The right-to-repair debate is a hot-button issue because something as simple as a software glitch could mean costly delays at critical points in the season.

Right-to-repair advocates fighting, but not gaining much ground

No right-to-repair laws have been passed; dealers association says lack of broadband is the real issue

Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s been an uphill battle but the right-to-repair movement isn’t giving up and is getting closer to winning over lawmakers, says a leading American advocate. Right-to-repair legislation has been introduced in 42 states and two provinces — but none of the bills have made it into law, Gay Gordon-Byrne, head of The Repair Association, conceded […] Read more

(Luca Piccini Basile/iStock/Getty Images)

Farm equipment demand to remain high, FCC says

Low inventories, high commodity prices and a good crop place pressure on demand

Demand for farm equipment should remain high through 2023 despite higher interest rates and projected price increases, according to Farm Credit Canada. The federal ag lender has released an outlook on the farm equipment market that analyzed data and trends that affect the market. While the outlook attributes much of the current demand to relatively […] Read more


Four-wheel-drive tractors and air seeders have been in short supply all year, says an official Rocky Mountain Equipment, which has 36 dealerships across Western Canada.

The shortage of farm equipment may not ease until 2024

Dealers — and a new report from FCC — suggest tight supplies are the ‘new normal’ and unlikely to change soon

Reading Time: 5 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Farm equipment dealer Guy Deroche was pleasantly surprised about parts orders this fall when delivery was better than expected. Supply chain disruptions were a hallmark of the year, forcing producers and agri-businesses to scramble for inputs, for equipment components, for livestock ear tags and a long list of consumer products. There were […] Read more

The sticker price of new equipment is bad enough but it’s the cost of used machines that has many farmers shaking their heads, says Jason Lenz.

No end in sight for soaring farm equipment costs

It’s not just the price tags on new equipment that’s shocking, it’s also the spillover effect in the used market

Reading Time: 3 minutes Prices for farm equipment continue to rise. And it’s not just fancy new iron that’s causing farmers to do double takes. How does $62,972 sound for a 1994 New Holland 9680 tractor? How about $49,995 for a 1995 John Deere 1850 air drill? Or $80,000 for an older tandem axle grain truck? “You’re seeing an […] Read more


Monarch’s MK-V tractor. (MonarchTractor.com)

Foxconn to build autonomous electric tractors in Ohio

Tech firm to make units for U.S.-based Monarch

Reuters — Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, on Tuesday said it will build driverless electric tractors for California-based Monarch Tractor at its Lordstown, Ohio facility starting in early 2023. The announcement comes as heavy machinery manufacturers, including Deere and Agco, set their sights on the electric vehicle market as the U.S. agriculture […] Read more

tractor seeding in a field

The buyers are willing but the equipment supply chain is weak

Farm equipment sales jump but availability of new machines and parts for older ones remain an issue

Reading Time: 4 minutes Driven by high commodity prices and low interest rates, sales of farm equipment shot up last year — but getting delivery was a huge headache for many. Sales of four-wheel-drive tractors in Canada rose 33 per cent, 100+ horsepower tractors were up 34 per cent, and combines were up 23 per cent, according to data […] Read more


John Deere’s 8R autonomous tractor is pictured at Jensen Test Farm at Bondurant, Iowa, just northeast of Des Moines, on April 28, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Bianca Flowers)

Deere tapping into Apple-like tech model to drive revenue

'Hopefully the costs will be paid back in the long run'

Bondurant, Iowa | Reuters — Deere and Co. has sold its tractors and other equipment to farmers for decades, but the world’s largest agriculture machinery manufacturer is tearing a page from the technology world’s playbook — combining cutting-edge hardware with software and subscription models to drive revenue growth. In a world with a dwindling number […] Read more

A view from the Earth Power dealership at Owen Sound, Ont. in 2016. (Earth Power Tractors and Equipment photo via Facebook)

Southern Ontario Kubota dealer chain sold

Robert's, Stewart's buy Earth Power dealerships

A chain of Kubota dealerships in southern Ontario is selling its three links to two separate new owners. Earth Power Tractors and Equipment, owned in partnership by Jim Kelly and Jeff Cook since 2005, said Thursday it has a deal in place to sell its sites at Owen Sound and nearby Meaford to Robert’s Farm […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Agco buys Manitoba ag autonomy firm JCA

Massey, Fendt maker boosts precision ag capacity

International farm equipment maker Agco is aiming to boost its bench strength in the precision agriculture and autonomous ag sectors by buying a Prairie software and hardware company known for both. Agco, the maker of machinery brands including Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Challenger and Valtra, said Monday it has bought Winnipeg-based JCA Technologies for an undisclosed […] Read more

Insulators for electric fencing will be a black-and-white PST-exempt expense for ranchers in Saskatchewan starting April 1, 2022. (Gallagher.com)

Saskatchewan clarifying certain on-farm PST exemptions

More items to be specified as exempt in tax regulations

Saskatchewan farmers’ and ranchers’ concerns about some inconsistencies in how and when provincial sales tax is applied to purchases of on-farm equipment will be dealt with in a revised list effective late next week. The province said Wednesday in a budget release that a “number of clarifications” will be made to its Provincial Sales Tax […] Read more