A Precision Farming Dealer Staff Report

Attracting farm customers can provide an initial influx of precision profit for dealerships, but it’s the subsequent service that keeps farmers coming back to create a recurring source of revenue.

Featuring a speaker lineup that included 12 leading dealer groups representing more than $1.3 billion in annual revenue, the 4^th Precision Farming Dealer Summit held at the Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis, on Jan. 7-8, drew a sold out crowd of 171 precision farming professionals from more than 69 different dealerships across 26 states, as well as Canada and Australia.  

Emphasizing the theme Building Business Value with Recurring Revenue,  Skip Klinefelter, owner of Linco-Precision in El Paso, Ill., noted during his opening general session that success and survival of precision dealers will require continuous improvement at a rate set by the leading edge of competition, not by your own comfort zone.

While no dealership has perfected the model for effective, efficient recurring service revenue, the 14 speakers, 3 sets of roundtable discussions and dynamic networking opportunities at the 2 day conference, sought to candidly deliver actionable cornerstones for banking on billable support as a sustainable source of precision profit.

Takeaways ranged from the practical (hire smart, fire fast) to the theoretical (are all-inclusive annual precision plans the future?) and attendees extended their network of precision partnerships before heading home.

From the single-location independent retailer to the multi-store farm equipment dealer, the veteran precision ag manager to the newly hired specialist, the passion for precision farming was prevalent during each structured learning session and hallway conversations.

This is just a snapshot of the 2019 Summit’s unique, knowledge-sharing environment. Stay tuned for extended coverage of the Summit in the March 2019 issue of Farm Equipment magazine and online at www.PrecisionFarmingDealer.com and www.Farm-Equipment.com.

Summer Print Edition Preview

Delivering Data-Driven Solutions: Scope, Scale & Security

As agronomic services become increasingly integrated into the business plans of dealerships — both large and small — one panel at the 2019 Precision Farming Dealer Summit provided success stories and cautionary tales on how to approach collection, analysis and protection of farm customers’ data.

Craig Benedict, ag technology solutions manager, Reynolds Farm Equipment in Noblesville, Ind., Ryan Powell, information services manager, Ag Info Tech, Fredericktown, Ohio, and Todd Janzen, attorney, Janzen Ag Law, in Indianapolis, Ind., each shared their unique approaches and advice for expanding agronomic services and protecting data.

Stay tuned for detailed coverage of this panel discussion in the Summer 2018 print edition of Precision Farming Dealer.