While tallying up the poll questions we asked dealers on the Farm Equipment Dealer 100, it came as no surprise that the area where the most dealers (70%) planned to hire was technicians. 

It was the same last year and it tracks with the Ag Equipment Intelligence’s 2025 Dealer Business Outlook & Trends report which shows 67.1% of dealers plan to add service technicians this year. 

The same was true last year, too — technicians came in at No. 1 in terms of employment needs in both reports. 

While the percentages were higher a year ago (73.1% in the Dealer 100 and 84.1% in the AEI report), I suspect that has more to do with the state of the ag economy and business and less to do with a reduced need for technicians. 

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about this topic on this page, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. At times, it feels like we’ve talked about it ad nauseam. The recruitment programs are out there, whether at the dealer, manufacturer or association level. 

In fact, last summer at the Farm Progress Show Deere had a table set up in its booth specifically for technician recruitment where there were teenagers and their parents speaking with Deere reps. In a recent issue of Deere’s The Furrow magazine, there was a full page ad all about becoming a dealership mechanic. 

In April, the technician shortage was among the topics dealers lobbied on during the North American Equipment Dealers Assn.’s Washington, D.C. Fly-In. According to NAEDA, “The average farm equipment dealer would hire 5 additional technicians today, with a cumulative shortfall of technicians across the country numbering in the thousands. This gap continues to widen despite an industry leading model where dealers typically cover tuition for a 2-year diesel technician program with a guaranteed high-wage job upon completion.” 

Dealers are doing the work to find technicians — they are partnering with local tech schools, they are getting into high schools, some are even creating their own schools like SN Partners. 

We’ve written multiple special reports on the topic in the last 7 years highlighting some of the successes dealers across North America have had in filling the workforce gap. But, here we are still talking about it. 

Where Do We Go from Here?

Workforce studies often cite declining birth rates as part of the problem. We just don’t have enough people these days. But, news reports would also suggest we don’t have enough jobs. One option is foreign labor. 

Canadian Case IH dealer Young’s Equipment has found success in recruiting technicians from Europe over the years. The process isn’t without hoops to jump through, but with limited young people entering the trades at home, it’s a good option to consider. 

According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, the admission of foreign workers cannot “adversely affect the job opportunities, wages and working conditions of American workers.” But, given the ongoing challenge of filling technician openings, that doesn’t seem to be a problem. There may be a shortage of techs, but there is no shortage of initiatives. 

We’ll keep monitoring and covering this issue, and do what we can alongside you.