Last week, several members of the farm media gathered at New Holland's North American headquarters in New Holland, Pennsylvania, at the company's invitation. During the past several years, NH hasn't done a lot to get media attention, and this was meant to be a new beginning.

Abe Hughes, II, NH's vice president of North American sales and marketing, said the company now has a new management team in place, and they intend to talk a lot more about products and innovations as they take a higher-profile approach to marketing. Engaging the media will be an important part of their strategy, so you'll be hearing and reading a lot more about the company in the future.

While we were at the corporate head office, we were given a tour of many of the facilities at the 365-acre site. It started off a few blocks away at the original factory building, which now houses residential condominiums, but the building's facade remains essentially as it first looked when it housed all the firm's operations, in the late 1800s.

From there, the company hired some of the local Amish farmers to take us to the current hay equipment assembly plant in a convoy of horse-drawn wagons. The city of New Holland is in Lancaster County, which is known for its Amish population.

NH actually has an open-door policy at this factory. During regular operating hours, anyone can walk in off the street and ask for a tour. But in case you're not going to be in Lancaster County anytime soon, here's a look at some of what you'd see if you did.

All NH balers destined for the North American market are built there, along with a variety of other implements. The process of building a round baler starts off with individual component manufacture. Here, Phoenix Rann, operations manager (rear), and a plant worker demonstrate how each part built at this stage is checked to ensure it meets correct tolerances.

Some components are powder coated at this station (notice the painter standing in the haze, which looks thicker than it really is due to the long shutter speed the camera needed).

Once all the parts are built, assembly begins, which starts with the bale chamber. Paint is applied to difficult-to-reach areas before the baler moves on.

Hitches are added.

The basic baler chassis is now built and fully painted.

At the end of the line, balers wait for testing.

Here, a worker uses an electric motor to run the baler and test all the systems before it's declared finished and ready for shipment.

Be sure to check future print issues of Grainews, Country Guide and Canadian Cattlemen for articles on NH machines and the new management team's plans to move the company forward.

Scott

One of the more interesting decisions to be announced in last month's federal government budget concerned the venerable penny. Minister Flaherty said he was about to make it extinct. It simply isn't worthwhile producing anymore in the government's view.

The discussion around that decision reminded me of something that happened a few weeks earlier. As I was emptying some change out of the pockets of my jeans, a couple of coins fell on the floor. As I bent down to pick them up, one looked a little strange. I almost didn't give it a second look. It was a penny. However, on closer inspection I could see it was dated 1932. On the back was a profile of the then-monarch King George V.

For a minute I wondered if a rare gem had literally dropped at my feet, so I immediately searched the internet to find an estimate of its value. Turns out, it's worth a little less than $8—maybe. Hardly a fortune, despite its age. Pennies, as it turns out, just aren't worth a lot, new or old. No wonder the government doesn't see any sense in producing them anymore.

But all this talk about the value of a penny (yes, one cent, I know) started me thinking about their worth in relative terms. There must be other things less valuable that people still produce.

I also began to wonder how large a pile would be created if you collected enough pennies to amount to any significant value. If, for example, I wanted to fill the box on my old International 1600 Loadstar grain truck with them, how many would it take and what would they be worth? So I grabbed the penny jar from the closet and a measuring tape and began collecting data to find the answer.

(I hope Leeann Minogue, Grainews' acting editor, doesn't read this and realize I don't have much to do or I'll have half a dozen new assignments on my desk by tomorrow morning.)

As I had pennies and a calculator spread out on my desk, my wife walked into the office and asked me what I was doing. When I told her, she simply rolled her eyes, turned around a walked out of the room. I wanted to say “a penny for your thoughts”, but I thought better of it. Anyway, I pressed on with my research.

As it turns out, a 50-cent roll of pennies is about 2 ¾ inches long and ¾ inch in diameter. That means one cubic foot of space will hold about $558.08 worth of them. The box on the old International is 12 feet long, 8 feet wide and 3 feet tall, so it has a volume of 288 cubic feet.

If the old Loadstar was full of pennies, they would have a total value of $160,727.04. That's not too bad, really. If it was full of, say, oats, the load would be worth a little over $1,200.

The government says pennies are worth so little producing them no longer makes any sense. If someone has already told them grain is worth less than pennies, that might help explain why they wanted to get rid of the CWB, too!

