The company won a Silver Innovation award for its quick-change ballasting system at Agritechnica 2015.

John Deere debuts new EZ Ballast

A quick-attach system allows five second ballast adjustments on 7R tractors

John Deere took home a Silver Innovation award at Agritechnica this year for its newest idea in tractor ballasting, intended to make getting the right amount of weight on each axle a much simpler job. Attaching and removing wheel weights is so difficult, no one really bothers touching them once they’re bolted on. But there […] Read more


It’s been a few years since Deere’s 9330 and its contemporary competitors rolled off assembly lines. They’re now an option for farmers looking for lower-cost, late-model, pre-emissions horsepower.

Comparison shopping for late model tractors

We review a sample of late-model 300 to 400 hp tractors for performance and pricing

This year a lot of buyers have chosen to take advantage of the current good selection of cheaper, used, pre-emissions tractors rather than buying new machines. With so much activity in the used equipment market, Grainews decided to take a look at a few of the choices out there for late-model machines. So, we went […] Read more

This 500 horsepower, two-wheel drive tractor was built in 1979 to work on the Honey Brothers’ farm near Bracken, Saskatchewan.

Tractor built to meet farm needs

The tractor the Honey brothers built in 1979 has become a mascot for their business

If there was one stand-out display that caught farmers’ attention at this year’s Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina, it was the unique, home-built tractor that has now become a kind of corporate mascot for Honey Bee Manufacturing. The tractor, originally built in 1979 by the Honey Brothers who went on to found the company […] Read more


Engine Repair - Work Tools

A good winter-ready checklist for farm vehicles

Time spent preparing vehicles for winter will reduce risk of damage and save time come spring

It’s that time again. The days are shorter, black clouds loom overhead, snow is in the air, the mornings are brisk, and harvest is done — but is your farm equipment ready for winter? A good pre-winter checkup will help prevent downtime regardless of whether it is a piece of equipment or truck that you […] Read more

Salford introduced its 945 bushel AC4000L air cart in Regina in June. It can be configured to work with both dry and liquid fertilizer.

New air cart has liquid N option

Salford’s AC4000 Series air carts can be ordered with both dry and liquid fertilizer systems

Applying liquid rather than granular nitrogen in the spring has become a pretty popular choice among western Canadian growers. For most, though, that has meant adding another cart equipped with a liquid tank to an already long train of equipment behind the tractor in order to make a seeding pass. Now, however, growers can get a single […] Read more


Mitas PneuTrac tires are currently undergoing field trials in Europe. The company expects them to be market ready by late 2017.

Unique PneuTrac agricultural tire ready within two years

Mitas' new tire technology goes into field trials ahead of upcoming launch

Mitas’ revolutionary PneuTrac concept ag tire was first shown to the world at the last Agritechnica farm machinery show in Germany in 2013. Now the company says it is ready to put the tire into field trials, and it expects to have the PneuTrac market ready by the end of 2017. The PneuTrac uses a […] Read more

Excessively worn tires will increase wheel slip, which wastes fuel.

Is it time for new tires?

Performance of worn tires will depend on field conditions

Any producer who keeps the same tractor around the farm for several years will eventually need to decide when it’s time to replace the tires. Excessively worn drive tires can seriously affect a tractor’s performance and increase operating costs due to higher fuel consumption, because increased wheel slip caused by poor traction is wasted energy. […] Read more


The Mitas AirCell allows for quick changes to tire inflation pressure and mounts on standard ag tire rims without special tools.

Mitas AirCell can pump you up

Refinement to on-board ag tire inflation 
system speeds up pressure changes

One of the high-end features offered on AGCO’s Fendt-brand tractors is VarioGrip, which lets the operator adjust tire pressure right from the cab via the VarioTerminal. That provides some significant benefits. When the tractor drives through a gate and into a field, it’s possible to air down the tires for maximum traction and minimum soil […] Read more

JCB demonstrated how the new 4000 Series Fastrac can do double duty with a mounted sprayer kit.

PHOTOS: Photo Gallery: Walking the aisles at Agritechnica

Grainews was at the world's largest farm machinery expo in Hanover, Germany

It’s a little difficult to compare the Agritechnica farm machinery expo to the kinds of regional shows most Western Canadian farmers are familiar with. Aside from the sheer scale of the event which featured over 2,900 exhibitors this year, Agritechnica is in a league of its own and runs every second November in Hanover Germany. […] Read more