly pick a couple of machines and survey auction sale results to help you track market values. […] Read more

John Deere tillage equipment

JD introduces 2730 Combination Ripper

New tillage tool from John Deere does multiple tillage functions in one pass

There seems to be no stopping the recent resurgence in popularity of tillage. Granted, in many regions of North America passion for tillage really never did fade. But today’s best-selling implements represent an evolution in design that addresses many of the problems caused by older cultivation equipment. That implement evolution has been driven, in part, […] Read more


a bearing race and housing diagram

How to deal with a loose bearing race

Here’s a mechanic’s tip on how to make a loose bearing race fit snuggly into a housing

Whenever a bearing is replaced, the rule of thumb is replace the race it rides in as well. That ensures the new bearing will last a long time because it will wear properly as it turns in the mated surface provided by a new, matching race. Bearing races are designed to have a friction fit […] Read more

vertical tilling equipment aiding in seeding a crop

Vertical seeding

A vertical tillage implement may make an ideal seeder for winter 
wheat when conditions are tough — and when they’re good

Fields in much of Southern Saskatchewan still saturated late into October posed a problem for anyone trying to seed winter wheat. Equipment manufacturer Salford thinks one of its implements, a vertical tillage tool, provides the ideal solution to exactly that problem. But not in the way you might expect. Jim Boak, sales manager for Salford […] Read more


The Kinze multi-hybrid prototype planter

Kinze’s multi-hybrid concept planter

This machine can alternate between two different seed hybrids based on information from prescription maps

Kinze has announced it is working on a prototype planter that will allow producers to load two different seed hybrids and switch back and forth between them while on the go. When making a field pass, the planter’s controller uses information from a prescription map to select and meter out the appropriate hybrid seeds where […] Read more

tractor and grain cart in a field

Kinze develops its Autonomous Tractor Project

The driverless grain cart tractor concept takes another step closer to commercialization

In 2011 Kinze, a company best known for building planters and grain carts, surprised many industry observers by announcing it had taken a plunge into the high-tech world of robotics with its Autonomous Tractor Project. It partnered with Jaybridge Robotics of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to develop an automated system to control tractors that pull grain carts […] Read more