Operating a farming operation isn’t what it used to be and neither is the equipment. Whether it’s livestock or row crops, agriculture has become an increasingly sophisticated enterprise.
While steel tariffs are currently grabbing most ag headlines these days, possible changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) may produce longer term challenges for U.S. agriculture. Battle lines between oil refiners and ethanol producers and their suppliers (corn growers) have been clearly drawn.
After struggling with shrinking sales and revenues since 2014, the Big 3 of ag equipment — AGCO Corp., CNH Industrial and Deere & Co. — each posted the strongest results they’ve seen in a while.
Earlier this month — Feb. 7 to be exact — USDA issued its farm sector profits forecast for 2018. The ag agency’s most recent outlook calls for further declines in net farm income and net cash farm income for the year ahead. But researchers at the University of Illinois Agricultural and Consumer Economics, say that, if past history holds true, the initial forecast is probably somewhat lower than what we’ll see next year at this time.
When it comes to farm equipment revenue mix, European dealers rely far more on new equipment sales and less on used equipment sales than do dealers in the U.S. and Canada. Beyond this, the sales mix for dealers in both regions is fairly similar.
Let’s face it, when it comes to news about the farm equipment business, John Deere almost always commands the most attention. So, it was a bit of a surprise when we tallied the total views of Ag Equipment Intelligence news items that appeared each Monday in Farm Equipment’s Ewatch Daily Email Updates throughout 2017 and AGCO claimed the top two spots.
When it comes to the new technology that’s reshaping the farm equipment business, dealers can’t afford to ignore the changes. We can disagree, we can dislike and, maybe we can delay the impact of these changes. But we can’t deny that big changes are underway.
On Dec. 12, 2017, Titan Machinery marked the 10th anniversary of becoming a public company by hosting an Investors Day meeting at the NASDAQ headquarters in New York, N.Y. Following the meeting Farm Equipment Executive Editor Dave Kanicki had the opportunity to interview Titan’s Chairman & CEO David Meyer.
It was only a few months after I joined Farm Equipment magazine that Mike Lessiter gave me an assignment to visit a dealership that was doing some interesting things in Fargo, N.D. The article that resulted appeared in our Oct./Nov. 2005 issue. It was entitled, “Is Titan Machinery Reshaping the Future of Ag Dealerships?”
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.
Montag is the industry’s innovative leader for precise, accurate metering of fertilizer, seed and other nutrients. The Montag system has become the standard for deep banding of fertilizer. Montag is also pioneering the technology for cover crop seed application. The new Cover Crop+ is able to meter the smallest seed, and can be mounted to tillage implements, combines, plus Hagie sprayers and detasselers.
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.