Reuters — Colorado’s governor signed the nation’s first right-to-repair legislation into law on Tuesday, giving the state’s farmers and ranchers the autonomy to fix their own equipment. The bill, which requires manufacturers such as Deere and Co. to provide manuals for diagnostic software and other aids, garnered bipartisan support as farmers grew increasingly frustrated with […] Read more
Machinery — page 33
Colorado’s ag equipment right-to-repair bill signed into law
Bills introduced in 16 states
CNH sheds Russian business
New Holland, Case IH maker had suspended shipments last year
The maker of Case IH and New Holland tractors and combines is selling its business activities in Russia for about US$60 million. CNH Industrial, which employs about 200 people in Russia, announced the divestment in a release Wednesday without naming the buyer. CNH in March last year suspended all shipments and supplies to Russia and […] Read more
Toromont to sell Manitoba Agco, Claas dealer chain
Dutch firm to buy AgWest
Canada’s Caterpillar equipment distributor for Manitoba and points east is set to sell a major Manitoba dealer of Agco’s farm equipment brands as well as the province’s exclusive dealer for Claas combines. Toromont Industries announced Monday it will sell its AgWest Ltd. arm to Dutch equipment distributor Mechan International, effective May 1. Neither company would […] Read more
Getting the most out of your farm equipment
Making field operations efficient is the target of an Ontario agtech company
An Ontario start-up believes precision agriculture should be easy to use and accessible to all. That’s the premise behind the farm management software IntelliCulture has developed to solve what it says are three of the biggest critical challenges on the farm: labour availability, pest prevention and machine safety. Why it matters: Margins are slim in […] Read more
Colorado passes first U.S. right-to-repair legislation for farmers
Manufacturers fear safety, emissions systems could be overridden
Reuters — Colorado farmers will be able to legally fix their own equipment next year, with manufacturers such as Deere and Co. obliged to provide them with manuals for diagnostic software and other aids, under a measure passed by legislators in the first U.S. state to approve such a law. The Consumer Right to Repair […] Read more
Poor machinery maintenance defeats good tech
Most profit-killing problems that plague high-tech planters can be traced to simple, easily addressed mechanical issues
Glacier FarmMedia – Running new fancy planters is fun. Working on dirty, used ones is less fun. But huge problems can be avoided if farmers take time to ensure their equipment is set up the way it’s supposed to be. “If we don’t do good maintenance, it’s going to defeat that technology,” said Dustin Weinkauf […] Read more
GM buyouts cut 5,000 jobs, CFO says
Not much more room seen to raise prices
Reuters — About 5,000 General Motors salaried workers took buyouts to leave the company, putting the company well on the way to hitting a US$2 billion cost-cutting target, the automaker’s chief financial officer said Tuesday. GM shares were trading down nearly two per cent at midday, even though CFO Paul Jacobson said demand for GM’s […] Read more
International farmers may ease Canadian human capital crunch
A global retirement crunch is coming and Canada is ill prepared, report says
As other nations reduce their agricultural footprints in an effort to boost sustainability, their loss could be Canada’s human capital gain, a new report suggests. “The immigration of scientists, data engineers, and entrepreneurs has been recognized as critical to Canada’s growth. A similar approach needs to be adopted to attract farmers,” the authors wrote. The […] Read more
CNH to buy Outback Guidance’s parent firm
Case IH, New Holland maker to pay US$175 million for Hemisphere
CNH Industrial, parent of the Case IH. New Holland, Steyr and Flexi-Coil farm equipment brands, has signed a cash deal to buy satellite positioning tech firm Hemisphere GNSS, parent of the Outback Guidance aftermarket GPS, precision ag and autosteer business. CNH announced Thursday it will pay $175 million for Hemisphere, which has been owned since […] Read more
Ford hikes electric F-150’s price again to battle high costs
Reuters — Ford Motor Co. has raised the base price of its popular F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck again, the automaker’s website showed on Thursday, the latest in a series of price hikes aimed at offsetting high costs. The base variant of Ford’s electric F-150 truck now starts at $59,974, excluding shipping and taxes, up […] Read more
