Briggs & Stratton's next dividend is payable Oct. 1 to shareholders of record on Aug. 20. The company said it is raising its dividend because of its improved financial performance despite the weak economy.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has elected two new directors: Tiago Bonomo, President & CEO of McCormick USA, joins the AEM AG Sector Board, and Daniel Miller, President & CEO of Manitou Americas Inc., joins the AEM CE Sector Board. Both fill unexpired terms.

Metalcraft of Mayville and Scag Power Equipment (Mayville, WI), in conjunction with Mid-State Equipment (Watertown, WI) proudly announce their support of the Waterworks Park Project in Beaver Dam WI. A Scag Freedom Z zero-turn riding mower has been donated to be raffled off with all proceeds going towards the park project.

The Portland-based maker of sawchain and other tools and replacement parts used in logging, agriculture and gardening (NYSE: BLT) earlier forecast that it would reach $1 billion in annual sales this year.

Kubota Tractor Corporation recently recognized local Kubota Dealer Messick's of Abbottstown, Carlisle, Elizabethtown, and Halifax PA, with the company's prestigious President's Kaizen Award for outstanding performance as a dealership in 2011.

Cautious consumers often look for places to cut, but one quiet victim of the recession has the opposite problem. Even amid recovery, lawns are often left untended.

Manufacturing in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois shrank in July for the first time in three years, with orders from the United States, Europe and China dropping as business seems almost paralyzed until the fall election is over and economic policies are addressed.

Website visitors can examine Billy Goat products through an all-encompassing 360-degree view, learn about each product in full detail and glean insightful tips through the Technical Support feature. Product and Customer Support is abundant from on-line product warranty registration to frequently asked questions and operator manuals and parts lists.

Dealer to Dealer: What equipment is your best-seller this summer and why?

Rural Lifestyle Dealer's Alan Stenum caught up with Mark Odell, vice president of marketing for Econoburn, at the 2012 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days to talk about Econoburn's two-stage, high efficiency, low emissions wood gasification boilers.