I write the crop condition report for our websites when I can and Monday's report showed that farmers are struggling to get corn in the ground - never mind soybeans (though that's going to change). One factor I noticed this week was that while only 28% of the crop was planted - versus 65% for the five-year average and 85% last year - there were some considerable week-over-week jumps. It's clear to me that farmers are adequately "equipped" to move a lot of seed from…

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Those of you who read this blog regularly know I have a soft-spot in my heart for the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition - say that three times fast. In this event, students design and build a working tractor following a specific set of rules for engines, transmissions and other features, then load them up and head to Peoria, Ill., for a little competition. Or rather, a whole lot of competition. This is…

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Not sure what to say this time of year with a much-delayed planting season and every single Midwest corn farmer standing by his shop door waiting for ground temps to top 50 degrees F for planting. You've probably gone over that planter twice and checked it once again. You've gone over your field plan with your crew - family or hired labor - to make sure when you can deploy you're covering a lot of ground fast, and furious. There's probably one more thing to do, check…

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In the old days we editors talked about sharing a few items that came from the "old mail bag." Well these days, we're opening our electronic in-box to find farm information that may be of interest. Our friends at CHS, the cooperative, sent out a press release this week that included comments from Andrew Hamilton, their director of marketing for lubricants. Hamilton, who also blogs at the company's website - www.tanksofthanks.com - says the long winter may mean…

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Well, there's nothing like an historic drought to put the ol' kibosh on equipment sales. I'm thinking that our partners selling big iron are hunkering down and rethinking their marketing plans. Oh, wait, I just got the February numbers from our friends at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and it looks like farm wallets are still wide open! A quick glimpse of their Ag Flash report - which gives an overview of tractor and combine sales - shows some pretty good news…

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Working for a company where many of the magazines are more than 150 years old, when companies celebrate anniversaries it's still interesting to note. For 2013 the Claas family - and yes, it is still a family business - hits 100 this year. And the third generation Claas - Cathrina - is taking the reins of the business. This is a company that will have its 450,000th combine roll off its Omaha line in 2013. The firm first patented a "knotter" designed to tie perfect knots…

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There's a growing sense of urgency in the country. In the South planters are already rolling but farther north where Nature is apparently playing some mind tricks, spring seems delayed. After last year's super early start I'm sure many readers think they're already late. However, I'm sure many are happy to see whatever moisture they can get. Our friend and meteorological colleague Greg Soulje is already predicting a more active weather pattern, so the chances of…

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This year you're going to be hearing more about the electric planter unit. There are a couple of after-market players in the business - Horsch and Precision Planting. And Kinze's hot new planter puts the technology to work. So what's so big about an electric planter meter? Perhaps the big deal is what it doesn't have - no chains, no belts, no individual clutches, no sprockets (I could go on). Just a wire harness to an individual motor that drives each planter unit and…

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During my whirlwind trip to Louisville for the National Farm Machinery Show, my friends at Woods Equipment gave me a call to stop by and when I entered the exhibit they promptly took me to a machine that had never been on display at the show - I was looking for new stuff. But in this case the product was a little more vintage. It was an early model Batwing mower the company had gussied up to show off in celebration of their 50th anniversary. The Batwing mower is a Woods trade name…

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Last week I talked about my whirlwind trip to Louisville for the National Farm Machinery Show and I can't believe how crowded by first-day visit to the show was. For some areas it felt more like a Thursday than a Wednesday for a veteran farm show visitor. Farmer-packed aisles made moving from one area to another more difficult and for many exhibitors I talked with - not all - the mood was upbeat. Coming off the worst Corn Belt drought in 50 years that was good news, but not…

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