My last article was titled “Technology to Exceed Customer Expectations.” In it I cited 5 different real world examples that show how farm equipment dealers use technology to better serve their customers and to improve their dealership’s performance.

Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. continued its progress on Kinze Autonomy this season by leasing its autonomous harvest system to three farmers. While each of the farmers was a participant in the release preview held in fall 2012, this year Kinze representatives were not in the field overseeing operation of the system, which allowed the farmers to use the technology independently.

As more producers use new technology in precision agriculture, they will be gathering increasing amounts of machine and production data. In the past, they had to download the data on a memory card or a USB flash drive and then transfer the data to a computer in the farm office or at home.

What is biggest technology problem you face with equipment today and how do you solve it?

Performance and flexibility are key for timely, high-quality application. That's why the new Case IH Patriot 3240 and 3340 sprayers offer more horsepower and new options for spray control.

Do you have a cell phone? Do you access the Internet regularly to find information? How about voice mail? Or a digital camera? Word processing or spreadsheets?

Regardless of where you are in the world, the main focus of all farmers is to increase their yield and get more out of every acre or hectare. What's different is how that goal is accomplished in different areas of the world. There are a number of global planter and seeder technology trends dealers should keep an eye on that will make their way to North America. Looking ahead, technological advancements in planting equipment will come from marrying the needs and developments abroad with those of North America. The combination of Western European speed and North American accuracy would result in highly efficient and precise seeding and planting equipment.

AGCO Director of ATS Global Marketing Bruce Hart, showcases the company's new Fuse farm management system at the 2013 InfoAg Conference in Springfield, Ill., and explains what role dealers will play in delivering the technology to customers.

AGCO,Your Agriculture Company (NYSE:AGCO), a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment and infrastructure, announced today a new global corporate initiative that addresses all aspects of precision farming technology and how farmers can optimize their operations through AGCO products and new services.