Are you really unaware of all the fairly permanent, anti-democratic moves being made by Trump and MAGA? The return to Jim Crow in the south, nation-wide voting restrictions, redistricting which is only acceptable in GOP states apparently, the near daily (it seems) violations of the constitution by the executive, the unwillingness of Congress to do their job and keep the president from being a dictator? The trade dispute is but a symptom of this problem. As a long time watcher and admirer of the US and Americans, I'm astounded at how fast things have been dismantled, and even more astounded at how many of my American friends are unconcerned or even cheering about this destruction. The courts are the only institutions standing up to the president, but now that the supreme court has fully given itself to the president, it's only a matter of time before the courts are brought to heel. At Trump's first state of the union, I was deeply chilled to see Trump pat Justice Roberts on the back and say, "I won't forget what you've done for me." Media companies are now owned by Trump's friends. Pardons are bought. $1.8 billion was attempted to be embezzled from the US treasury to pay off his friends. Trump's son in law is making money off his relationship with Trump while playing diplomat to the countries he's doing business with, making Hunter Biden look like a saint. The list goes on. Corruption has always been involved in politics, but now they aren't even trying to hide it, but are saying it's okay because it's our team doing it. Trump---but I think really the GOP has long wanted to do this---has completely broken the old way the world worked, which did amazing things for the US as well as the rest of the world and brought freedom to millions. No future president or congress of any party will be able to try to restore it, unfortunately, or even willing. It was a good run for 250 years. Of course like Rome, the fall won't be quick, but will be interesting to see how history views this point in time as a watershed.

The CCP is definitely evil, but the US is trending in that direction, which is not something to be celebrated or rationalized. And the poison is spreading to many other democratic nations unfortunately.

Isn't it though? Most countries, if they could, would enact similar policies for military procurement.

US technology (military and civilian) companies have been and remain in a very dominant position compared to most other countries. So while the US has the luxury of banning foreign companies with ties to foreign militaries, few other countries have that luxury. Up until now, even with US military ties and probable spying that went with it, such deals were still fairly mutually beneficial. Now, though, the US government, and an increasing number of Americans, wants the world to bow down to their benefactor and turn everything over to them. I have no problem acknowledging the US's powerful and dominant position. But when humility (even if it's never been quite genuine) turns to pure, unadulterated pride and using their power to bully the world and demand more and more tribute , that's when I start to be very concerned and start to wonder just which large power is more likely to rob me of freedom and the pursuit of happiness: China or the US. Should be an easy choice, and was even a few years ago. Now it's very much not.

Full uBlock Origin on Firefox seems to take care of it. Firefox is now the only browser capable of running uBlock Origin.

No Mahindra is in a different market entirely, like Zetor. This is the first class 7 tractor introduced in North America that's not from the major players. And it's not exactly "made in Canada" (unlike Versatile which actually mostly is), it's assembled in Canada. It's manufactured in China. That said, I'm impressed he can assemble so many tractors in his tiny shop.

California is not nearly as big a market as the US midwest. Besides that, all new tractors are already Tier 4 and 5, which is acceptable to california.

It's the old tractors, as you say, that they are wanting to regulate, which is pretty short-sighted because they are responsible for such a tiny percentage of california's renowned air pollution. I've long maintained that Australia's carve out for ag engines makes a lot of sense.

I don't think you understand what farmers are complaining about, nor do you seem to understand how modern tractors are put together. In this case they mean the operation of the tractor itself requires no computer control (other than the self-contained engine). No tractor CAN bus, no electric over hydraulic controls, no digital electric cab controls of any kind. Everything is mechanically linked. Gear shift lever, clutch, hydraulic controls, steering, etc. No computers involved whatever. The engine itself is self-contained. Just provide it 12V ignition power and a signal to run the shutoff solenoid.

Engine ECU problems are incredibly rare, more rare than problems you'd have with an old-school injector pump. Besides that, it's not legal to sell brand new diesel engines that don't meet Tier 4 emissions for on road or farm use.

From John Deere's perspective, the optimal strategy is to corner the market on farm equipment that are strictly necessary for society as we know it to continue to exist, locking out all competition from all related revenue streams.

Well they failed then. They certainly don't have a corner on the market! Far from it. There are various red, yellow, blue, and green shades out working in the fields right now and dealers selling them. Big farms cycle back and forth between the various colors.

While Deere is the most egregious at DRMing everything, all the major brands do it to one degree or another. CNH, AgCo, Deere, Kubota, Versatile, etc.

I just traded off an older Deere tractor that I actually loved on a Case quadtrac tractor. I needed a bit more horsepower, traction, and hydraulic capacity (modern implements require a lot more continuous hydraulic flow now). The quadtrac is a nice machine, nearly as comfortable and does the job with ease.

Yes you're right. As a farmer myself it drives me a bit crazy to see.

The largest Zetor tractor is 148 HP. The Ursa tractors are 180 and 260 hp, considered class 7 tractors. Zetor appears to only make class 5 and 6. So different markets.

No they are using Tier 4, late model 8.3s, probably the QSC series.

2020 time frame. 10.7L engine. OM 470 or something. I understand this engine is widely used in trucks, tractors, construction equipment. If I'm not mistaken it was introduced in 2016.

The market for electric tractors is incredibly small. They certainly do fill a small niche, though. Chore tractors for feeding cattle, small excavators, etc. See a US company called Nesher Equipment, for example.

Meanwhile for broad-acre tillage,planting, and harvesting, your average machine has at least 500L of fuel that lasts a day or two (or much less for some operations), which is, counting for thermal efficiency, the equivalent of at least 2500 kWh of battery storage.

We've been dealing with strict emission standards for agricultural vehicles since 2006. Current US regulations are Tier 4 and Tier 5. Unlike cars where the California market is huge and auto companies build for that market exclusively (thus setting the standard for the entire nation regardless of EPA), there is no reason for ag engine makers to target California, so they will have to be content with Tier 5.

Only a problem in the US?! Hardly. Problems with diesel emissions control systems are a plague for farmers (and truckers and auto owners) in Europe too. The main difference is that deleting is strictly forbidden there.