We tested the trailer-towing ability of this Ford F150 , including the new Pro Trailer Backup Assist feature.

Testing Ford’s Trailer Backup Assist

Does adding an auto-back up feature on to the package add value to this farm truck?

Just about every producer is used to backing up towed machinery and trailers. It’s an everyday occurrence on the farm. But not everyone with a driver’s licence is capable of easily navigating a truck and trailer through the rear-view mirror. To help those directionally challenged drivers and anybody who would just like reversing a trailer […] Read more

This photo taken at Massey-Ferguson’s combine test facility in the early 1960s shows the bump track used to test long-term durability.

Shaking things up

Here's how manufacturers test the durability of vehicles and machines

The expectation of quality among buyers of farm machinery has risen substantially in past decades. As a result, all manufacturers have felt the heat to live up to customer demand and implemented a host of new quality control programs both on and off assembly lines, including at the design phase. That goes for vehicle manufacturers […] Read more


GM will offer a retrofit camera package for 2014 to 2016 Silverado trucks to make trailer towing easier and safer.

GM offers retrofit trailering options

Rear view cameras and hitch packages available for 2014-2016 Silverado

Farm pickups usually see their fair share of road miles with a trailer in tow, especially those owned by mixed farmers who almost always have a livestock trailer. This year the major pickup truck brands seem to be vying for attention from those who pull trailers by offering increasingly better option packages. When Ford introduced […] Read more

Medium duty trucks with larger special service bodies are gaining popularity with producers.

Make your in-field servicing easier

These custom-made truck bodies are designed to carry the shop right out to the field

The silver service body mounted on a 335 Peterbilt at Automatic Truck and Trailer Sales’ display during the Manitoba Ag Days show was bound to make anyone green with envy. The large aluminum service body was custom built by Total Works Truck and Equipment in Brandon, according to Ray Lewis, sales rep for Automatic Truck […] Read more


The trucks were required to navigate test courses both on and off road.

How the 2016 pickup trucks stack up

Grainews helped out with the judging at the 2016 Canadian Truck King Challenge

When it’s time to bring home a new farm pickup truck, there are a lot of things to consider. For example, every new pickup on a dealer lot has a window sticker showing Transport Canada fuel mileage ratings. Trouble is, those mileage figures may not really reflect what a truck’s actual consumption will be on […] Read more

PHOTOS: PHOTO GALLERY: A look back at pickup trucks

PHOTOS: PHOTO GALLERY: A look back at pickup trucks

How manufacturers tried to convince farmers to buy trucks in the ’60s

Stacked! Built!” are the first two words in the body of this Mercury Trucks advertisement from the early 1960s. Clearly, they have that nudge-nudge-wink-wink feel to them. I’m pretty sure those terms had the same double entendre meaning back then that they do today. No current marketing manager would ever let that kind of ad […] Read more


The Canadian unveiling of the 2017 Ford Super Duty took place in November at the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina.

Ford unveils the 2017 Super Duty

Trailer towing capability is a priority for the brand’s new Super Duty trucks

Most of the new vehicle introductions in this country have typically taken place at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto. But Ford didn’t choose to use that venue to unveil its 2017 line of Super Duty trucks. Instead, the brand picked the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina last November to show potential buyers what […] Read more

The Silverado is available with three different engine options, a 4.3 V-6 along with 5.3 and 6.2 litre V-8s.

A new face for the Silverado 1500

GM gives its Silverado truck a facelift and some digital updates for 2016

The 2016 Silverado that GM sent to the Canadian Truck King Challenge in October was a preproduction model, so the event judges were among the first Canadians to get behind the wheel of one. Unfortunately because it was a preproduction model, it will soon be crushed; it can’t be sold. That’s a real shame, because […] Read more


The Chev in Dean’s workshop part way through the restoration process.

Old Chevy gets a new makeover

An on-farm restoration brings a rare 1955 Chevrolet back to life again

Dean Foote of Killarney, Manitoba, wrote to tell us about the 1955 Chevrolet barn-find truck he and his family recently restored. Here’s what he had to say. “When I found this truck, it had been stored in a garage for the past 20 years. The previous owner had thoughts of restoring it one day and […] Read more

PHOTOS: Getting around in Australia

Scott Garvey's recent trip down under gave him a chance to see how some Aussie farmers travel

Australian farmers who’ve learned to adeptly shift gears with their left hand have the same basic needs as Canadian farmers when it comes to getting around. They need a pickup to use on the farm and to get them to town, and they need heavy trucks to haul livestock and grain. But from there, things […] Read more