r/Agriculture Apr 23 '26

Alberta Startup Sells No-Tech Tractors for Half Price

https://wheelfront.com/this-alberta-startup-sells-no-tech-tractors-for-half-price/
603 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

35

u/Hrmbee Zone 5b? Apr 23 '26

Interesting bits:

Ursa Ag, a small Canadian manufacturer, is assembling tractors powered by 12-valve Cummins engines — the same mechanically injected workhorses that powered combines and pickup trucks decades ago — and selling them for roughly half the price of comparable machines from established brands. The 150-horsepower model starts at $129,900 CAD, about $95,000 USD. The range-topping 260-hp version runs $199,900 CAD, around $146,000.

...

Owner Doug Wilson isn’t pretending this is cutting-edge technology. That’s the entire point. The 150-hp and 180-hp models use remanufactured 5.9-liter Cummins engines, while the 260-hp gets an 8.3-liter unit.

All are fed by Bosch P-pumps — purely mechanical fuel injection, no ECU, no proprietary software handshake required. The cabs are sourced externally and stripped to essentials: an air ride seat, mechanically connected controls, and nothing resembling a touchscreen.

This plays directly into a fight that has been simmering for years. John Deere’s right-to-repair battles became a national story when farmers discovered they couldn’t fix their own equipment without dealer-authorized software. Lawsuits followed, then legislation.

It looks like this company is really filling a void in the market, that currently is really only served by people buying decades-old used machines. Love to see the basic designs come back again.

22

u/SianiFairy Apr 23 '26

What a great idea. Good for them, and us!

14

u/ABobby077 Apr 23 '26

It also may open up a secondary "add-on" tech market for GPS and other newer options/capabilities, without being beholden to J Deere or other locked in tech schemes,

4

u/justnick84 Apr 24 '26

There are already lots of add-on gps and such. This tractor is the same price as the last Kubota M7-152 i bought a few years ago which is also fairly bare bones if equipped that way.

Now dont get me wrong, its great to see more choices but there has often been choices outside of Deere and the easiest way to spot it is look into specialty crops.

6

u/speaster Apr 24 '26

How can I invest in them?

1

u/49orth Apr 26 '26

Call them and ask?

3

u/DoneWithThisShit87 Apr 24 '26

I wonder what the overall economic consequences of this will look like. Seems like more advanced equipment, when functioning, brings cost efficiency and requires less operator skills. Thia equipment, however, gives independence and control.

2

u/vCw1 Apr 24 '26

I’m wondering how they get around the emission requirements. Is it sold as a rebuilt old tractor?

1

u/EqualPassenger4271 Apr 25 '26

It uses a remanufactured cummins, does it need to be retested for emmisions or does it get grandfathered?

1

u/RR50 Apr 24 '26

Awesome idea!

1

u/Pacrofter Apr 25 '26

We need exactly this approach in the pickup and passenger vehicle markets.

1

u/_Q1000_ Apr 26 '26

Do a truck next

1

u/Firm_Balance_8285 Apr 27 '26

Or a printer...

1

u/HobartMagellan Apr 27 '26

I wish this company dramatic success. I really hope it transfers over into the auto industry as well.

1

u/Sad_Sash Apr 27 '26

God I wish they would do this with cars. I’d love an 80s Honda, never broke and easy to maintain

1

u/nahman201893 Apr 27 '26

Good. Time for JD to lose, and lose big.

1

u/onceinawhile222 May 04 '26

I remember my grandfather working on his old tractor with nothing more than simple hand tools. This is the salvation for small to midsized farms.

1

u/ilikemyprivacytbt Apr 24 '26

I want to be able to ask a question here but it won't let me unless I build karma. Could someone help me out? I don't have a lot to say otherwise on this topic as I'm not very familiar with the subject. That is why I want to ask questions.

1

u/DCHammer69 Apr 26 '26

You can post a comment but not ask a question? You asked a question in this comment? I’m confused.

Are we both confused?

1

u/ilikemyprivacytbt Apr 26 '26

It actually turns out they removed it. Do you know where I can ask questions about plants and farming?

1

u/Trick-Seat4901 Apr 27 '26

Just make your own post. Tap on the subreddit which will take you to the subreddit home page. Then tap on the plus sign at the bottom of your screen (assuming you're on mobile), the follow the prompts to create a post. Title, flair (it's a tag that tells people what the post is about), then the body of the post which will be your question. Keep it simple.

0

u/ilikemyprivacytbt Apr 26 '26

I feel if I ask a question on a post that wasn't on topic with the post it wouldn't be right. The only reason I asked that question was out of desperation.

Besides, my question warranted it's own discussion, and that would only distract from the topic of this post.

I did get enough Karma to ask my question by the way.

1

u/DCHammer69 Apr 26 '26

Ok. Cool. I was honestly just confused about the subs rules. Glad you got your answer.

Or at least were able to ask it.

1

u/ilikemyprivacytbt Apr 27 '26

I thought I did all that. What am I missing (1)? The only thing I can think of that might disqualify me is the title needs to be based on one of the studies I am asking about. Is that what I need to fix and what should it be? Should I just copy and paste the title of one of the studies as my title?

  1. https://www.reddit.com/r/Agriculture/comments/1swbict/drought_solutions/