Association member MacDon and its group of companies will sell its business to Linamar Corporation. Linamar CEO Linda Hasenfratz said MacDon will be “the centerpiece of our agricultural business.”

For the third consecutive year, the U.S. saw an increase in workplace fatalities. Among the deaths were double-digit increases in workplace violence and overdoses.

Ag Growth International plans an aggressive expansion through acquisitions in Brazil after an overhaul of its first South American plant. It plans a barter program in which it will receive grain as collateral.

This Association continues to closely watch the “legal soap opera” in North Dakota. Developments last week serve to remind us that distribution will remain a front burner topic for the long term.

Whether you’ve been part of the Association for weeks or decades, we’re glad you’re here. We remind you of that by taking note of these new member applicants and the companies celebrating milestone anniversaries this month.

U.S. manufacturers have added 156,000 workers since President Trump was elected in November 2016. A confluence of factors is helping manufacturing, including a shrinking wage differential between U.S. and foreign workers, technological advances, and increased business confidence.

For the quarter that ended October 31, Titan Machinery Inc. reported an 18.6 percent gross profit margin in 2018 compared to a 17.6 percent gross profit margin in the same quarter last year. In its agriculture segment, revenue for the third quarter was $186.5 million, compared to $205.5 million last year.

President Trump is open to reforming the country’s biofuels policy if it can be done in a way that protects jobs in both the refining and agriculture industries, senators said late last week after meeting with Trump on the issue.

This Association gains strength with each new member company. And, there is perhaps no more effective recruitment tool than the word of a member executive. We recognize such member contributions through the C.P. Nicholson Membership Award, which this year goes to Shane Beversdorf.

OSHA has extended by two weeks the date by which employers must electronically report injury and illness data through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA). The new deadline is this Friday, Dec. 15.

Gary L. Martin retired from the Alamo Group Inc. Board of Directors on November 30. The company cited personal reasons for his retirement. President and CEO Ron Robinson will serve as interim chairman.

Expect to pay a bit more to buy postage in 2018. The Postal Regulatory Commission meets soon to consider increases on a one-ounce piece of first-class mail and mail flats/large envelopes.

Members reported a productive few days at the Nebraska Power Farming Show in Lincoln, Neb., last week. By the time the show rolls around next year, we’ll have a database that will help manufacturers optimize their farm show schedule.

A proposal on revising a braking standard for towed agricultural implements soon will be submitted to the ASABE, and it is available now for you to review. These revisions represent major change to braking requirements and will have significant impact on all large implements.

With stories of sexual harassment dominating the news recently, this seemed like the right time to offer members suggestions on what to include in their own sexual harassment policies and offer tips on investigating complaints. Watch for the information in the winter issue of Ag Innovator.

The past six years have begun to reverse a years-long decline in manufacturing jobs. Take a look at the industries that have added the most manufacturing jobs since 2011.

Monsanto Co. will give cash back to U.S. farmers who buy a weed killer to use on soybeans the company engineered to resist the product. The company is offering $6 per acre to farmers who pay $11 an acre for XtendiMax, a herbicide that uses dicamba.

Farm Equipment Sales, which serves Northeast Montana, will sell its business to C&B Operations, LLC, which is headquartered in Gettysburg, S.D.

Schumacher Company has appointed Tim Chen as director of North American business development. Chen is responsible for the profitable growth of Group Schumacher’s North American business unit through the design, development and execution of robust go-to-market strategies for products, programs and services.

The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped seven points in November, yet producers remain more optimistic than they were prior to the election of 2016.

AgJunction has appointed M. Brett McMickell, Ph.D, as senior vice president of global product development. He leads all engineering and product development, as well as drives the technology road map for the company.

The manufacturer’s Farm & Industrial Machinery division recorded a 10 percent increase for the first nine months of 2017.

The Association is taking reservations for the 2018 Supplier Showcase, which is April 19 at the Hilton in Omaha, Neb. See the layout of the showcase and reserve your space. Most booths cost $339. Prices increase as the date approaches.

The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index dipped in November from October’s reading and remained below growth neutral.

While final tax reform legislation likely won’t be signed for a few weeks, experts have defined a few easy-to-predict outcomes and offer these tax tips as we approach the end of 2017.

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta told members of an apprenticeship task force that while the current apprenticeship program continues, the administration plans to simultaneously develop its own parallel program that will be industry recognized.

Yves Savourel will lead the global R&D teams in Boulder and Krakow for Argos Multilingual. Savourel was recently named the company’s new vice president of research and development.

A twitter campaign is underway to remind President Trump that farmers value the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Craig Miller, the second generation president of Myers Spring and father to current President Todd Miller, died Nov. 18. He was 86.

Lawmakers have a handful of key issues to resolve to reach a compromise on the House and Senate versions of the tax bill. Both bills include deep, permanent cuts in the corporate tax rate and new tax reductions for pass-through businesses.

A quarterly earnings report and 2018 forecast from Deere may signal a turnaround in the long-struggling farm equipment industry.

The U.S. exported more agricultural products than it imported in 2017 by a $21.3 billion margin. That’s a 30 percent increase over last year.

The EPA and Army Corp of Engineers plan a comprehensive rewrite of the embattled Clean Water Act. During the two-year process, the agencies propose that the rule that was in place prior to 2015 is restored.

The Cervus dealer network reported a strong third quarter, and Ag-Pro expanded its network in the southern U.S.

Senate votes 52-48 to begin 20 hours of debate on the overhaul of the U.S. federal tax code. Changes in bill would increase the income tax deduction for pass-through businesses to 20 percent from 17.4 percent.

Creighton University’s monthly survey of rural mainstreet provided reasons for optimism. The overall index improved from September, as did the farm equipment sales index.

The Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association last week elected new officers and new members to its 16-person Board of Directors.

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer landed at 135 in October, up three points from September. It represented the third-highest reading since data collection began in fall 2015.

A member of Canada’s NAFTA Advisory Council says it is time to be worried about the negotiations, which begin again this week.

The Association sends a big thanks to members celebrating milestone anniversaries in November and a special welcome to the companies just joining us.

Canada-based Brandt is talking with a taxing body in Central Illinois about the possibility of a tax abatement to move onto a site currently occupied by Kongskilde.

Firestone Ag recently announced winners in its “What Drives You?” social media contest. The contest was designed to celebrate hardworking farmers in conjunction with the tire makers’ Farm Hard campaign launched earlier this year.

More than 450 executives who represent the farm equipment supply chain gathered in Houston last week. Take a look at how we spent our time together.

Sales for CNH were flat in NAFTA but enjoyed increases in Europe/Middle East/Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific region, primarily India.

The company’s quarterly results showed a 6.7 percent increase in sales in North America. A nine-month comparison showed a 1.1 percent dip in North American sales.

Dealer consolidation marches on… See news about

AgriVision – Equipment Group – ICON Ag & Turf

Riechmann Bros. – Green/Line Equipment

Koenig Equipment – Smith Implements

Van Wall Equipment – Phelps Implement

Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc. reported a strong third quarter. The company says the three months that ended September 30 were its best since 2012.

Deere and CAT appear to be racing to establish a foothold in Cuba before the Trump administration slams the door on such a possibility.

After dipping for the past three quarters, farm lending picked up in the third quarter of 2017.

Unverferth Mfg. Co., Inc. has promoted Andy Unverferth to marketing manager.