Scott

In his blog this week, Lee Hart takes a look at the pending Viterra takeover deal and ponders this question: when does big business become too big for its own good?

Shortly after I read Lee's blog, I came across another reminder that all businesses seem to be getting bigger. A press release from Ritchie Bros. auction company proudly stated that firm had just broken its single-day record at an equipment sale. The company's permanent site in Brisbane Australia saw U.S. $54 million worth of machinery sell in a one day. That surpassed its previous record by U.S. $20 million over a sale held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2006.

The press release said there were over 1,600 on-site bidders at the Brisbane sale along with a host of others registered on-line.

As I think back to farm auctions I attended as a kid in the 1970s, those events that saw 100 or so people gather seem to have little in common with today's sales where proceeds now figure in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. The average farm auction now has a staggering value of equipment in the lineup. Bidders don't even have to actually show up at the sale site to buy something. Many machines are sold to faceless internet buyers known to the crowd in attendance only by their bidder number.

It's clear this growth in auction size isn't any more likely to go away than the trend of international grain companies continuing to get bigger. The number of auction companies has declined as has the overall number of sales held each year. There are a few big players now, but Ritchie Bros. is emerging as a dominant force, using its permanent sites to host mega events around the world at regular intervals.

These large sales have even changed the way equipment deals are made. There are many more reasons for selling equipment through auctions now than there used to be. Dealers frequently liquidate inventory or acquire it through auctions. Farmers can opt to negotiate cash-only agreements on new machines at a dealer and use these large auctions to move their old machines. Apparently, at least a few now do exactly that.

I've spoken to a couple farmers that have gone that route and they liked how the numbers worked out. But they did have to accept some risk by putting their used machines into an unreserved sale. Selling prices are rarely guaranteed. But auction companies argue that risk for sellers isn't what it used to be, because they now use technology to reach a much bigger group of potential buyers than they could a couple of decades ago. The broad reach auction companies have and the new trends in the industry seem to be equalizing selling prices and machine availability across the country.

Equipment sold in one province or U.S. state may head directly to another, or even to another country. Long gone are the days farmers would only attend auctions sales close enough to allow driving home that new tractor or combine in a few hours, which made sale prices subject to regional influences.

Those of us that saw auctions as a way to pick up some cheap, older machines or newer equipment at wholesale prices are seeing those opportunities diminish.

Has big in the farm auction business become too big? Clearly, it depends on your point of view, the scale on which you operate and what you expect to buy and pay for anything you acquire at one. Along with those reduced opportunities for bargains come new ones, providing benefits in other ways. And if you're selling, that might be a different matter entirely.

How do you see things?

Scott

Every month a variety of publications end up in my mailbox, and I usually make a point of looking through all of them. The amount of information contained in farm magazines and newspapers is incredible. When you read through one of them—especially ours (I'm bragging here)—you get to learn in a few minutes what it has taken writers and editors hours, days or weeks to find out.

But occasionally I come across something in those publications that isn't right. I suppose that shouldn't be surprising, writers make mistakes like anybody else. Last week I noticed just such an error. A couple of paragraphs about machinery brands in an article on why Canadian ag equipment manufacturers have been successful around the world were completely out in left field.

Many farm machinery manufacturers, particularly the major brands, have undergone some significant changes at the corporate level over the last few decades, so it's easy to fall behind on what's really going on. The writer who created the article clearly hadn't done his research.

Among the many incorrect statements that caught my attention was a reference to CNH (the parent company of Case IH and New Holland) as a “clearly American” company. In fact, the company's proper name is CNH Global, and it's corporate seat is in Holland. It's a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Industrial S.p.A., of Italy. So, clearly American? Nope.

The article went on to mention a “Coyote” equipment brand from China as an emerging player in dry-land farming. Well, it's pronounced Coyote, but it's spelled Kioti; and it's from South Korea, not China. It's also had a North American presence since 1986, building utility and compact utility tractors that really only appeal to acreage owners. So, is it an emerging name in dry-land farming? I don't think so.

Then the article mentioned “secondary players”, Caterpillar and AGCO, which it identified as an Italian firm. AGCO's world headquarters are in Duluth, Georgia, not Italy. It had net sales of US $8.8 billion in 2011, making it the third-largest global ag equipment manufacturer. That's pretty big to be called secondary.

