Lobbying efforts by short-line manufacturers led to the introduction of Bill C-294 in the Senate last year. The private member’s bill is an amendment to the Copyright Act that would be a legal starting point to prevent major brands from denying short-line companies the necessary codes to sync their equipment to a major brand machine’s digital system.  |  MacDon photo

Law to prevent lockouts stalled in Senate

Federal budget outlines plans for consultations on equipment interoperability and the right to repair machinery

Canadian short-line agriculture equipment manufacturers raised the alarm recently over some major brand original equipment manufacturers locking their onboard digital systems on selected machines. The move effectively prevents short-line manufacturers from connecting their attachments to those machines, which effectively locks them out of the market. It has particularly affected Canadian short-line manufacturers who build combine […] Read more

This image was taken just a few years after Seed Hawk opened its manufacturing plant near the small community of Langbank, Sask. it has since been significantly expanded and is under Vaderstad ownership. The rural location is typical of many short-line ag equipment manufacturers across the Prairies.  |   Seed Hawk photo

Short-line manufacturers important to western economy

Growing risk to Prairie ag manufacturing is also an economic risk in regions where farm equipment is manufactured

With some major equipment brands limiting access to the digital systems on their machines, Prairie short-line manufacturers who build attachments requiring that connectivity are finding themselves shut out of a growing number of market opportunities. This anticompetitive behaviour by some major original equipment manufacturers has shortlines facing a growing threat to their future viability, which […] Read more