Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

by Kaibeezy on 4/22/2026, 4:29:25 PM

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

Comments

by: adamcharnock

Up until a year ago I was regularly using a Massy Fergusson 135 [0] (Perkins Diesel version), made sometime in the 1970s. It was wonderful! So amazing to drive and use. Clunky and heavy, but you really really felt like you were using a machine. In low gears, if you put you foot down on the accelerator the engine would roar, and your speed would barely change!And there was no fancy technology in it at all. If I was in the forest and had forgotten the key, I'd just reach behind the dashboard and hot-wire it. The air filter was basically a shisha-pipe that bubbled the incoming air through wire wool and engine oil.Its fuel gauge didn't work either. You just had to take a look in the tank, or quickly react as soon as the revs started dropped. I ran it dry a few times and had to sit there with a spanner in one hand and YouTube into the other, while trying to bleed all the fuel lines. But they were all on the outside of the vehicle, which made it comparatively easy I imagine.I've never actually driven a modern tractor, so don't know how it compares. I imagine the clutch is easier on the knees these days!Anyway, this just felt like the place to share this.[0] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massey_Ferguson_135" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massey_Ferguson_135</a>

4/22/2026, 6:04:48 PM

by: Hasz

I think this is a reaction to the incredibly locked down ecosystem that most of these mfgs are pushing.However, the tech exists for a reason and is not inherently bad, the issue is the lock-in, the lack of choice and interoperability.IMO, there is plenty of space for an OEM who can play nice with others, offer an open (and vibrant ecosystem), and keep users coming back by choice, not by lock-in.

4/22/2026, 5:00:27 PM

by: jmward01

I want this for cars but to keep the modern powertrain. So an EV without the tracking/touch screens, etc etc. Or an internal combustion engine car that is just simple and efficient (and again, no tracking). I'll take the low-tech but nice features like heated seats and power windows still thank you.

4/22/2026, 5:28:12 PM

by: red-iron-pine

Danielle Smith never met a corporate shill she could say no toI predict 6 months before John Deer gets the Alberta UCP on the line and gets a law passed that bans "unsafe tractors" (or the like)

4/22/2026, 5:07:06 PM

by: itopaloglu83

Thank you Cloudflare for making it impossible to read news, and yes I am a human.

4/22/2026, 4:51:00 PM

by: Robdel12

This is the way if we can ensure manufacturing of the parts. It won’t catch on but it would be awesome to have “base” tractors that are mechanical and predictable. Then you slap on whatever software on top that helps (automation, etc). But they need to be decoupled imo.

4/22/2026, 4:57:52 PM

by: Papazsazsa

"From whence this barbarous animus?" tweeted the technologist from the cauldron in which he boiled.

4/22/2026, 5:06:48 PM

by: maerF0x0

If the original article is of interest to you, this project might be too:<a href="https://www.opensourceecology.org/" rel="nofollow">https://www.opensourceecology.org/</a><a href="https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/Open_Source_Ecology" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/Open_Source_Ecology</a>

4/22/2026, 5:10:12 PM

by: vondur

This is great, if there is some real competition, then we can see John Deere will have to figure out how to compete. Either with lower prices or less lock in.

4/22/2026, 5:57:33 PM

by: jtbr

Shows the attractiveness of “right to repair.” People want to own their stuff and not be forever beholden to the manufacturer.

4/22/2026, 5:09:40 PM

by: markus_zhang

That's what I always want -- all of my appliances should look like the ones we got in the 90s/2000s. Some Chinese companies should take this niche or maybe not-niche field, sell at a premium, which hopefully is still cheaper than smart ones.

4/22/2026, 5:39:56 PM

by: PunchyHamster

That is honestly probably a bit too far. Going back to pre-ecu times is literally burning money for the owner in form of lower fuel efficiency.

4/22/2026, 6:07:14 PM

by: wepple

I love that the 5.9 lives onursa-ag.com For (a little bit) more info

4/22/2026, 4:47:50 PM

by: shrubble

A friend is an organic farmer in Saskatchewan who has been buying specifically older mechanical only tractors; after a heart attack that will require him to sell off his farm, he’s finding lots of potential buyers.

