Deere lowered its sales projection for fiscal 2019 during its most recent quarterly earnings report. This was the sixth consecutive quarter in which Deere missed on earnings. CEO Sam Allen cited challenges facing the industry as a whole.

Cervus Equipment posted a 6 percent drop in consolidated revenues for the first quarter of 2019 and reported that used equipment sales increased by a record-setting 21 percent.

Check out the latest in acquisitions, expansions, and store openings.

The Trump administration has decided to allow year-round sale of gasoline with a 15 percent mix of ethanol, which has historically been at the pumps for eight months a year. The rule is expected to be effective any day.

Some crop prices are vaulting higher as massive disruption on U.S. farms raises concerns about the size and quality of this year’s harvest. Corn futures leapt more than 14 percent in May, putting them on course for their best month since June 2015. Wheat prices have jumped 13 percent.

While first period numbers were flat, an analyst expects growth at AGI will be weighted toward the second half of 2019. See what’s contributing to the forecast.

President Trump has rolled out a $16 billion plan to help farmers hit by the trade conflict with China. The plan primarily consists of direct payments to U.S. farmers.

“Farmers themselves will tell you they’d rather have trade than aid,” said Ag Secretary Perdue, but in the absence of a deal, “they’ll need some support.”

Presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar has unveiled three agricultural policy priorities: expanding farm loans, helping farmers facing bankruptcy, and overhauling EPA’s process for granting small refineries exemptions from biofuel blending requirements.

Jeff Mounts, marketing coordinator at ESP International has been named the 2019 Employee Owner of the Year by The ESOP Association.

Beijing is gearing up to use its dominance of rare earths to hit back in its deepening trade war with the U.S. China supplies about 80 percent of U.S. imports of rare earths, which are used in a host of applications from smartphones to electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Unverferth Manufacturing Co., Inc., has promoted Ross Unverferth to corporate distribution manager and Trevor Langhals to forecast analysis manager.

Deere will pay $1 million for violating air quality standards over a roughly 13-year period at a diesel-engine testing center. Deere did not contest the allegations as part of the settlement with the state of Iowa.

Reports say China’s hog production has dropped 21 percent since the first outbreak of African Swine Fever, but an economist for the American Farm Bureau has heard rumblings that the problem is actually much worse. The disease will reduce demand for soybeans in China and increase demand for pork.

The White House has expressed frustration with China during what many analysts believed would be the final days of trade talks. President Trump plans to increase to 25 percent a set of tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. He also threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on an additional $325 billion of goods imported from China.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Friday that the U.S. could reach a trade deal with Japan by the end of this month, far exceeding all prior expectations.

Nearly 1,200 Wisconsin dairy farms have stopped milking cows since 2016, with 212 folding this year. Wisconsin herds are below 8,000, or half, compared to 15 years ago.

Alaska saw a 30 percent increase in its number of farms since the 2012 ag census. The state has been characterized as the “wild West” in terms of farm development, and its constant sunlight during peak season gives its fruits and veggies a little something extra.

A quarterly earnings report from AGCO reveals growth in its Europe/Middle East market and the Asia/Pacific/Africa region. North American and South American sales dipped slightly.

Check out the most time-sensitive standards at ASABE. See the more complete list of standards online.

Assembled Products, Inc. has been named an Enterprise Supply Management Supplier of the Year by John Deere.

In both state legislatures and national politics, rural America in general, and farm equipment in particular, is getting attention. That makes this the right time to pay attention and to speak up.

Mechanical engineer Nety Park has been promoted to technical product manager at PEER Chain.

Farmers throughout the Corn Belt are severely behind the five-year average when it comes to planting corn. The delay has farmers weighing their options with alternative crops and evaluating crop insurance coverage “with respect to their opportunities.”

The Association extends a note of gratitude to these new member applicants and member companies celebrating milestone anniversaries in May.

Farm equipment dealers asked to anonymously evaluate the manufacturers whose lines they carry gave favorable ratings to shortline manufacturers. In fact, the shortline group outperformed tractor-makers and full-line manufacturers in every category.

