Agco has released a new higher horsepower, mechanical front wheel assist tractor line into the North American market. Aimed at the forage industry and at row crop operators, the machines also have a fit in the mid-sized grain business in Canada, say Agco executives. The four machines in the Massey Ferguson 86 and Challenger MT600C […] Read more
Production
Agco’s new tractor line quiet, fuel efficient
New Products
Portable welder; Double jointed unload Portable welder Miller Electric has released a 14 horsepower portable welder and generator for farm and light industrial use. The Wildcat 200 is 70 kilograms lighter than other welders in its class and 30 percent smaller than previous machines, says the company. The 156 kg unit provides up to 200 […] Read more
Going big: 360 h.p. fixed frame
BRANDON – Weighing in at more than 30,000 pounds and cranking out 360 horsepower at the flywheel, the Fendt 936 Vario is the world’s undisputed biggest and most powerful fixed frame tractor. Like most technologically advanced things, it comes with a price. “You can figure $1,000 per horsepower. That gives you a lot more tractor […] Read more
Shiftless tractor nearly gear-free
BRANDON – There must be a myriad of high tech secrets inside a continuously variable transmission that can move a tractor from 0.018 mph without a creeper gear, all the way to 31 mph without a road gear, and never needs to shift. “No. The Fendt transmission is remarkably simple,” said Ross Tufford, owner of […] Read more
Big bladders: a tankless job
BRANDON – Giant flexible bladders are an option to traditional liquid storage tanks. The first Labaronne Citaf self-supporting flexible tank was built in 1958 and still holds drinking water near its factory of origin in France. John Wilke of Wilke Sales in Regina said if a polyester bladder can last 50 years in an open […] Read more
Bladder turns pickup into fire truck
BRANDON – Ponder some potential uses for an on-farm fire truck – grass fires, yard cleanup or burning derelict buildings at a remote farmyard. The on-farm fire truck is a good tool for days when a producer is doing deliberate controlled burns. But it’s especially important for that day when a true emergency happens such […] Read more
MachineFinder updated
The MachineFinder website that John Deere launched in 1998 just received its first major overhaul. It broke ground when it was released, but had become dated compared to newer farm implement search tools. The overhaul was designed to simplify and speed up the process of finding implements. The site ignores the 49th parallel, allowing farmers […] Read more
Accelerating harvest with a Gleaner
Guenter is a former service manager for Massey-Ferguson. An important and seldom understood part on Agco’s Gleaner rotary N and R series combines is the pair of accelerator rolls found within the heart of the machines’ transverse or naturally mounted rotors. The rolls’ job is to accelerate the threshed mixture of grain and chaff past […] Read more
Plant density trumps seed rate
Anastasia Kubinec has a friendly reminder for canola growers at seeding time: the focus should be on the plants, not the canola seed. “Farmers need to get out of the mind set of a standard pounds per acre rate,” said Kubinec, an oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. “They need to think about the plants per […] Read more
New version released of old tractor classic
The venerable Ford 8N was, and remains, a little workhorse of a tractor. Introduced in 1947 to replace the successful 9N, the 8N is now being rereleased. A modern 8N will be for sale on New Holland dealer lots 62 years after it first chugged onto the farms of North America. While it looks like […] Read more
