FE March 2018

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

To the Point

It’s in Your Best Interest

By Dave Kanicki posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Operations & Finance

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.
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Precision Farming Dealer Summit

Contrasting, Collaborative Dealers Gather to Bridge Precision Gap

The 2018 Precision Farming Dealer Summit draws sold out crowd in January

By Farm Equipment Staff Report posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Precision Ag Sales & Service

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.
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Precision Farming Dealer Summit

Personalizing Precision Management is the Pathway to Professional Growth

Structure, training, support and progress are the foundations for developing a stable, reliable precision farming team.

By Jack Zemlicka posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Precision Ag Sales & Service

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.
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Precision Farming Dealer Summit

Precision Success Only as Good as Your Internal Training

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.

By Mike Lessiter posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Best Practices, Department Management, Precision Ag Sales & Service

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.
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Precision Farming Dealer Summit

Clearly Defined Culture Breeds a Commitment to Precision Performance

3 diverse dealers dissect the dynamics of a productive employee-manager relationship, along with the detriments of poor communication.

By James DeGraff posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Precision Ag Sales & Service

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.
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Precision Farming Dealer Summit

Adopting an Agronomic Mindset in the Precision Department

3 precision farming experts share how they’ve paired agronomy with their precision farming business to provide solutions for the customer.

By Kim Schmidt posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Precision Ag Sales & Service

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.
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PFD Summit: The Journey to Digitizing Agriculture

Technology is disrupting virtually every economic sector and agriculture is no different. Digitization is the next stage in ag’s disruption.

By Dave Kanicki posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Data & Forecasts, Precision Ag Sales & Service, Product Innovations & Introductions

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.
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Ag Credit Conditions Remain Stable … For Now

Higher interest rates and closer scrutiny by ag lenders could create hurdles for equipment dealers and their customers in 2018.

By Dave Kanicki posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Data & Forecasts, Operations & Finance

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.”
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Farm Equipment Editors Share ‘Biggest Newsmakers’ Out of Winter Farm Shows

From autonomous advancements to the reemergence of an international tractor company in the U.S., Farm Equipment recaps the best from Louisville and Tulare.

By Farm Equipment Staff Report posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Product Innovations & Introductions

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.
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People & Profits

Perspectives on Training: Make It Work, Make It Pay

By George Russell and Daniel Surprenant posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Best Practices, Department Management

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
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Ahead of the Curve

Implement Guidance Gaining New Suitors

By Dan Crummett posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Precision Ag Sales & Service

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.
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Featured Articles

Featured Articles

Precision Farming Dealer Summit

Contrasting, Collaborative Dealers Gather to Bridge Precision Gap

The 2018 Precision Farming Dealer Summit draws sold out crowd in January

By Farm Equipment Staff Report posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Precision Ag Sales & Service

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.
Read More

Ag Credit Conditions Remain Stable … For Now

Higher interest rates and closer scrutiny by ag lenders could create hurdles for equipment dealers and their customers in 2018.

By Dave Kanicki posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Data & Forecasts, Operations & Finance

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.”
Read More

Farm Equipment Editors Share ‘Biggest Newsmakers’ Out of Winter Farm Shows

From autonomous advancements to the reemergence of an international tractor company in the U.S., Farm Equipment recaps the best from Louisville and Tulare.

By Farm Equipment Staff Report posted on March 17, 2018 | Posted in Product Innovations & Introductions

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.
Read More
Online Extras
Online Extras
Online Extras: March 2018 Issue

March 17, 2018

Web-exclusive content for this issue includes:

Additional coverage of the Roundtable Discussions from the Precision Farming Dealer Summit.

Video interviews from the winter farm shows.

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