And what about Cat? It isn't even in the ag machinery business! That is a persistant misconception that many people seem to have. I've read at least one other article in the past few months that also made a reference to Cat as an ag equipment manufacturer. So let's take a minute to clear that up right now.

In 1986, partly as a result of an R&D program designed to give its Special Applications crawlers broader appeal to farmers, Cat introduced the rubber-belted Challenger tractors; but in 2002 it sold the Challenger brand to AGCO.

In another ag-related deal, Cat had entered into a joint marketing venture with Germany-based Claas to introduce that company's Lexion line of combines to North America, but that agreement has long since expired. And Cat is no longer a whole-goods supplier of ag equipment of any kind. And by all indications it has no plans to ever become one again.

Yes, you will still find Challenger-branded equipment and Lexion combines on some Cat dealers' lots, but they are retailing those products for AGCO and Claas, not Cat. It's the same concept as John Deere dealers also selling Bourgault or Seed Hawk products.

Incidentally, I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to interview Glen Barton, the former CEO of Caterpillar. It was fascinating to get a little bit of an inside perspective on the rationale behind his decision to shed the Challenger from Cat's product line.

So please, spread the word. Lets have no more talk about Cat being in the ag equipment business.

Scott

If you're afflicted with the urge to restore old vehicles and machines—as I am—you've likely checked out more than a few rusty hulks hiding behind rows of trees or farmyards. When deciding whether or not its worth the trouble of dragging a machine home for a restoration, there are a couple of musts to consider.

First, the vehicle, whatever it is, must be pretty complete. Hunting down rare parts like chrome trim pieces can take a lot of time and money. Second, the engine must show some indication it's at least rebuildable, unless you're planning to build a hot rod or replace the existing powerplant with something completely different anyway.

The first thing I tend to do when looking under the hood of a potential project is grab the fan, give it a turn and see if I can get the crankshaft to rotate a little. If it does, there is a much better likelihood that the engine can be brought back to life. If it's badly seized, then it could just be nothing more than a lump of scrap iron.

A couple of years ago I had an International W-6 tractor in my shop with a seized engine. I tried the usual method of getting a stuck engine to turn, pulling the spark plugs and spraying liberal amounts of penetrating oil into the cylinders. Then after a few days, I put a breaker bar on the crankshaft pulley bolt and leaned into it. But the old W-6 wouldn't cooperate.

Finally, I took the head off to find two of the cylinders full of dirt and sand. Debris had blown in through the two open valves during the years it sat neglected. After scooping all the crap out, I soaked the cylinders for weeks with more penetrating fluid, but it was hopeless. The engine was unusable.

Any time I mentioned that stuck engine, it seemed everyone I spoke to had their own perfect recipe for a solution almost guaranteed to loosen things up. People recommended I use everything from straight diesel fuel to a mix of Coca-Cola and aviation gas!

This old six-cylinder engine in a 1948 GMC pickup is seized and sitting in my shop. I'll have to tackle the problem of freeing it up sooner or later.

There are also commercial fluids out there being marketed for just such a job. And this week a press release appeared in my email representing just such a product. The company claimed their fluid was the answer to most seized engine troubles. The message was from B.R.T. Tech Corp in Dorval, Quebec, and its product is called Engine Release. The press release says Engine Release has proven to get pistons loose in over 90 per cent of attempts. The list price is $19.95 plus shipping.

I called the owner, Serge Harrison, and asked him about Engine Release. He said he came up with the formula to solve problems his own machinery company was having with seized engines in equipment they purchased, most of which had been sitting unused for long periods before they bought it. Serge added his company was in the Marine equipment business, so stuck engines are something he ought to know about.

Engine Release is only available through the company's website www.enginerelease.com He says shipping costs will vary depending on your postal code, as Canada Post charges more for longer-distance shipments. It could add another $15 in some cases. But if it works as well as advertised, I'd pay $35 to bypass a stuck engine problem.

Do you have your own sure-fire method for freeing a stuck engine, or have you tried Engine Release? If so let me know what kind of results you've had.

By the way, Serge's website advises using an impact gun rather than a breaker bar on a stuck crankshaft. There's less chance of bending a connecting rod that way, and the vibrations it creates help break things loose.

