Alamo Group Inc. has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the outstanding capital shares of Santa Izabel Agro Industria, LTDA, a privately held company based in Brazil that designs, manufactures and markets. . .

AGCO reported net sales of about $1.6 billion for the first quarter of 2017, an increase of about 4.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016.

The low-bed semi-trailer that carried the U.S. bomb dropped in Afghanistan in April was made by a member company. Landoll Corp. built the trailer that hauled what was characterized as the “mother of all bombs” by the White House and the media.

Survey shows 30 percent of dealers say their used equipment inventory is “too high” compared to 28 percent who felt that way the month before.

The vice chairman of Art’s Way Manufacturing Co. decided recently to open a tractor-and-trailer dealership in Marietta, Ohio. The elder McConnell, who is 86, describes himself as a dealer who took a “56-year break” to pursue a series of farm equipment manufacturing investments.

James Ketelsen, former president of Case and later chairman and CEO of Tenneco, died April 27 in Houston. He was 86. Case appointed Ketelsen as its president in 1967 at the age of 37.

You have by now received your copy of the spring issue of Ag Innovator magazine (See the digital edition at FarmEquip.org/AGI). We hope you’ve had a moment to read the article profiling member company Diamond Vogel Paint.

Alamo Group’s net sales for the first quarter of 2017 were $215.4 million—an increase of 2.1 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016.

Your company received an email from the Association recently asking you to update your listing for our membership directory. If we haven’t heard from you, we’ll be in touch again soon. We’re beginning production of the print directory, which is naturally on a more structured schedule than the continuously updated digital edition.

Manufacturers paid $36.9 million in premiums for cyber-specific policies in 2016, up 89 percent from the year before. Manufacturers accounted for

Kirby Manufacturing—and members of this Association—recently lost a colleague and friend. Art Burrows, who worked for Kirby Manufacturing for decades, died at his home on April 24. He was 66.

Average fines assessed by OSHA for serious workplace safety violations rose significantly in 2016. The higher fines are the result of an overhaul of the penalty structure ordered in 2015.

Fans of motor sports will learn a bit more about member company Sawblade.com in coming months. The company has begun a partnership with the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League.

Governors and lawmakers in almost every state have taken some action to curb the climbing death toll from prescription painkiller overdoses, an important issue for manufacturers. Ohio just became the latest state to place a seven-day limit on prescriptions.

Arline W. Broyhill, who founded Broyhill Company with husband Roy, died on April 18. She and her husband Roy were charter members of the Association.

Robert J. Ratliff, founder and former president, chairman, and CEO of AGCO Corporation, died April 20. He was 85.

“Our supplier members took ownership of this meeting when the planning began many months ago, and they stayed on top of it until the final moments,” said Meeting Director Andrea Schnelten. “It would not have been the success that it was without them.”

The print edition of Shortliner went on hiatus in April. We return in May to celebrate anniversaries for both months. We’re doubly grateful for these—and every—member.

Jamie Silver, operations director for Muir Graphics in Peoria, Ill., will lead the Association’s Supplier Associate Section until April 2018. “I believe there is no other group that makes it this easy to connect with (prospective customers),”

Kelley Manufacturing Co. has named Jimmy Laska as its new director of sales and marketing. In his position, Laska is responsible for driving sales and promotional advertising for KMC equipment.

Kubota invested more than $50 million in a nearly 200,000-square-feet building, which will allow Kubota’s leadership and professional staff to enjoy lower taxes and less regulation in their new Texas home.

In the days leading up to the White House decision to tone down rhetoric about withdrawing from NAFTA, officials reached out to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help ease tensions.

Bankers reported that borrowing soared among farmers. “We feel that all our farmers have sufficient equity and determination to survive the current downturn in the farm economy.”

Banks are more willing to lend this year than they were last. The rate of rejection has fallen from 35.3 percent in 2016 to 30.6 percent this year. Almost a third of bank CEOs reported no change in lending stemming from weak farm income.

Hackers continue to develop increasingly sophisticated methods for stealing data and funds. Among the latest: accessing payroll.

It has been a week since Monsanto and Deere terminated the tractor manufacturer’s purchase of Precision Planting LLC. Both companies have delivered a message of opportunity in spite of the deal’s breakdown, but details are few. The DOJ called the termination “a victory for American farmers and consumers.”

