What is now the John Deere Golf Classic Tournament started in 1971. In 2013, it will take place July 8 to 14 and is a PGA Tour-sanctioned event including 156 Tour players and a $4.6 million purse. In its 40+ year history, the tournament has almost been discontinued twice. From 1975 to 1980, Ed McMahon was the emcee, and up until 1979, the tournament included stars such as Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, and Telly Savalas, thanks to its Pro-Am.

The first sponsors of the Quad-Cities Open were three men from Kewanee, Ill, who owned nine Quad-Cities area Hardee’s franchises; these ties led to the Hardee’s Golf Classic’s birth in 1986, a title held through 1994. The Hardee’s sponsorship came to an end in 1994 and the search for new sponsorship began once again. The tournament was granted a five-year window to find a title sponsor in agreement with taking a backseat to the bi-annual President’s Cup event.

Here are player interviews after the 2012 event. 

Here is a series of time lapse videos behind-the-scenes of setting up for the tour.

In 1997, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and Deere chairman and CEO Hans Becherer announced plans to build the Tournament Players Club Deere Run on the Friendship Farms property owned since 1928 by the ancestors of company-founder John Deere. One of the key elements in the deal included Deere becoming the official golf course equipment supplier of the TPC network of courses as well as the title sponsor of the John Deere Classic.

TPC Deere Run became the site of the John Deere Golf Classic in 2000, and Deere has since extended its sponsorship through 2016, making it one of the longest agreements on Tour.

Since Deere has become the title sponsor, the event has featured two impressive records. Paul Goydos shot a tournament single-round record score of 59 in 2010, the same year Steve Stricker set an overall tournament low record score of 258 in four rounds. The score marked the second victory of Stricker’s remarkable three-consecutive finishes atop the leaderboard, which ended in 2012 when Zach Johnson became the new champion.

Each year the winner of the John Deere Classic receives a unique trophy created specifically for the tournament by renowned sculptor and jewelry designer Malcolm DeMille. The trophy is a custom-made fine art sculpture cast and finished in bronze that depicts a deer bounding across a fairway in front of an elevated green bordered by a stream. The leaping deer has been a part of the company’s logo for more than 170 years, and the golf course setting refers to the company’s major presence in the golf and turf equipment market.

John Deere’s involvement in golf extends beyond the tournament. John Deere is now a Trustee of The First Tee, a non-profit youth organization that provides life skills and character education programs to young people using golf as a platform. John Deere will donate $1 million over five years to The First Tee, further emphasizing Deere's active commitment to the game of golf and the career development of professionals in the golf maintenance industry. 

 The JCB Dancing Diggers are coming the USA. Appearing on Aug. 24 and 25 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m., at the 2013 Dutchess County Fair in Rhinebeck, New York. Local JCB dealer A. Montano JCB is helping make the event possible. 

If you’ve never seen a Dancing Digger performance, check out these YouTube videos:

JCB Dancing diggers at Bauma 2013—a construction trade show hosted in Munich, Germany April 11 to 17. This performance includes Segways, spring shoes, choreographed dancers and machines. (the performance starts around 1:00) 

Here’s the full performance at ConExpo 2011

And here’s a recap of the performance at ConExpo 2009:

Obviously, these operators are talented. They take more than 80 tons of heavy equipment and choreograph the movements, hydraulics and steering to make the machines look elegant. The teams of Dancing Diggers are trained professionals who can turn a machine on its side and use a bucket arm to make a backhoe look like it’s doing a handstand. 

You can see a fun photo gallery on this facebook page. 

And here's a link to the JCB website. 

 AGCO and its experts at Hesston provide the following top tips to get the most out of your baler pass. This includes what haying expert Dean Morrell says are the two top mistakes made:

1.  Being too anxious. The biggest mistake people make is moving too fast when they start baling.
2.  Not getting out of the tractor, and checking the baler and the first bales from a field to make sure adjustments are right, so the density and shape of the bales are correct

Operating manuals provide a full rundown on how to set balers to make dense bales that are consistent in size and shape. Here are Morrell’s quick tips for doing the job right:

Set baler pickup tines about 1" off the ground. This helps prevent contaminating the hay with dirt, which raises ash percentages and reduces digestibility. Baler wear and tear caused by picking up stones also is reduced or eliminated.

Set the hay pickup flotation so that the pickup follows the contour of the ground at or just above the tine height setting. If the tines aren’t digging into the dirt, the flotation setting is about right.

Regularly check the hay pickup for bent or broken tines and replace them as necessary. Be sure to stock up on replacement parts before the hay season begins.

Synchronize the field speed and the baler pickup speed so the hay is lifted from the windrow and flows into the bale chamber. Pickup loss is lower when windrows are heavy because the baler is operated at a slower field speed, and there is less contact between the hay and the baler components.

