A Canadian farm and industrial equipment manufacturer is preparing to set up its first U.S. base to make farm equipment for U.S. corn and soybean growers. The Regina-based Brandt Group, whose farm equipment lines include loaders and skid steers as well as augers, conveyors and vacuums for grain handling, announced Friday it will buy a […] Read more
Brandt to buy first U.S. manufacturing plant
Buckle up — workplace safety rules may be in for a rough ride
Mandatory seatbelt use is among several ‘pretty big’ regulations that don’t make sense, says the AgCoalition
Reading Time: 5 minutes Over the objections of its farmer members, a committee has recommended the province make seatbelt use mandatory in tractors, combines, and other farm equipment. Forcing farmers to buckle up is just one — although likely the most controversial — of 142 recommendations from four “technical working groups” established to turn Bill 6 into actual occupational […] Read more
Official says ‘One Seat, One Rider’ should be the rule on every farm
Machinery accidents cause the majority of fatalities among children on the farm
Reading Time: 2 minutes Daddy, can I have a ride?’ “Riding on the tractor with Dad has been a long-standing tradition for many farm families,” said Janice Donkers, youth farm safety co-ordinator with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “It’s not uncommon to hear the older generations boast about how young they were when they first began riding on or operating […] Read more
Higher loonie will have many impacts
MARKET WATCH: A low dollar shielded Canadian farmers from lower commodity prices but it also raised the cost of farm equipment and inputs
Reading Time: 3 minutes While you were busy growing crops and raising livestock this summer, a rising dollar has been taking aim at your profits. The growing season started with the loonie trading under the 75 U.S. cents mark — and many analysts sticking to the theory it would stay low as long as oil prices remained in the […] Read more
Walk the safety talk — literally
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture is reminding farmers to do a full inspection on any equipment they plan to use, including a walkabout, before turning it on. That should include a “full 360-degree walk” around equipment and “looking for damage, excessive wear, loose or missing bolts, debris build-up, damaged or missing safety signs, leaks, tire inflation and fluid […] Read more
Saskatchewan rancher pleads guilty over stolen ag equipment
A western Saskatchewan cattle rancher has pled guilty on 18 charges over the discovery last year of tractors, balers and other farm equipment reported missing in the region, according to Saskatoon media. Iain Stables, 39, of the RM of Montrose entered guilty pleas in Provincial Court in Saskatoon Monday on 17 counts of possession of […] Read more
Morris Industries gets $3.4 million for manufacturing, innovation
Morris Industries in Morris, Man. is receiving more than $3.4 million from the Western Economic Diversification Canada’s (WD) Western Innovation (WINN) Initiative, to commercialize an advanced manufacturing process and create new farm equipment products. The funding support will be a co-investment with Morris to accelerate implementation of new manufacturing technology that will incorporate advanced features […] Read more
Cash is your best bet when buying machinery
If you're going to 'run the hell out of your equipment,' lease it
Reading Time: 4 minutes When you sit down across a desk from your equipment dealer, you’re out to get the best deal you can — and your dealer is out to make a profit. So how can you keep more jingle in your own jeans? “It doesn’t matter if you pay cash, you finance it, or you lease it,” […] Read more
The next big thing? Pioneers of CTF have high hopes
Controlled traffic farming may be the biggest advance since no till, but even its fans don’t expect it to be an overnight success
Reading Time: 5 minutes Controlled traffic farming has many benefits, but it still hasn’t caught on big in Alberta. There are only a handful of farmers in the province who have adopted the practice and a recent conference drew just over 50 people — even though CTF, as it’s commonly called, is hailed by some as the biggest advance […] Read more
Inputs and iron: Relentless price hikes squeeze producers
When crop prices soared, so did costs — and they stayed high even as farm revenues fell back to earth
Reading Time: 6 minutes Record-high grain and oilseed prices are a speck in the rear-view mirror, but they’ve left a legacy of higher costs. “When we see higher grain prices, we can expect to pay higher inputs,” said Scott Keller, a mixed grain farmer near New Norway. “All the companies selling crop inputs look at farmers’ margins and then […] Read more