In this week’s podcast we look at the emerging hemp industry and what it could mean for the farm machinery business. In the Technology Corner, Jack Zemlicka shares some insights on how ag start-ups, particularly on the software side, could offer some lucrative opportunities for dealers. We also discuss tractor and combine sales for the first half of the year and what we might expect in the second half of the year. Also in this episode, dealers and manufacturers say hay and forage equipment sales have seen a nice pick up recently, and we discuss the moderate increases in non-real estate farm lending.

According to Ag Equipment Intelligence’s monthly Dealer Sentiments survey, since the start of 2017, farm equipment dealers’ year-over-year level of optimism has varied by as much as 42% from one month to the next compared to the prior year.

In the report, John Deere compares its retail sales for the month of June and May inventories to those of the industry as a whole. 

AGCO, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, reported net sales of approximately $1.7 billion for the third quarter of 2015, a decrease of approximately 19.4% compared to net sales of approximately $2.2 billion for the third quarter of 2014.