Estes has sold out of 2009 model farm equipment, much of which sells for more than a quarter-million dollars.

CNN: Weather adds to farmers' financial uncertainty

He rents out a special piece of farm-drilling equipment.

ECONOMIST: True grit

Early versions of new labor restrictions still being hashed out in Congress would have barred children under 16 from operating power-driven farm equipment and kept anyone under 18 from working at agricultural co-ops and stockyards (the latest version would let kids keep running machines on their parents' spreads).

WSJ: The Panic Over Bullies

"The good thing is, we're not poles apart in brand imagery and there's no overlap between our vehicles, " points out Pawan Goenka, the ex-GM executive who heads Mahindra's auto and farm-equipment business and now chairs SsangYong.

FORBES: The Global 2000