According to the 11th annual Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study, 35.1% of survey respondents indicated they recently purchased or plan to purchase a strip-till rig in 2024.

• Germany-based Jost Werke SE has signed a purchase agreement to acquire LH Lift Oy, based in Finland, that manufactures 3-point linkages and hitches
• trucking company Yellow Corp. collapsed into bankruptcy on Aug. 6
• In its Sept. 12 WASDE report, USDA estimated 2023-24 corn ending stocks at 2,221 billion bushels, soybeans at 220 million bushels and wheat at 615 million bushels
• VDMA reported German tractor registrations down 4% year-over-year in August (up 3% year-to-date)
• Kubota plans to commercialize unmanned tractors, rice planters and combine harvesters in Japan as early as 2026, according to an Aug. 26 report from Nikkei Asia
• Lemken CEO Anthony van der Ley forecast a 6-7% decline in global ag equipment sales for 2024 in a Sept. 10 report from Agriland
• According to CEMA, the general business climate index for the European ag equipment industry has continued to fall

• Global chipmakers are seeing an end to a glut of semiconductors but also forecast a slow recovery in demand.
• Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation (KMA) and Kubota Industrial Equipment Corporation (KIE) will merge into a single company on Jan. 1, 2024. 
• Total employment numbers for local manufacturers, including several in the ag equipment and rural lifestyle equipment markets.
• USDA estimated 2023-24 corn ending stocks at 2,202 billion bushels, soybeans at 245 million bushels and wheat at 615 million bushels.
• The VDMA reported German tractor registrations down 2% year-over-year in July (up 4% year-to-date).