Agronomic service is still a push-pull offering for dealers. Some have proactively embraced and invested in providing robust support options to customers that include soil sampling, data analysis and field prescriptions.

Others have opted to focus on their core revenue drivers, which may favor hardware and equipment-specific services. In either case, dealers acknowledge the intersection agronomy has with farm machinery, whether they are seeking to carve out a profitable niche in the market or not.

Overall, the seventh annual Precision Farming Dealer Benchmark study reflects continued momentum toward development and delivery of agronomic or data-driven services.

Agronomic Investment

Half of responding dealers say they offer data management service in conjunction with precision product sales. While the total is down from 2018 (57.3%) and 2017 (56.7%), it’s ahead of 2016 (48.9%) and the fifth time in the 7-year history of the study at least half of responding dealers said they offer data management support.

After reaching a high of 48.6% last year, those dealers requiring agronomic training for precision specialists dipped to 39.7% in 2019. The total is ahead of 2017 (37.7%) and 2016 (22.8%) totals, but correlates with a continued decline in precision specialists being the primary provider of agronomic services for dealerships.

About 53% of respondents utilize precision specialists as their agronomic point person in 2019, down from about 63% last year and 68% in 2017. Though still the most popular option, other avenues for providing agronomic services gained in popularity (see chart at right).

Almost one-quarter of dealers…