Andrew Campbell's Blog – August 2009 Archive (2)

Sioux County Farmland Auction Shatters Iowa Record at $32,000 Per Acre

A historic farmland auction in Sioux County, Iowa, where a 35.5-acre tract sold for $32,000 per acre—setting a new state record for farmer-buyer purchases.

Sioux County Land Auction Shatters Iowa Farmland Record at $32,000 Per Acre

Zomer Company Realty & Auction oversaw a historic farmland auction in Sioux County, Iowa, where a 35.5-acre tract sold for $32,000 per acre—setting a new state record for farmer-buyer purchases.

Deere’s disappointing outlook shows farm recovery is elusive

Deere & Co.’s weak forecast for the year ahead reinforces the difficulty in predicting a recovery in the U.S. farm economy as uncertainty continues to swirl over the impact of tariffs and trade deals. Shares of the world’s biggest farm machinery maker fell as much as 5.7% in New York as the company’s first profit outlook for 2026 fell short of expectations. The forecast underscores how the agriculture sector remains in the dark even after a U.S. trade agreement resumes crop shipments to China. Farmers have been grappling with President Donald Trump’s tariff policies that squeezed demand and raised costs. While the recent deal with China is raising hopes, there’s still questions on whether the ramp-up of soybean and wheat sales will be enough to shake the US farm economy out of a years-long slump. “Deere’s widely underwhelming 2026 guidance suggests a more severe and prolonged agricultural downturn than we initially anticipated, though it offers clarity on trough earnings this cycle,

Scout Could Be Taking Its American Heritage A Little Too Far

Every car company is taking a slightly different approach when it comes to the sounds of their electric vehicles. Some are hiring famous composers, others are putting mics and amplifiers on the electric motor to pump up its natural vibrations. The reborn Scout is going to be doing something a little more... agricultural. It's heading back to its roots to make each Scout sound like a Scout. That might seem like a good idea, but in this case, its roots mean more than just cars. "All of the sounds inside the vehicle, we want them to feel authentic to us and unique," Scout Chief Design Officer Chris Benjamin told Automotive News at the LA Auto Show. To help make those authentic sounds, Scout has gone to great lengths by traveling to interesting locations across the country. One sound team headed to a farm in Adairville, Kentucky, Benjamin said. There, they put sound equipment in a silo to capture the noises of the farm. Why capture farm sounds? Because the original Scout was built by Int

Alberta farmers hold off on big purchases as crop prices drop — and big U.S. suppliers feel the effects

Faced with falling crop prices and rising costs, many farmers in Western Canada are squeezing as much life as they can out of older equipment — which they say works their fields just as smoothly as the new stuff. For Jason Schultz, the idea of buying vital equipment for his central Alberta farm, such as new tractors and combines, seems decidedly out of reach. “I just can’t make the numbers work,” Schultz said in a recent interview. “I haven’t purchased anything since 2022 and the last big purchase was (in) 2021. “The numbers just don’t pencil at all when you’re talking $400 an hour to run a tractor,” Schultz said, noting he has no plans to buy new machines anytime soon. New combines can often cost nearly $1 million, while tractors can soar upwards of $1.4 million. This frugality is weighing on some of the biggest companies in the industry. Deere & Co., the maker of John Deere tractors and other heavy equipment, said last week its net income dropped nearly 30 per cent to around US$