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has adopted two ISO standards for agricultural equipment symbols.

This article helps you up with dealers announcing consolidation moves: Schuneman Equipment Co., James River Equipment, Larson’s and Kibble Equipment, Pattison Agriculture, Nykolaishen Farm Equipment, William Nobbe and Company Inc. Also details on EDA announcement of a new board member.

This headline from Rural Lifestyle Dealer caught our attention recently: J. Ward McConnell Jr.: From Dealer to Manufacturer and Back Again

The evolution of equipment manufacturing and engineering has led in recent decades to much safer tools on farms. Good news for all.

The spring issue of Ag Innovator is in the mail. It should arrive in most of your offices next week. Here’s your sneak peak.

We were pleased Monday evening to Tweet to our more than 2,000 followers that Oregon’s SB-982, a total rewrite of the states dealer distribution laws, would not advance out of committee this year.

Arline W. Broyhill, 96, co-founder of Broyhill Company, died Tuesday evening. She was this Association’s first lady in the early 1970s.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects cotton acres to see a 21 percent jump. If that holds true, U.S. cotton farmers will plant 12.2 million cotton acres this year.

Before the largest non-nuclear bomb ever detonated by the U.S. was loaded onto a plane, it rode on a trailer built at Landoll Corporation.

Trump has proposed cutting the USDA’s discretionary budget by $4.7 billion to $17.9 billion, or 21 percent. Agriculture leaders, including Republican lawmakers, have criticized the plan and argued it will harm rural communities. A more detailed budget proposal is expected in May.

President Trump’s special assistant for agriculture characterized this White House as focused on farming and friendly to ag during a talk at National Ag Day in D.C. Ray Starling sees a future for the industry with fewer regulations and solutions to problems such as a farm worker shortage.

According to the Reshoring Initiative, in 2014, for the first time in two decades, the U.S. realized a net gain of 10,000 reshored jobs. The vast majority of those jobs have returned from Asia.

Senators charged with asking questions of the nominee for U.S. trade representative brought a single-minded focus to the confirmation hearing. They wanted to talk agriculture. Nominee Robert Lighthizer was happy to oblige.

Titan International reported its net sales were down for 2016. The company reported that the fourth quarter for 2016 was relatively flat compared to 2015, but as a result of improvements in operations, the gross profit was significantly improved.

The Association has asked the Oregon legislature and the Western Equipment Dealers Association to include carve-out provisions for the shortline industry in a recently introduced bill that would dramatically alter relationships between farm equipment manufacturers and independent dealers. Shortliner manufacturers have earned the right to not be lumped together with giant, multi-national tractor corporations, and we want to protect that right.

R&R Engineering Co. recently completed its 11th expansion in 22 years. The operation now spans about 5.5 acres.

The vibe was friendly at the confirmation hearing for Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue last week, but the issues raised were tough. Senators asked Perdue how he’d handle proposed cuts to the USDA budget, what he’d do about trade, challenges facing dairy farmers, and crop insurance. Perdue promised to “tirelessly advocate” for rural America.

Equipment inventory at Rocky Mountain dealerships declined by 12.4 percent in 2016, surpassing the company’s targeted reduction for the year. Sales declined by 4.6 percent.

Automakers got a break last week when President Trump halted an initiative to impose more stringent fuel-economy standards on the industry. President Obama had called for mileage standards that targeted 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

Data from the publication Rural Lifestyle Dealer suggests that farmers are increasingly well-prepared when they arrive on dealers’ lots. The factor that often seals the deal: financing.

If we gave out an award for the greatest distance traveled (images) …

ASABE has completed work on a standard that addresses nurse tank coupling and sectional delivery system design and is specific to the implements of husbandry used in the local transport and application of anhydrous ammonia for agricultural fertilizer.

This is it: the last Shortliner before we gather in Little Rock. We expect 207 executives for the meeting and 51 spouses and guests. The Supplier Showcase includes 69 booths.

A bill recently introduced in the Kansas legislature would bring workplace safety enforcement under the purview of the state rather than the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The bill calls for the Kansas Department of Labor to . . .

AgJunction has agreed to release Hemisphere GNSS from a license restriction that prevented the company from selling its GNSS products directly into the global agricultural market. The agreement is expected to provide customers a more direct relationship with their GNSS supplier.