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.
Prioritizing the people side of a precision business, reinforcing the return in investment approach to selling services and leveraging long-term trust of customers for recurring revenue were building blocks of the third Precision Farming Dealer Summit.
Employee turnover is a predicament most precision farming dealers will need to navigate through at some point. The average tenure of a precision farming specialist at a dealership is often cited as about 18 months.
Richins & Finley, the managers heading up the precision farming efforts at Stotz Equipment (John Deere) and Mazergroup (New Holland), share the components of their internal training systems to equip staff for success.
Staff training was part of nearly every discussion at the 2018 Precision Farming Dealer Summit in Louisville. Precision is where things are moving fastest, and the expectations of farmers and the dealership itself (both equally unrealistic at times) and the firefighting at planting and harvest require highly structured processes and duties.
The shifting nature of precision farming demands a foundation for employee commitment, yet the unique structure of any given dealership eliminates the possibility for any universal blueprint. Rarely does the perfect formula come from direct replication or an unhinged maverick move, but the best plans often fall somewhere in between.
As precision farming departments at farm equipment dealerships evolve, adding agronomic services has been somewhat of a natural progression. But, generating recurring revenue from agronomic services can be a challenge.
Rabobank is forecasting that median Midwest corn farmers will be working with a margin of about 4% during the next 4-5 years. This is “unacceptable” and means they will need to increase their efficiency while continuing to cut costs, Kenneth Zuckerberg told attendees of the 2018 Precision Farming Dealer Summit in January.
In its Feb. 4 Ag Finance Databook and Feb. 15 Ag Credit Survey report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City characterized current credit conditions as “stabilized modestly but continuing to show signs of weakness … despite signs of stabilizing in the fourth quarter, bankers’ expectations were for loan demand to strengthen and loan repayment rates to weaken slightly in the first quarter of 2018.”
From autonomous advancements to the reemergence of an international tractor company in the U.S., Farm Equipment recaps the best from Louisville and Tulare.
Farm Equipment sent staffers to the National Farm Machinery Show and Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference (AETC) in Louisville, as well as the World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif., to cover the latest innovations and trends in the farm equipment market.
I challenged readers of this column to “Make 2018 the Year of Human Capital Investment.” Training is likely a key part of your human capital investment. Below is a professional perspective on how to make training work and how to make it pay from one of my Machinery Advisors Consortium colleagues, Daniel Surprenant.
— George
Implement guidance (IG) technology is getting renewed favorable glances from a growing number of farmers struggling with glyphosate-resistant weeds, alternative herbicide regimes and EPA-mandated sprayer controls. Also, a growing demand for organic produce has broad-acre farmers in traditionally commodity-producing areas looking for more precision tracking in their cultivators as they drop herbicide use.
Prioritizing the people side of a precision business, reinforcing the return in investment approach to selling services and leveraging long-term trust of customers for recurring revenue were building blocks of the third Precision Farming Dealer Summit.
In its Feb. 4 Ag Finance Databook and Feb. 15 Ag Credit Survey report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City characterized current credit conditions as “stabilized modestly but continuing to show signs of weakness … despite signs of stabilizing in the fourth quarter, bankers’ expectations were for loan demand to strengthen and loan repayment rates to weaken slightly in the first quarter of 2018.”
From autonomous advancements to the reemergence of an international tractor company in the U.S., Farm Equipment recaps the best from Louisville and Tulare.
Farm Equipment sent staffers to the National Farm Machinery Show and Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference (AETC) in Louisville, as well as the World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif., to cover the latest innovations and trends in the farm equipment market.
Built on 90 years of expertise, Yetter Farm Equipment leads the agriculture industry in designing effective and innovative equipment for residue management, seedbed preparation, precision fertilizer placement, harvest attachments, strip-tillage, and more.
At Machinery Scope, we believe you deserve the best risk management solutions for your investments in heavy equipment. Since 2013, we have been proud to offer extended warranty, appraisals, and inspections. Machinery Scope is a family-owned business built on our experience in farming and equipment dealerships. We understand your business and provide a personalized and professional level of customer service. Machinery Scope has built a strong warranty product with our customers in mind, offering the same professional level of service from the time you get a quote, through the processing of a claim.
Finance Scope is able to provide the best financing opportunities for equipment dealers and customers through a diverse mix of lending companies under one single platform. Our large group of lenders, allows for competitive rates regardless of credit scores. Additionally, dealers and customers have access to the industry’s best expertise surrounding finance and lease structures, for all purposes, within the agricultural and construction industries. We provide all of this into one online platform to provide our customers with the best available tailored finance solution for their equipment.