Bale chamber loss, particularly of the valuable leaves, is typically two to three times greater in round balers compared to square balers. To minimize bale chamber losses in round balers, the feed rate should be as high as possible to minimize the number of turns the hay makes within the bale chamber. This can be accomplished by using large windrows and high forward speeds. Since pickup losses are normally lower than chamber losses, it’s usually better to have some pickup loss by driving faster but reducing the amount of time it takes to form the bale.

Monitor bale density. Even if your baler has a density gauge, it is still critical to get out of the cab and "thump" bales to verify that the density is high enough so that bales hold their shape and provide maximum protection from the elements.

Follow drive directional arrows on the baler monitor to make sure hay is fed consistently across the width of the bale chamber so bales have square shoulders. This helps round bales shed moisture, and improves stacking attributes of square bales.

Hay moisture at baling is a critical factor in determining superior hay quality and long storage life. Assessing moisture before baling depends on whether it is stem moisture or moisture from dew. The moisture present from dew will seep through the hay to some degree, while stem moisture will not. When the stem moisture is too high, spoilage can occur. Moisture at baling for large square bales should be no greater than 12 to 15 percent; for round bales, no greater than 16 to 20 percent; and no greater than 18 to 20 percent for small-square bales. The exception to this rule is when hay preservative is applied during baling, which allows hay to be baled with moisture content up to 30%.

To reduce leaf shatter and resulting nutrient losses, avoid baling when hay moisture is too low.

Make sure all operators know how to adjust the baler for top quality.

Keep up to date on regular maintenance. Be sure to visit your local dealer to stock up on pickup tines, common bearings, chain repairs, belts, shear bolts and other common repairs before the hay season starts to minimize downtime from common breakdowns. Dealers usually have a list of recommended parts for on-farm stocking and may offer preseason discounts for parts purchases.For more information visit hesston.com.

Other blog posts regarding Hesston haying tips:

Top Hay Mowing Tips from Hesston 

Top Hay Conditioning Tips from AGCO

Hay Raking Tips From AGCO

 JCB has been having fun and making its backhoes into hot rods since the 1980s. Today, the JCB GT can be caught running ¼ mile stretches at speeds up to 150 mph. The backhoe hot rod is powered by a special 1,300 hp diesel V8 engine. It's said to be the fastest backhoe in the world, and JCB is one of the largest back hoe manufacturers in the world. 

The idea for the JCB GT is said to be from JCB Chairman, Sir Anthony Bamford, the son of the company’s founder, Joseph Cyril Bamford. 

To see the GT in action, check out this clip from the Speed Channel:

And here’s a video from a ¼ mile run on a racetrack in Canada: 

 A good hay raking job eliminates the variables that can compromise a harvested crop. AGCO and its experts from the Hesston brand of hay equipment ask farmers to keep these considerations top of mind:

Avoid raking alfalfa or clover when the forage moisture is less than 35 to 40% to prevent the loss of nutrient-dense leaves.

Create windrows that are uniform in width and in the amount of hay they contain, which will help ensure bales are consistent in shape and density.

For maximum drying, set the windrow as wide as possible and match windrows width to baler capacity. The amount of loss during the baling process can be minimized when hay is at its driest and most subject to leaf loss from handling.

Here are several tips on how to set and operate rakes. Except where indicated, tips are for rotary rakes:

Set rake tines of rotary rakes to skim just above the ground, so they don’t dig up dirt, contaminating the hay and wearing down tines.

Set wheel rakes to have as little contact with the ground as possible.

Ensure rotary rake bogey wheels beneath the rotor are level. The rotor should have 0.5 to 1" of ground clearance on all sides at all times.

Set the tine arm release based on crop conditions and the size windrow. A dry, fluffy crop requires an earlier release setting. For a heavy, wet crop, use a later release setting.

If the rake is PTO driven, synchronize the field speed and PTO speed for a gentle lifting and turning action. This helps avoid aggressive handling that can cause excessive leaf loss.

Operate the rake at a consistent speed to create an even windrow for uniform drying and fewer slugs.

Stay up to date on regular maintenance to ensure peak machine performance including daily greasing of pivot points and hinges.

Tighten bolts and replace broken or worn tines. Check tire inflation regularly.

Be sure to visit your local dealer who should have a list of parts to stock up on replacement tines and basket and rake wheel bearings before the season starts to minimize downtime from common breakdowns. Also, doing this before the season can take advantage of preseason.

For more information visit hesston.com.

Other blog posts regarding Hesston haying tips:

Top Hay Mowing Tips from Hesston

Top Hay Conditioning Tips from AGCO