Scott

A long-awaited event took place this past week; and I'm not referring to groundhog day, although a rodent did play a part in the lead up to it. What happened that was so special? Electricity was finally restored to my workshop—for the second time since September.

Underground electrical service lines are great. You don't need to be on the lookout for them when moving machinery around. They're out of sight, out of mind. If, however, you're a burrowing gopher, that isn't exactly true. In August one of the gophers that had been living in our yard, and mildly annoying me, apparently chewed into the underground line leading to my workshop, shorting it out.

That left the shop out of service; no welder; no air compressor, not even any lights.

Gophers aren't the easiest things to get rid of when they're running around between machines, buildings and livestock. When they're in those surroundings, it's difficult to pick them off with my old .22; and you can't leave poison lying around the yard for dogs or cats to get into.

However, I did manage to selectively cull the herd over the course of the summer. Every now and again it was possible to shoot a few. But for the most part I chose to ignore them, go about my business and let them do the same. The cat pitched in and helped in the effort as well, catching one now and again. But by mid summer there were still some who continued to have the same postal code we do.

A workshop you couldn't work in was the price I paid for not paying attention to detail when it came to extermination efforts.

After six weeks of cajoling a local electrical contractor, a crew finally showed up to locate the break, dig up the line and repair it. The cost wasn't too bad, but every project I had on the go inside the shop had been put on hold through the nicest part of the summer. Those beautiful, mild, summer evenings when you have the urge to go out and be among your wrenches and work on projects went by as I watched reruns on TV.

But things did get back to normal—for a while, at least.

In late November, I strode into the shop and flipped on the light switch. I was two steps past it when I realized the electricity was out again. The lights slowly came up to a dull orange glow from a lack of voltage, just like the first time. Now with the cold weather on us, I couldn't even plug in the block heaters on the tractors.

It's hard to say if the the first repair failed or there were other problems somewhere else. After yet another delay—this time two months—a completely new service line was trenched in through the frozen ground. Today, the shop again has electricity, and I have yet another repair bill to pay.

In all, my shop was out of commission for more than three of the last 12 months. I'm going to spend more time hunting gophers this summer.

Scott

This past week I spent a couple of days wandering the aisles of the Manitoba Ag Days show in Brandon. After you've logged as many miles walking through machinery exhibits as I have, you become pretty tuned in to the subtleties. I find myself comparing not only the show to other machinery events, but also how the various exhibitors present themselves.

Even though Ag Days is far from being a giant among shows, it's big enough that making the trip to see it is a worthwhile effort. And it always seems to attract an interesting blend of exhibitors. That's good news for a machinery editor, like me, who is always on the lookout for something new and innovative.

Probably the biggest criticism anyone can offer about the show, itself, is the confusing floor plan. Even with a map, it's easy to get lost in the maze of hallways, barns and exhibition rooms. I feel like I should be rewarded with a piece of cheese when I successfully find the booth I'm looking for!

My first day at the show proved a little frustrating as I kept getting lost. Finding my way was even more difficult when the midday crowd swelled to the point everyone was bumping shoulders. But, eventually I got onto it.

If you arrive at the Keystone Centre—where Ag Days is held—anytime after mid morning, be prepared to park at the farthest reaches of the parking lot. You may even have to spend a little time searching for a space.

The most interesting comparison I find myself making, though, is with the presentation of the exhibitors' booths and how easy the representatives are to talk to. All the exhibitor companies have spent money to buy floorspace, haul their products to the show and man their booths; but not all seem to milk that investment for all its worth. I think many of the smaller companies come to find out just how specialized marketing skills are.

This is a situation most farmers can relate to. There is so much to know about running a business that it's impossible for one person to be good at every aspect of it. Farmers can't be professional mechanics, skilled equipment operators, agronomists, pesticide specialists and tax experts all at the same time. Just as it makes sense for them to hire experts to lend additional skills to a farming operation, many small manufacturers ought to think about doing the same with their businesses.

When I looked at some of the new equipment creations the small manufacturers were showing, it was clear there were some pretty inventive minds behind the designs. But often the person maning the company booth was acting as creator, engineer, owner and marketer, along with numerous other roles. Unfortunately, not all of these people were doing the marketing part very well; and that's what farm shows are all about.