It’s time to stop worrying that robots will take our jobs—and start worrying that they will decide who gets jobs. Millions of low-paid workers’ lives are increasingly governed by software and algorithms.

Alamo Group reported record net income and record net sales for the quarter ended March 31. In spite of a slow start in agriculture, President and CEO Ron Robinson is optimistic the category will show improvement in the second and third quarters.

The U.S. EPA said last week that glyphosate, a chemical in many popular weed killers, is not a carcinogen, contradicting decisions by U.S. juries that found it caused cancer in people.

The USDA released a report that puts at tens of billions of dollars the economic benefit that improvements in rural broadband could have on the U.S. economy.

PepsiCo has sued four farmers in India claiming that they are illegally growing the potato used in Lay’s chips. A farmer forum for India has called for a boycott of PepsiCo products and asked the government to intervene.

While there is agreement on Capitol Hill that it’s time to ratify the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement, differences exist on what has to happen to get to finish line. Representatives from both parties are asking for change.

The latest news includes an earnings report, a consolidation, and a relocation.

The New NAFTA would be an overall win for U.S. ag, but it would allow for only “slight increases” in exports of some commodities, according to an analysis from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Discover what’s new with dealerships in Iowa, Texas, and Kansas, and see who’s been named to a leadership role with a dealer group in Canada.

Kuhn-Krause recently announced plans to furlough 160 employees during May. President Greg Patrus said the company is “re-balancing” while farmers

The federal guest worker program received a record-setting number of requests for seasonal workers in 2018. As the labor shortage continues, farmers turn to automation and consider planting less labor-intensive crops.

Jack Vassar, who began his tenure as president of Vassar Manufacturing Co. in the late 1960s and was elected as president of this Association in 1972, died Sunday, April 14. He was 92.

Shipments of American soybeans last week were at the lowest level since before the U.S.-China trade war. Some farm groups now fear the administration would accept Chinese purchase target pledges without a promise to lift retaliatory tariffs.

The Rural Mainstreet Index for April stood at growth neutral. The farm equipment-sales index dipped, and the confidence index enjoyed a four-point bump.

The 2018 Farm Bill increased the amount that producers can borrow through USDA’s Farm Service Agency and made changes to other loans. The Fed reported that despite ongoing demand for farm loans and adjustments to lending portfolios, delinquency rates have remained low.

China halted canola shipments from two of Canada’s largest grain shippers last month. Producers and shippers estimate Canada’s canola production could drop about 10 percent this year, reversing a decade of booming growth.

U.S. and Japanese trade officials have pledged to accelerate negotiations. They are meeting for the second consecutive week, and President Trump visits Japan in May.

Results of the once-every-five-years ag census show that the numbers of large and small farms are increasing while mid-sized farms are on the decline. Big farms are getting bigger, and we have fewer farmers managing the land. A thin percentage of producers represents a significant majority of all sales. And, as everyone in the industry knows, profits are down. Take a dive into the numbers.

The Association sends a special welcome to companies who recently applied for membership and celebrates the commitment of companies who have been around for decades.
Membership matters. It strengthens the Association’s work to serve as resource and advocate for this industry.

Regular members have until next week to complete the 2019 benchmark survey. This no-cost benefit of membership offers a wealth of data to evaluate manufacturing operations and identify opportunities for gains in efficiency and productivity.

A growing coalition of lawmakers seeks to overhaul bankruptcy rules for farmers to set a debt threshold more in line with the average farm size and farmland values.

Senior U.S. and Chinese officials have scheduled two more rounds of face-to-face talks in an effort to reach a trade deal to be signed potentially by late May.

ASABE and this Association are working together to create a resource for shortline manufacturers to stay on top of safety standards.

Sales of compact tractors increased by 87 percent during a 10-year period ending with 2018. During that same decade, mid-range tractor sales increased by 18 percent. Those gains stand in contrast to sales of big tractors and line up with other economic indicators such as sales of new single-family homes.