John Deere is set to acquire Bear Flag Robotics for US$250 million. The startup develops autonomous driving technology compatible with existing machines. "Deere views autonomy as an important step forward in enabling farmers to leverage their resources strategically to feed the world and create more sustainable and profitable operations," says Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer... Read More

Auction company Ritchie Bros. has entered in to a purchase agreement with European plant and machinery auction house, Euro Auctions. Ritchie Bros. will acquire Euro Auctions group for an enterprise value of £775 million (approximately US$1.08 billion). Founded in 1998, Euro Auctions conducts unreserved heavy equipment auctions with onsite and online bidding under the brands... Read More

Precision Planting, a subsidiary of AGCO, has entered into an agreement to acquire the business and assets of Headsight, Inc., a precision agriculture harvesting company. Since 1998, Headsight has designed and developed harvesting row guidance and height sensing technologies. Headsight's flagship product is the family of header height sensors used in corn and grain harvesting.... Read More

Lakeland College is set to receive $1 million in federal research funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in support of smart agriculture technology. The CFI’s College-Industry Innovation Fund investment will support the development of Lakeland’s new Agriculture Technology Centre, the central repository for all data collected on the Student-Managed Farm – Powered by... Read More

Plot trials are a great way to gain preliminary research findings about a particular subject. Based just outside of Lethbridge, Alta., Farming Smarter's primary focus is applied research that helps producers make informed choices around inputs, technology and management practices for their operations. Carlo Van Herk, research technician at Farming Smarter, walks Kara Oosterhuis through... Read More

Bigger corn planters with on-board fertilizer deliver efficiency and cover acres quickly. All that weight, however, can produce yield-robbing pinch rows and compaction. On this episode of The Sharp Edge, we visit Jeff Cook who farms with his family at their Mapleview Farms operation, just southwest of London, Ont. Over the years, the Cooks have... Read More

The faster hay bales can be picked off a field, the less damage wheel traffic does to re-growing plants. Bale collection can be time consuming too, and when time is of the essence, making the job faster or less labour intensive is a real bonus. Vermeer recently announced four technology advancements ready (or nearly ready)... Read More