The Association of Equipment Manufacturers has released their 2010 outlook for agricultural machinery. It looks like an expectation of continued “continued weakness in U.S. and Canadian tractor sales.” This is comes from a survey they conduct of members. So although this year’s outlook is somewhat negative, future years look much better. For all sizes of two-wheel tractors, however, the declines …
U of I Unveils First Ever Miscanthus Harvester and Planter
Farmers who are considering growing miscanthus as a bioenergy feedstock now have a tool to make it easier. After years of collaboration and research, a miscanthus rhizome regeneration harvester and planter system has been developed. The unveiling took place during the Bioenergy Feedstocks Symposium held at the University of Illinois (U of I). Typically, miscanthus is a labor-intensive crop requiring …
Case IH Features “Efficiency” During AG CONNECT
I spent quite a bit of time in the Case IH booth during AG CONNECT Expo last week – AgriTalk broadcast live one day and the next AgDay TV taped its show. However, my education didn’t end there. I spent a few minutes learning about Case IH’s dedication to helping farmers gain more efficiency from John Bohnker. “A lot of …
NAEDA: an AG CONNECT Association to Know
There were several international manufacturing equipment associations on hand at the AG CONNECT Expo including the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA), one of the show sponsors. I sat down with Michael Williams, the Vice President of Government Relations, to learn more about what his association does. This 110 year-old association has more than 5,000 members in the U.S. as …
McCormick Deems AG CONNECT Expo a Huge Success
There were many tractors and loaders filling the McCormick booth during AG CONNECT Expo, and each year about 80 percent of the company’s sales are international. Yet the success of the company wasn’t what was really exciting for Rodney Miller, the CEO. It was the success of the first AG CONNECT Expo. Miller was involved in the 18 months of …
Claas’s Orbis 900 Wins AE50 Award at AG CONNECT
For the sixth year in a row, Claas of America, based in Omaha, Neb. has won several AE50 awards from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) that honors ground breaking industry innovation. The company’s new technology, the Orbis 900, mounts in front of the forage harvester. The advantage is capacity – the width of the head now …
Case IH Floor Show at AG CONNECT Expo
The exhibitors at AG CONNECT Expo really invested a lot in their presentations and none more than Case IH in my opinion. I watched a couple of their floor shows and thought you might enjoy a look at one of them. Centered in the exhibit is a whole command console to control lights and sound. It really is well done …
An Agrievolution Taking Place in Orlando
One of the co-located events taking place with AG CONNECT EXPO is Agrievolution. Opening up the program this morning is Doug DeVries, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Services – Agriculture and Turf Division, John Deere. I spoke with him just prior to the start of the program. Doug is pictured on the right with Rusty Fowler, Krone NA and Martin …
An Ag Show For The Ag Industry
The first person I spoke with on the show floor at AG CONNECT Expo was Russell Fowler, President/CEO, Krone NA. Of course it’s still setup time so there was a lot of construction going on. However, Russ took a few moments to talk about the company’s decision to become involved in the first ever show and share some of the …
New From John Deere
To tell us what’s new with John Deere I spoke to Matthew Arnold, Sr. Marketing Representative. Matthew was attending the NAFB Trade Talk to discuss the new 8R and 8RT tractors. These tractors range in horsepower from 225 to 345 with larger cabs and more fuel efficient engines. They also have a new suspension system on the 8RT Track models. …