Farm Equipment editors encounter a variety of articles, social media posts, podcasts and videos that offer a unique look at various aspects of our great farm machinery industry. Here is our favorite content from the past week from across the web:
- No-Till Farmer’s 1:1 with Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Modern Ag Alliance
- Through the Decades: Bane-Welker’s Steve Hine Reflects on 52 Years
- Precision Ag Drives Demand for More Technicians
- The 2025 Tractor Sales Collapse: Is the Small Tractor Boom Dead?
- Farming Forward: Modifying Planters to Manage Cover Crop Residue
No-Till Farmer’s 1:1 with Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Modern Ag Alliance
No-Till Farmer caught up with Elizabeth Burns-Thompson (Executive Director, Modern Ag Alliance) following her TED TALK-style presentation at the 2026 National No-Tillage Conference in St. Louis. Burns-Thompson discusses the work being done to protect farmers’ choices in crop protection tools, reflects on her ag journey, dives deeper into the important role everyone in conservation agriculture plays and much more.
Through the Decades: Bane-Welker’s Steve Hine Reflects on 52 Years
In this special retirement tribute, Steve shares stories from the "old days," talks about the various eras of ownership he worked through, and reflects on why he chose to call this building home for his entire career.
Precision Ag Drives Demand for More Technicians
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that 36,830 farm equipment mechanics and service technicians were employed in the U.S. in 2023, but industry sources report a shortage of qualified technicians, according to Parthu Kalva and Joe Janzen from the Univ. of Illinois. Their article explores the correlation between greater technician employment and higher precision ag usage. “Their (dealerships) role increasingly depends on a specialized workforce of farm service technicians who install sensors, calibrate controllers, troubleshoot communication networks, update software and ensure that increasingly complex machinery runs reliably throughout planting and harvest seasons.”
The 2025 Tractor Sales Collapse: Is the Small Tractor Boom Dead?
Mike Wiles, aka Tractor Mike, writes, “The final 2025 tractor and combine sales results from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) are in, and the numbers tell a sobering story for the agricultural and rural lifestyle markets. Across the board, sales have plummeted, but while the headlines focus on the massive drops in high-horsepower equipment and combines, there is a much more nuanced story happening at the smaller end of the spectrum.” Watch his video to learn more.
Farming Forward: Modifying Planters to Manage Cover Crop Residue
Managing cover crop residue can prove challenging especially when spring rain, cool soils, and heavy trash collide with planting. On this episode of Farming Forward, travel to Rose Farms near Mitchell, Ont., to explore the farm family’s decade-long journey with cover crops and residue management.
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