You can't expect a small operation to be able to invest money in creating a splashy booth along the lines of those set up by the multinational corporations who also attend the show, but investing in help from someone who knows how to put the company's best foot forward and cause passers-by to stop and ask questions could be money well spent.

Some of the exhibitors who were clearly running mom-and-pop scale operations were a little shy and didn't seem to be making the best of the public interest they could attract. Subtle things like presenting body language that suggests they're willing to answer questions rather than hiding at the back of the booth seemed to be one thing that caused some people to just keep on walking rather than stop and chat.

Kevin LaFlamme, product manager for Rotary Lift, used his hobby as an Elvis impersonator to attract attention to his company's booth. It seemed to help break the ice, starting conversations and creating some buzz about his product.

As a member of the farm media, one of the things that always amazes me is when exhibitors don't seem interested in having their product featured in an article in a publication like Grainews. Many of these same firms have actually been spending money to buy advertising space in a variety of magazines; but when given the opportunity for some free publicity, they shy away from it.

If you're a manufacturer trying to market a product you believe in, be proud of it; and don't be afraid of having it featured in an article. The major brands spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to attract media attention to their products. They recognize the value of that kind of publicity.

Fledgling manufacturers need to recognize where their strengths are and where they could use some help. I bet those that do see it pay off in increased sales.

Scott

2011 was a remarkable year in the farm equipment sector, unlike any in recent memory. The number of new machines introduced to the market this year was more than impressive. John Deere held what it referred to as the largest introduction of new machinery in its 174-year history. AGCO described its new product launch as the largest in the history of the North American agricultural equipment industry.

And it wasn't just the major manufacturers that were rolling out new stuff at a breathtaking pace; it seemed nearly every company, large or small, had something new to show this year. At Agritechnica, the world's largest farm machinery show held in Hanover Germany, there were a record number of exhibitors this November, 2,748 to be exact. That meant the world's largest fairground was full to capacity to accomodate that much new iron.

Maybe I shouldn't say iron, because more than a little of what was new this year was electronic or just digital. Farming is moving into what in the 1960s would have been referred to as the space age. Maybe that description still fits. The S Series combines Deere introduced this year have more lines of software code than early versions of the space shuttle.

And robotics officially entered the picture this year. AGCO's Fendt line introduced Guide Connect, which allows an unmanned second tractor to follow along like a puppy behind one operated by a driver. John Deere's Machine Sync uses similar technology to automate on-the-go unloading from a combine. Case IH won an award at the SIMA machinery show in Paris early in the year for a similar system that isn't yet market ready. Then, there was Kinze's autonomous tractor project, which allows a tractor to pull a grain cart from combine to truck completely on its own.

Things have started moving fast with autonomous technology. And I suspect that pace will increase.

High-voltage electric drive is set to soon replace some hydraulic systems to improve efficiency. There were several machines shown at Agritechnica that demonstrated new electrical drive systems. AEF, the Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation, the industry group made up of many of the engineers involved in developing those new systems, recently added high-voltage to its list of working groups; and they're now in the process of establishing standards for the implementation of market-ready, high-voltage drives.

Now that the year is coming to an end, I've tallied up the travel stats involved with attending those product launches and shows in order to bring back the information on all this new development for the pages of Grainews. Here are the numbers. I've been on 22 connecting flights to, or through, four provinces, one territory, five U.S. states and across the Atlantic to Germany.

Hopefully, all that effort helped keep you in loop with what's going on in the farm machinery world.

Thanks for following along. And if there is a topic you'd like to see addressed in the magazine, or in this blog, don't hesitate to email me with your suggestions.

All the best for 2012, and merry Christmas.

Scott

As I stood at the local card lock fuelling station recently, a sign on the pump cautioned me that it would cut out when I'd loaded 300 litres, everyone's daily quota of diesel fuel these days. A couple of weeks ago someone had crossed out the previous 500 litre amount on the sign and wrote in the new, lower limit. Sadly, these notices have been around for a while; and although the overall situation has improved, things still aren't back to normal.