4/22/2026, 5:31:09 PM

by: petervandijck

Ha - “Wilson saw the gap and drove a tractor through it.”

4/22/2026, 5:00:35 PM

by: bryanlarsen

Is part of the appeal due to the fact that being remanufactured engines they don't need modern emissions control, aka Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF)? Farmers hate DEF.

4/22/2026, 5:37:46 PM

by: steve1977

No-tech tractor seems to be a bit of an oxymoron.

4/22/2026, 6:02:22 PM

by: bombcar

Sounds like Gliders (truck) though those are usually to avoid emissions requirements.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glider_%28automobiles%29#Glider_truck" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glider_%28automobiles%29#Glide...</a>

4/22/2026, 4:51:50 PM

by: mattas

This is pretty cool! Kinda similar to what Slate is doing with cars.

4/22/2026, 4:48:41 PM

by: llmslave

This makes me think of the new toyotas, the rav4s, 4runner, and land cruiser. Through government regulations, they were forced to create smaller more fuel efficient engines. To get the same power, they overstrain them, and put huge turbos on the engines. The outcome is a strictly worse engine, that essentially uses the same fuel as older engines.The demand for older vehicles in certain segments is actually increasing

4/22/2026, 5:17:37 PM

by: m3kw9

I would have thought would be 2x price

4/22/2026, 5:46:45 PM

by: HNisCIS

I feel this. I've been looking at ADV bikes and everything on the market has a cellular modem for always on cloud connectivity, and multiple vendors, including Zero (the electric internet darling) are offering paid feature unlocks via apps.On top of this, I looked at Zero's job postings and they're desperately trying to hire a firmware lead to get the team to use Claude Code (precisely what I want managing a 100hp motor under my ass).Not only are we in a world where everything is locked down with software, the software is about to get way worse and there's nothing you can do about it.

4/22/2026, 5:42:57 PM

by: gigatexal

I wish someone would do something similar for TVs. Just a really fantastic panel with only the tech needed to decode HDMI or whatever and show it on the screen. No other tech whatsover: no telemetry, no smart anything, nothing.

4/22/2026, 5:38:13 PM

by: iJohnDoe

Good. There should be an option for a straightforward mechanical machine. This also has trickledown effect where hopefully regular town mechanics can fix things based on their historical knowledge of engines. Instead of not wanting to touch anything because of the all the electronics involved.Also, I know this is a strange parallel, but it feels similar to what Dell and HP did to their servers. They made the BIO so complicated that it takes 5-10 minutes for their severs to boot up. Using an older Dell server with a straightforward BIOS that boots up in 30 seconds feels awesome.

4/22/2026, 5:37:49 PM

by: holoduke

What is it with American companies that eventually always try to sell crap and low moral products/services. As if the people are educated in luring people into traps to only benefit themselves.

4/22/2026, 5:32:35 PM

by:

4/22/2026, 5:16:24 PM

by: HoldOnAMinute

Now let's do washing machines and refrigerators

4/22/2026, 5:51:07 PM

by: morning-coffee

Good. Simplicity should win out over enshittification in the end.

4/22/2026, 5:43:34 PM

by: jcgrillo

Hell yeah 12V 5.9 Cummins. The one in my pickup has 250k hard miles on it, some blowby, and it starts right up at -10°F no problem.

4/22/2026, 5:03:55 PM

by: cmrdporcupine

Wish they sold something in the compact utility segment. 40-60hpish. I'd love an affordable Canadian made tractor for property maintenance / smaller farms.(Though these days I've love something electric. I don't need long run time, I'm not doing row crops. Just market gardening and property maintenance stuff. All the electric stuff I see out there is aiming up at the high end and for autonomy / "smart" tractor stuff which I don't care about.)

4/22/2026, 4:52:23 PM

by: righthand

Good. The John Deere monopoly is wild, but if you talk to a farmer they say they can’t handle the repairs. Sure, John Deere gets to make more expensive and complex machines and convince their customers that it’s “the future”.

4/22/2026, 4:43:48 PM

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