PORTLAND, Ore., May 9, 2013 -- Blount International, Inc. announced today that Jerry Johnson has been promoted to President of its Farm, Ranch, and Agriculture ("FRAG") division. Paul Valas, who has been President of the FRAG division since 2011, will transition to a new position as Senior Advisor, providing Blount with insight and assistance on strategic planning, customer relationships, and international expansion. Since joining the Company in 2010 when Blount acquired SpeeCo, Mr. Valas has led the development and integration of the FRAG businesses, including SpeeCo, Woods Equipment, and TISCO. Prior to the acquisition of SpeeCo, Mr. Valas was CEO of SpeeCo and, as part of the acquisition, agreed to a two-year transition role at Blount. Read More...

One of the big differences that hung up last year's debate over the Senate and House versions of the farm bill was the lack of a target-price program in the Senate version. The House more than made up for that by not only keeping a target-price program, but boosting the overall reference prices for almost every commodity. In fact, some university analysis suggested under the House bill, most producers would be better off enrolling in the target-price program instead of the shallow-loss program meant to supplement crop insurance. Read More...

NAEDA and our legal counsel Siegfried Bingham, continue to be extremely busy reviewing proposed changes by various manufacturers to their dealer agreements. Many of these reviews are being funded by the NAEDA Industry Relations Fund for the benefit of all dealers. NAEDA’s Industry Relations Taskforce (IRTF) has future meetings set with Toro (May 29), Case IH (May 30) and John Deere (July 29-30). Additional requested meetings include Briggs & Stratton, Kubota, New Holland and AGCO. If you are a dealer for one of these particular brands, please feel free to contact NAEDA or your regional affiliate with any issue you would like to addressed by the IRTF in their meetings. Read More...

2013 Canada’s Farm Progress Show - one of the largest and most advanced dryland, no-till technology shows in the world - will showcase 30+ new product launches from several companies across North America,  like Bourgault Industries, Westfield Industries, Unverferth Mfg. and Farm West Ag. Included are 16 innovations being unveiled to the industry such as the Airguard Seed Brake from Dutch Industries, the Trailer Mount Conveyor from Haukaas Manufacturing, the Hit n Hitch Pintle from Power Pin Inc. and the Full Last Implement Pass (FLIP) from SeedMaster. Read More...

Farm groups issued statements late Friday applauding an agreement with United Farm Workers and key senators who had been negotiating over an agricultural guest-worker program. Read More...

Farm equipment buyers and sellers from around the world are getting ready once again to converge on Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada for the Canada’s Farm Progress Show (CFPS). Now in its 36th year, CFPS is our northern neighbor’s largest agricultural technology shows and one of the largest dryland technology shows in the world. Read More...

Congress has just returned from their Easter recess break to take up the matters of the country. There are a couple of items we thought you should be aware of that will be taking place over the next few weeks and months. Read More...

A report issued today by the 25x'25 Alliance offers recommendations that will enable the U.S. agriculture and forestry sectors to meet the challenges posed by increasingly variable and unpredictable weather. Read More...

Todd Teske would’ve preferred Briggs & Stratton Corp. launch new products in a steady stream over the past couple years, not the flood it’s planning this year. Read More...

Employers looking for qualified employees have free and direct access to thousands of unemployed National Guard members and military veterans through the American Jobs for America’s Heroes alliance. With more than 60,000 unemployed National Guard members nationally, this is a huge resource for employers looking for skilled, experienced and reliable employees. Register now for posting jobs at no cost. Read More...