• Tire manufacturer Bridgestone announced Dec. 20 it had sold its Russian business to Russian holding company S8 Capital, which includes a tire manufacturing plant, a sales and marketing office and about 1,000 employees.
• Engine manufacturer Cummins agreed to a record-setting $1.7 billion fine in the settlement of a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department and California, according to a Jan. 10 report from Reuters.
• As part of its efforts to electrify critical off-highway machinery, Bosch Rexroth announced Jan. 9 a partnership with thermal management manufacturer Modine.
• Kinze has purchased a 443-acre agricultural land tract south of the Phoenix, Ariz., metro area, according to a Jan. 4 report from BNN.
• During this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Doosan Bobcat revealed an autonomous and electric articulating tractor — the Bobcat AT450X enabled by Agtonomy.
• Ag equipment distributor AgLine Distributing & Equipment officially began operations at a Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians facility in Carthage, Miss., earlier this month, according to a Dec. 27 report from The Nebosha Democrat.
• Implement manufacturer Lemken has brought South African no-till drill manufacturer Equalizer — which it acquired in January 2023 — to Canada for field testing, according to a Jan. 14 report from Grainews.
• In its Jan. 12 WASDE report, USDA’s 2023-24 U.S. ending stocks are estimated at 2.162 billion bushels of corn (vs. consensus 2.094 billion bushels) and 280 million bushels of soybeans (vs. consensus 242 million bushels).
• VDMA reported German tractor registrations down 1% year-over-year in December (flattish in 2023). Registrations in the 100+ horsepower category were up 4% year-over-year (up 5% in 2023).
• Tractor Zoom, a provider of farm equipment and heavy machinery valuation data, announced Dec. 20 the acquisition of Anvil App Works, a salesforce OEM partner with CRM solutions built for equipment dealerships.
• Oxbo announced Dec. 21 it will acquire Westside Equipment Co. in Madera, Calif, a manufacturer of tomato and pistachio harvesting equipment. 

According to the 2023 CropLife 100 survey, John Deere continues to hold the lead among sprayer brands represented in the top 100 ag retailers in the U.S.