Despite the downturn in the ag economy, precision farming dealers have largely maintained an ambitious sales outlook, banking on their ability to increase billable service and capture ROI-based revenue from new products.

Talking with precision managers during the last year, many have evolved support plans or emphasized affordable, higher-margin aftermarket software and hardware to farm customers as incremental drivers of dealership revenue.

The results of this year’s seventh annual Precision Farming Dealer benchmark study — with contributions from nearly 180 farm equipment dealers, input retailers and independent precision companies — reflect continued momentum for multi-layered products and agronomic services to bolster overall precision sales.

The 2019 data — collected during the first quarter and second quarter — maintains dealers’ generally positive outlook, with the majority of respondents forecasting measurable growth for the third straight year.

Still, dealers acknowledge ongoing challenges including a dearth of internal talent, lack of a unified business growth plan and market saturation as potential obstacles to meeting
revenue projections.

Says one dealer from Washington, “Most new OEM equipment comes with precision hardware already installed, so the aftermarket business is mature. I think replacing broken or non-repairable field computers with current models while still trying to provide added value when an unexpected expense occurs will be the hardest sell.”

Exceeding Expectations

Comparing responses gathered from 31 different states, Canada and overseas, about 28% of dealers reported precision revenue growth of 8% or more in 2018, slightly ahead of the 26% forecasted in last year’s report.

This marks…