Photo: Scott Garvey

Highlights from the U.S. Farm Progress Show

Grainews went to Iowa to see what was on display at the Midwest's largest outdoor ag show

Each year the U.S. Farm Progress Show attracts tens of thousands of visitors. It’s the premier outdoor ag event in the Midwest, and it alternates between show sites at Decatur, Illinois, and Boone, Iowa. This year’s event was in Boone, and despite the downturn in the ag equipment market, it was clear manufacturers haven’t cut[...]
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VIDEO: Big Roy, the finale

VIDEO: Big Roy, the finale

Reading Time: < 1 minute After months of restoration work, Versatile finally let Big Roy out from behind closed doors at a special event in early July. The company held a reception for buyers of the Legendary Limited Edition tractors at its Manitoba R&D facility, and gave those customers, some special guests and the media a first official look at the restored Big Roy. Drone[...]
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Kansas-based Great Plains Manufacturing, whose 3S-3000HD drill is shown here, is set to become an arm of Japanese manufacturer Kubota. (GreatPlainsAg.com)

Kubota to buy equipment maker Great Plains

Japanese farm, construction, yard and landscaping equipment maker Kubota is set to expand its share in several of those sectors with a deal for Kansas equipment firm Great Plains Manufacturing. Kubota, which has had a strategic alliance with Great Plains for implements in the U.S. since 2007, announced Friday it will buy 100 per cent[...]
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VIDEO: e-QuipTV: “Big Roy” 2, the restoration continues

VIDEO: e-QuipTV: “Big Roy” 2, the restoration continues

Soon-to-be-completed restoration will see the big Versatile returned to the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin

Reading Time: < 1 minute Grainews returns to Versatile’s R&D shop in Winnipeg to check in on Big Roy’s progress, and we talk to Adam Reid, Versatile’s marketing manager, about what else the company has in store for its 50th anniversary celebrations. Video editing by Greg Berg.

(Baywa.com)

German regulator investigates possible tractor cartel

Duesseldorf | Reuters –– Germany’s anti-trust regulator said Friday it was investigating a possible cartel of companies making agricultural machinery, particularly tractors. It did not name any targets of the probe. German agricultural trading group Baywa said the cartel office had searched its headquarters earlier this week on suspicion that some of its employees were[...]
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VIDEO: Driverless tractors and open-source software

VIDEO: Driverless tractors and open-source software

Reimer Robotics takes first prize in Manitoba Ag Days Inventors' Showcase

Reading Time: < 1 minute Matthew Reimer was as surprised as anyone when he was awarded first prize for his driverless tractor system at Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon on Jan. 20, but his invention is worthy of the title. The Inventors’ Showcase winner, and president of Reimer Robotics, has built a system to move tractors – driverless no less, with[...]
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The dangers are well known and yet 13 per cent of farm-related fatalities are traffic related.

Minimize your road risk during harvest

Take a moment to review the hazards of taking farm equipment on 
public roads

Reading Time: 2 minutes According to the Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting program, 13 per cent of farm-related fatalities across Canada are traffic related, and most involved tractors. During the busy fall harvest season, farmers often travel long distances between fields, and this requires transporting equipment on public roads throughout rural Alberta. Farm equipment is oversized and slow compared to[...]
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combine dumping corn into a driverless tractor

The next farm technology revolution

Rob Saik says big data will soon be a fact of life on farms, and producers will have to find ways to deal with it all

Reading Time: 3 minutes Farm technology has come a long way — the leap from horses to tractors seemed huge until computers, auto steer, and advances in seed and crop chemistry came along. But the next technological leap is going to be the biggest yet, and it’s already underway, according to Rob Saik, CEO and founder of the Agri-Trend[...]
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