Sara Loritz, parts technician at Vanderloop Equipment in Brillion, Wis., estimates that she spends 75% of her time at work talking with customers, whether on the phone or in person.

As farm machinery costs increase far beyond the rate of inflation, making a new machine pencil out may require some creative thinking about its potential uses and how farm operational expenses will change in the next decade.

Early on in my Day in the Cab visit with Pete Kopriva, precision farming specialist at Case IH dealer J.J. Nichting, he said the amount of phone calls he was getting had “really died down” since the previous week.

Whether your precision team consists of 2 people or 20, a commitment to excellent customer service, a solid training program and measurable expense benchmarks will put your precision department on a path to profitability.

Since the early days of no-till, a practice that began commercially in the U.S. in 1962, this group of farmers has embraced and found success with precision agriculture.

Record360’s ServicePro platform allows precision specialists, technicians and other dealership staff to text with customers and track work orders through an app, creating more seamless customer communication.

Independent precision ag dealer Premier Technologies, based in Alden, Iowa, serves customers new to the precision world and those who are looking to advance the capabilities of their existing equipment of all colors. “We work with newer equipment of all colors, too, and Ag Leader is the glue in that situation," says Charles “Chuck” Hadacek, precision specialist at Premier Technologies.

Colorblind precision agriculture products, or brand agnostic products, can give dealers and customers flexibility.

Strip-till, a technology-driven farming practice that requires specialized equipment and knowledge, presents an opportunity for dealerships and their precision departments to establish authority and increase revenue.