Consolidation is trending in the precision farming industry with several equipment manufacturers, hardware suppliers and data management providers merging or forming business partnerships in recent months.

Internal consolidation is also taking place as companies look to streamline product and service offerings. At its Dimensions User Conference earlier this month in Las Vegas, Trimble announced the combination of its Connected Farm, Farm Works Software and Agri-Data solutions into one farm data management platform called Trimble Ag Software.

Acknowledging ongoing challenges by farmers to integrate multiple brands of software and hardware products, Benjamin Allen, enterprise solutions manager for Trimble’s Agriculture Division, says there is momentum to develop and provide simpler, more compatible software solutions for retailers to deliver to farm customers.

“We continue to see some integration struggles for the customers we work with. In general, to get their technology needs met, they are having to put together solutions from multiple vendors, multiple providers and stitch them together on their own. And that technology integration burden continues to be a limiting factor in the adoption of agricultural technology.”

The software consolidation comes on the heels of Trimble expanding its new Vantage distribution network, adding 4 new dealerships, including two in the U.S. Precision Ag Partners, based Arkansas, will become Vantage Midsouth, and Agrinetix, based in New York, will become Vantage Northeast.

According to Allen, there are currently 12 Vantage dealers and the goal is to ultimately expand that network to 120 worldwide.