The start of the new year is a great time for reflection. This look back can help us set impactful goals and make informed decisions for the coming year.

In this podcast we report on Deere & Co.'s third quarter earnings, which saw net sales increase 32%. In the Technology Corner, Jack Zemlicka discusses precision farming dealers' 5-year investment projections. With uncertainty stemming from tariffs, trade and commodity prices we also look at how manufacturers, dealers and producers are responding. Finally, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, farm income, capital spending and farmland values are all down.

In this podcast we review the latest round of earnings reports of farm equipment manufacturers, which seem to be following the same trend of strong sales growth as many other industries. We also take a look at some other ag-related earnings, pay a visit to Horsch's new demonstration farm in Illinois and review the effects from a Trump Administration farm aid package.

In this newscast, we discuss Deere’s suggestion that we’ve turned the corner on the current ag equipment downturn, artificial intelligence in ag, what the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act means for farm equipment dealers, Titan Machinery’s outlook for fiscal year 2018 and a drop in producer sentiment.

Technology is now evolving toward full autonomy. Master-and-slave (or follow-me) systems are being tested, enabling one driver to guide a fleet, thus boosting the driver’s productivity. Next will come manned yet fully autonomous tractors.

Ag Equipment Intelligence’s On the Record is available on iTunes, the Google Play Store, Soundcloud, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn Radio.

The On The Record newscast took the top spot this month, in which our editors settled some acquisition rumors surrounding Versatile, looked at the updated forecast for 2016 net cash farm income and net farm income, the challenges signal reliability pose toward the success of GPS and guidance systems, Deere’s 2016 fourth quarter results and Titan Machinery’s third quarter results for fiscal year 2017.