John Deere

Equipment manufacturer John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation have signed a memorandum of understanding that ensures farmers and ranchers have the right to repair their own farm equipment.

A new John Deere planting technology will give farmers the opportunity to apply less starter fertilizer to reduce input costs.

TruSet Active gives farmers the ability to measure the actual working depth of tillage tools and to compensate based on changing conditions. “We first introduced TruSet in 2014 for in-cab depth control of tillage,” said Ryan Jardon, John Deere marketing manager.

New John Deere strip-till machines provide farmers the opportunity to reduce tillage while applying nutrients and preparing the seedbed in one pass. “With strip-till we are only tilling 8 to 10 inches of the 30-inch row,” said Megan Warin.

Precision Planting is developing new products to help farmers improve their spraying operation. “We are working on three new products and ReClaim will likely come out this fall,” said Andrew Feucht, product marketing specialist for Precision Planting.

Even at first glance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recently announced $3 billion “Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities” sounds like doublespeak, an Orwellian invention that reverses the meaning of words.

A new application technology that enables targeted spraying of non-residual herbicide on weeds will have a limited model year 2023 rollout in targeted geographies, including central Illinois.

Steve Pitstick started harvesting soybeans about a week later than he planned this year. “Part of that is due to the later than normal start in the spring and we had a cloudy, somewhat cool summer,” said Pitstick who farms about 5,000 acres of corn and soybeans near Maple Park.

John Deere has added three new Deere-powered self-propelled forage harvesters to its lineup — the 9500, 9600 and 9700.

The road to Illinois FFA major state office is not a smooth path and the lucky few who are named state officers learn quickly that their term is not easy, either. However, it is among the most fulfilling journeys on which a teenager can embark.

Controlling weeds in farm fields is an annual challenge — especially with more weeds becoming resistant to herbicides. Fortunately, producers have a wide range of options to counter weeds, including some creative ways that may not have been employed in the past.

If the United Auto Workers union can’t organize workers at new electric-vehicle battery factories that will supply Detroit’s three automakers, the union’s future would be in serious doubt.

Farmers are receiving payments for work they are doing on their farms to sequester carbon through the Indigo Ag program. “We have completed the production of nearly 19,000 ag carbon credits to be issued by Climate Action Reserve,” said Ron Hovsepian, CEO of Indigo Ag.

Mega-billionaire Warren Buffett has a well-deserved reputation as a genius “value investor” and pithy commentator. His annual reports to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are highly anticipated for their market insight and expressive language and often make news because of both.

“This is different every day. It’s always challenging and it’s very interesting. You’ve got to really be the type of individual that likes to find answers. This career path is never going to be boring.”