A Dutch tractor manufacturer has developed a stabilizer system to improve safety and driver comfort when operating articulated loader tractors. Giant’s Stabilo System made its Canadian debut at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina last month, participating in the Farm Progress Innovation Showcase. As Frank Michielsen of Prairie Side Equipment at Taber, Alberta explains in this short… Read More
Category: Tractors
Challenging times in the machinery market continue, as tractor sales in Canada slump. According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ April data, year-to-date tractor sales in Canada are down 18.6 percent from last year. 4-wheel-drive sales are down 22.1 percent, while 2-wheel-drive sales are down 18.4 percent. Combine sales in Canada are bucking the trend,… Read More
The online sharing concept that has produced Uber, Airbnb and other examples of peer-to-peer services aimed at better utilizing existing capital is developing in the U.S. farm machinery market. MachineryLink Sharing, which launched in the fourth quarter of 2015, bills itself as the industry’s first internet-based equipment sharing program. Farmers, and even some equipment dealers,… Read More
Japanese tractor company Kubota has announced a deal to purchase Salina, Kansas-based equipment-maker Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc. Kubota will acquire 100 percent of Great Plains’ shares for a stock price of approximately US$430 million, subject to provisions in the agreement. The deal expands on a North American alliance Kubota had with Great Plains’ turf and… Read More
Having your tractor hop up a hill is never a good feeling. Besides being downright uncomfortable, it’s a powerful reminder that the tractor isn’t operating to its full potential (think fuel consumption, tire wear and drawbar performance). But proper ballasting can be a big job, making it an easy job to overlook. That’s where John Deere’s new, aptly named, EZ… Read More
North American farmers got their first look at the new Massey Ferguson 5700SL Series mid-range tractors at the National Farm Machinery Show last month in Louisville, Kentucky. The 5700SL tractors include three models, ranging from 110 to 130 HP, with the 5713SL model claiming the 2016 Tractor of the Year award in the utility category… Read More
Deutz-Fahr won a silver medal last fall in the Agritechnica Innovation Awards for its “Driver Extended Eye” technology. The system consists of three cameras located behind the radiator grill on the tractor, showing blindspots in the tractor’s monitor. But it doesn’t stop there. The cameras can actually detect humans, and can intervene in the transmission… Read More
Real Agriculture first reported on the new Fendt 1000 Vario tractors at Agritechnica 2015 in Germany last November. Earlier this month, we were on hand for the North American debut at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky. At the launch, Real Agriculture’s Bernard Tobin waded through a crowd of farmers to take a tour… Read More
Since visiting Agritechnica in November, I have been sharing presentations on some of the cool innovations and products in agriculture. One of the most popular topics to discuss is the opportunity of autonomous tractors. The autonomous tractor product example that I chat about with audiences is the Greenbot. We’ve also seen Manitoba farmer Matt Reimer receive… Read More
Advancements in farm technology often come from major investments in research and development by large companies, but there are still cases where farmer ingenuity is part of developing something new. Matt Reimer, a young farmer from Killarney, Manitoba, has received plenty of attention after posting videos on YouTube last summer of his work automating a John Deere… Read More
Tractors keep getting bigger and bigger, but with the advent of automation, do we really need 500 HP tractors? Ohio State University (OSU) professor Scott Shearer doesn’t think so. He believes future tractors will get a lot smaller and become autonomous units that make farm soils more productive. “The current trend to increasingly larger equipment… Read More
Versatile sparked plenty of buzz on social media with news the tractor company is going back to its old colours for a run of 50th anniversary models in 2016. The online hoopla moved into the real world at the Western Canadian Crop Production Show in Saskatoon last week as the first retro-looking model to roll out of the… Read More
Over 100 adults and children are lost to agricultural fatalities on an average year in Canada. And though that number has started to drop in recent years, there is still much to be done to promote farm safety, particularly around machinery. Check Out All Our Kickin’ Tires Podcast Episodes In this episode of Kickin Tires, special… Read More
A large silver tub hangs in place of a front-end loader, accentuated by its own strikingly red grapple. “It’s an all-in-one machine,” Fliegl’s Christoph Hierl explains in the video below. “So with one tractor, you have the possibility to load…the bale, to cut the bale, to mix it, and to feed.” Don’t Miss Our Next TechTour… Read More
As part of the company’s 50th anniversary in 2016, Versatile has announced it will be bringing back its historic red and yellow paint scheme for a limited number of tractors. Founded in Winnipeg by Peter Pakosh and Roy Robinson, Versatile was the first manufacturer to mass-produce articulated four-wheel drive tractors, starting in 1966 with the… Read More