Dave Kanicki

Dave Kanicki

Dave Kanicki is the former Editor/Publisher (retired in 2020) Editor & Publisher of Ag Equipment Intelligence (AEI) and its related research, reports and broadcast channels. He joined Lessiter Publications in 2005 after decades of experience as an Editor & Publisher of metals manufacturing titles. His Farm Equipment and AEI work has been nationally recognized by both trade business and business press associations. He is a graduate of Central Michigan University.

ARTICLES

Kanicki

Quantifying Brand Loyalty

We know from experience that farmers can be resolute in their steadfast dedication to certain equipment colors. When we initiated our first Ag Equipment Brand Loyalty study in 2010, we wanted to find out if what we were hearing from dealers and others about farmer brand loyalty was true. So, we surveyed a couple of thousand Midwestern farmers to gauge their feelings about brand loyalty. Are they or aren’t they?
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Dave Kanicki

Are You Planning for the ‘Next’ Normal?

“For some organizations, near term survival is the only agenda item. Others are peering through the fog of uncertainty, thinking about how to position themselves once the crisis has passed and things return to normal. The question is, ‘What will normal look like?’ While no one can say how long the crisis will last, what we find on the other side will not look like the normal of recent years.”
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Kanicki

What About Capital Expenditures?

So, we’ve heard a lot from USDA about commodity prices and projected planted acres for 2020, but little or nothing about capital expenditure expectations. It exists but doesn’t capture much attention from much of the ag industry. I suppose this is because most farm spending is dependent on commodity prices.
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Kanicki

Leasing, Automation & Brand Loyalty

“With all of the automation coming … and the cost of repairs and parts … along with cost of new machinery, it’s getting ridiculous,” said Robert Blair during the Ag Equipment Intelligence Executive Briefing virtual event held last month. The Idaho grower added, “The cost of parts is really starting to drive some of my decisions, as well.”
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Kanicki

Another Decade Down: More of the Same Ahead?

It’s just about a wrap on the second decade of the 2000s and from my perspective things are looking a “little” better than they have in a while in some respects, but not so much in others. For the most part, the first half of the last decade is very different from the second half. But it’s simply a matter of ag cycles and plateaus, according to some.
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Kanicki

Everybody’s Looking for Some ‘Real’ Good News

Most of the dealers and others I’ve spoken with or heard from in the past couple of months seem to agree — 2019 was a weird year. It was hard to get a fix on what was going on and very little was “typical.” There are more variables than usual, I think.
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2020 Dealer Business Outlook & Trends Summary

Dealer Optimism in Short Supply for 2020

Poor planting conditions in major ag regions combined with ongoing trade disputes are contributing to more uncertainty than usual for North American farm equipment dealers.
In the past year, the Ag Equipment Intelligence “Dealer Optimism Index,” which measures sentiment among dealers compared to the prior month, has yet to move into positive territory. The index is based on a monthly survey of North American farm equipment dealers that asks if they are more or less optimistic about their business prospects or feel about the same as they did in the previous survey.
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Kanicki

Trade Issues Cloud Dealers’ View of 2020

The 2020 Dealer Business Outlook & Trends report has just been released to Ag Equipment Intelligence subscribers. There’s little doubt that current trade issues have added to agriculture’s usual uncertainties (weather, commodity prices, etc.) and everyone is guessing about the potential outcome.
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Kanicki

Single-Store Deere Dealer Calls It Quits

We heard from an old friend, and now an ex-equipment dealer, last week. He said he’s thrown in the towel, sold his single-store John Deere dealership and is now looking at other possibilities for what to do with the rest of his working career.
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Kanicki
From the Desk of Dave Kanicki

Is Ag’s Next ‘Big’ Disrupter on the Horizon?

When I was involved in the metalcasting industry, I often felt like a voice in the wilderness in urging foundries to stop commoditizing the engineered cast iron and steel components they were manufacturing by selling them by the pound. I don’t know how much good it did.
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