Standing there it occurred to me there's a disconnect in the Canadian petroleum industry these days. While Saskatchewan farmers and truckers resigned themselves to daily fuel rationing over the past few weeks, the main topic on the news has been the Canadian government and petroleum industry expressing their joint disappointment over the failure of the Keystone XL pipeline to get U.S. approval; it would have carried billions of litres of Alberta crude to Texas refineries at a discount compared to the world price for oil.

Something is wrong with this picture. As Canadians, western farmers are co-owners of all the oil sands crude that so many want to see end up in U.S. fuel tanks, yet we currently can't fill our own. Everyone from the Prime Minister to CEOs of banks have been lamenting the pipeline delay and possible cancellation, but there's been barely a peep from them about yet another western Canada diesel fuel shortage.

Yes, yet another. The topic has been on the radar for a few years now. For example, industry insiders suggest that had the harvest season two years ago not been slowed by wet weather, there was a risk some combines could have been sidelined with dry tanks.

I know that the cause of our latest fuel shortage may not be a lack of available crude oil to refine, but the optics of the whole situation makes the industry players and the government seem as though their attention is elsewhere. What if this situation was reversed and it was U.S. farmers and truckers who were going short while oil companies talked of nothing but boosting exports.

Could you image the ruckus? The public backlash would be enormous, and politicians would be lining up to publicly jump on oil companies. Here, not so much. Our politicians seem to be staying well out of the picture, and can you blame them? We diesel fuel consumers have been politely accepting the deprivation. I'm not sure why. This recurring problem has the potential to cause some serious financial harm. In fact, it already has, especially for trucking companies.

I think it's time for the industry and our elected representatives to address the problem. If those two groups want to profit from exporting Canada's natural resources—that means cash for oil companies and gaining the reputation governments seek as economic visionaries—the least they can do is guarantee there is enough refined product to meet local needs first.

Scott

With only a few hours left before the doors close for the final time on Agritechnica 2011, more than a few people were trying to squeeze in a final visit. The exhibition halls were busy, to say the least. Because it's Saturday, there were parents and kids almost everywhere.

With a journalist's press pass, though, I could avoid the crowds by coming in early and staying late each day in order to get unobstructed photographs of the machines on display. And that pass also allows access to the press centre, which offers amenities like workspace and internet access so we can do our jobs and get information out to you—no matter where you are.

The overall view of just one of the 24 display halls filled with new equipment and emerging technologies

Spending time in the press centre meant I was able to meet other writers from farm publications all across Europe. As one of only three Canadian journalists at the show (at least only three that I know of), a lot of people were eager to ask about our country and its agriculture industry. We spent a lot of time talking about the differences and similarities among farms and farming practices in various regions of the world.

To a large extent, the kind of information exchange we shared in the press room was also what the organizers of Agritechnica were trying to facilitate between equipment manufacturers and show visitors. They want this event to be the global meeting place for the exchange of information and ideas for everyone's benefit, not just a showplace for new machines. And those two purposes seem to mesh very nicely here.

In fact, it's impossible not to find yourself learning about how farming is done elsewhere simply by looking at the kinds of equipment on display and talking with the exhibitors about how and why farmers use them in various countries. Then, of coure, there are the exhibitors showing products that push the limits of current technology and give a glimpse of what the future holds. Information exchange seems to be happening here whether its planned or not.

I spoke to a few of the prairie manufacturers who are showing their equipment at the Canadian pavilions, and it's clear they're learning too. Getting feedback on their machinery from foreign farmers helps them assess not only demand for it in potential new markets, but it gives them a chance to assess other technologies, which may or may not work on implements intended for sale in Canada. That means many Canadian farmers could benefit from the dialogue at this show, even if they did come to it.

As Agritechnica has matured over the past decade, that global meeting place concept has solidified. “We could really sense an international feel to this year's Agritechnica,” said Dr. Reinhard Grandke, CEO of DLG, the show's organizer, at the closing press conference. “One of our missions is to become a platform for networking.”

I'd have to say mission accomplished.

This wraps up my second visit to an Agritechnica show—I was also here for the last one in 2009. Be sure to keep your eye on future issues of Grainews and Country Guide for detailed articles on this year's event.

If you enjoy looking at the latest and best in farm machinery and expanding your knowledge about the industry you earn your livelihood in, making the trans-Atlantic trip to see a future show could really be worth the effort. Agritechnica runs every second year, so the next one will take place in November, 2013.

Scott