We used to say, “All important decisions are made on the basis of insufficient data.” That’s probably not the case these days. In fact, with data coming at us from all angles and every direction, “paralysis by analysis” would seem to be more fitting. What is even more correct is “uncertainty reigns,” but then this is nothing new for agriculture.

“I grew up in Missouri and the old school approach to storing grain was to turn the fans in your bins on for 2 weeks and let them run. Then you’d shut them off in the middle of winter and then run them for a week, shut them off, then you run them for another week in the spring and you were good to go. We needed to get away from this type of practice,” says Ian Wade, director of the dealer division for IntelliFarms, a firm that manufactures systems and equipment for monitoring stored grain.

Nearly anything to make an agricultural combine simpler and crop harvesting more productive could be considered a breakthrough. AGCO says they’ve done just that.

The fact that Deere & Co. is suing AGCO and Precision Planting is no more surprising than Case IH filing a complaint with the U.S. Dept. of Justice that Deere’s acquisition of Precision Planting would create a monopoly in the high speed planting market.

Mark Core of Vermeer Corp. and Richard Fox-Marrs of JCB Inc., top executives from two long established, family owned manufacturers of specialty farm equipment, explore their strategies for helping their dealers be profitable by providing services that go beyond traditional product support. Also, providing highly innovative products gives them an edge that competing dealers don’t have.

We’re getting a fair amount of improving vibes from the dealers these days. Maybe the best of the best is that used equipment inventories are looking better than they have for some time.

While farmers understand they can’t control the weather, many of them do what they can to minimize its impact. Too dry? Irrigate. Too wet? Drain it. Both of these options can be effective in improving crop yields, but, typically, they are costly options that result in paybacks that can take several years to realize.

It was 5 years ago when I visited with Mike Boehlje, the distinguished professor in the Dept. of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. At that time, signs were appearing that indicated the industry was in for a slowdown following 4-5 really great years of equipment sales. The special report that ensued was called “Dealing with Ag’s Boom–Bust Cycles.” Boehlje discussed a couple factors that directly impacted equipment dealers.