Each year in the middle of the summer a major event in the agricultural journalism world takes place, the American Agricultural Editors’ Association awards. While some staff from your Western Producer usually attend the event, this year we could only wait to hear. The writers, editors and designers in the industry enter their best stuff […] Read more
Stories by Mike Raine
U.S. crop inventories take roller-coaster ride
Shifting expectations about stocks and a large supply of money in the investment community add to market instability
Those tied to the agricultural commodity markets this June might have the feeling they are riding a roller coaster. Last week’s Quarterly Grain Stocks and Acreage Reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture would have put them staring into a very blue sky — one without any rain clouds, at least for the western regions. […] Read more
Round crown gets belted build
Chains and slats were standard in round balers decades ago, but most manufacturers shifted to continuous belts. Germany’s Krone held out against that move, citing the reliability of chain systems to form a bale under nearly any forage harvesting conditions and the reliability of the all-metal design. The company will continue to offer its chain […] Read more
Keeping farmer’s machine, making it green
Hagie application tools get more Deere, but keep the layout and feel of the original machine designs
In a little more than a month, Canadian farmers will be able to order the latest in Hagie sprayers. For those producers who have owned or followed the history of the Hagie, the 2022 model year will offer some substantial changes, but appear to be keeping the elements that have made the Hagie machines uniquely […] Read more
See and Spray springs from river of technical invention
New release is a downstream effect of Deere’s investment in Blue River application-technology company four years ago
Find a weed and kill it. Ignore the crop and don’t waste any resources on non-pests. It’s easy to do strolling through a field with a hoe or spray nozzle in hand. Doing it over five- or 10-thousand acres in a tight time window is a bigger job. Blue River Technology sprang from an idea […] Read more
Deere upgrades its seeding and power offerings
More power with heavier frames and additional ballast and new features for seeding are available in 2022 machines
Model year 2022 will see key improvements to the John Deere lineup of farm machinery. Air seeding rigs are getting better blockage monitoring, more cab adjustments and faster changing tools in soil. John Deere announced last week that all of its air seeding units would get the RelativeFlow blockage monitoring. The system reports variations in […] Read more
Ag turns heads in virtual Vegas
There might not be too many farmers interested in the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but John Deere is. It was the third year the company has attended the event in an effort to highlight the technology used in farming. The tools the company builds that allow producers to plant, fertilize, protect and […] Read more
Navigating our uncertain path through the pandemic
Each year, we produce one special edition of your Western Producer. Our editorial staff starts planning for this project months in advance. Like the agriculture we are a part of, we expect it will be innovative, necessary and inspiring. This year, I wasn’t so sure it would be the case. This year, we decided to […] Read more
WP editorial recognitions
The American Agricultural Editors’ Association usually holds its annual conference in the middle of summer. This also coincides with the time when farmers typically have the least amount of time to spend with the publications. The Western Producer is an exception to that rule because producers seem to spend a lot of time with every […] Read more
Agco head retires at the end of 2020
Martin Richenhagen has decided to hand over the reins to one of the largest farm technology companies in the world. After 16 years of running Agco, the often controversial Richenhagen told journalists and the industry gathered for a meeting in Germany last month that his replacement would, “all bullshit aside, (Eric Hansotia) will do a […] Read more
