The Ag Equipment Intelligence 2024 Executive Briefing wrapped up on Friday, Dec. 8 after welcoming attendees from all across the ag industry.

About 40% of North American farm equipment dealers expect revenue from sales of new machinery to improve in 2020, while 37% are forecasting little or no change compared to 2019, according to the results of the Ag Equipment Intelligence’s 2020 Dealer Business Outlook & Trends survey.

One of the most talked-about sessions looked at creating a culture of advancement and growth within a precision dealership. 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 collaboration and internal problem-solving — both of which are cornerstones of stability.

Finding and retaining precision farming talent has long been a challenge for equipment dealers, as many look to expand or evolve the scope of their business. While recent years have seen a slowdown in hiring plans, dealers are planning to be more aggressive in adding precision specialists during the coming year.

With growing demand for detailed analysis and data on trends, influences and behaviors within the fast-changing farm equipment market, Lessiter Media has added Alex Zank for the newly-created position of Data Editor in its Ag Division.

Since Ag Equipment Intelligence began formally tracking dealer consolidation in 2009, the number of big dealers has increased by more than 11%.

The precision farming business is aggressively focused on the future — whether its product development and deployment, analytical application of collected field data or conceptual brainstorming of the next breakthrough.

During the last several years, a growing majority of dealers have either established a separate department for precision farming or designated a precision farming specialist as the primary salesperson for ag technology.