Bowden's Ursa Ag builds mechanical tractors farmers can fix

A small Alberta company is assembling mechanical diesel tractors without computer controls and selling them for roughly half the price of comparable brands, drawing hundreds of inquiries from Canadian and American farmers.

Ursa Ag, based at 4-24 St Close in Bowden, offers three front-wheel assist models — the AG 150, AG 180 and AG 260 — ranging from approximately 150 to 260 horsepower and priced from $129,900 to $199,900 CAD.

Founder Doug Wilson said the company grew out of an encounter about four years ago, when a farmer who had bought construction equipment from him came looking for a tractor without computerization. Wilson said he and the farmer "figured out what we needed to do to build a tractor."

Wilson sourced parts from roughly 50 other manufacturers — alternators, batteries, tires — and makes about 50 parts at the Bowden factory. "Obviously, there are hundreds of parts in total," he said in a feature published by Be Giant and reprinted by AuroraToday.ca. "But we don't touch any parts inside the alternator or other components that come to us complete."

The AG 150 and AG 180 use a 5.9L Cummins mechanical diesel engine. The AG 260 uses an 8.3L Cummins, the same engine found in combines from the 1990s. All controls are mechanically connected through cables rather than electronic systems. Cabs include air-ride seats and little else.

Wilson said in an interview with CleanTechnica that customers prefer a remanufactured engine over a new one packed with electronic controls. "Because the 12 valve Cummins has powered everything from farm machinery to pickup trucks and more over the years, practically everyone with wrenching knowledge has experience with them," he said. "Parts are also easy to come by, so downtime isn't a concern."

He said the spread of computerization in farm equipment had gone further than farmers need. "Nobody running an auger cares whether their radio talks to their transmission," Wilson said.

A fully equipped computerized John Deere can cost more than $1 million. Ursa Ag's 150-hp model retails at $129,900, according to a Farms.com report. A Farms.com interview generated approximately 400 inquiries from the United States, though Ursa Ag does not currently have American distributors.

Anthony Rosborough, president of CanRepair and assistant professor of law and computer science at Dalhousie University, said the company reflects a wider shift. "Ursa Ag represents a trend that we will likely see more of, where users and third parties are removing tech bloat that makes repairs difficult or expensive," Rosborough said. "In the long run, what we're going to need is better product design that takes repairability into account from the outset."

Parliament passed Bills C-244 and C-294 on Nov. 7, 2024, amending the Copyright Act to allow people to bypass software locks on items they own.

Wilson said production is growing fast. "All I know is this year we'll make 50 tractors and next year we'll do a hundred," he said, adding he believes he could sell a thousand if he could build them. He said he has held off building a large dealer network because he "wouldn't be able to keep them stocked." Dealers currently operate in Saskatchewan and Abbotsford, B.C.

Ursa Ag can be reached at +1 403 991 0416 or ryanr@ursa-ag.com.