Thanks to my young son, I’ve been brought back into a culture I’ve had very little connection with for more than two decades: professional wrestling.

His enthusiasm is infectious and although the faces and names have changed, the story seems to have remained pretty much the same since the Hulk Hogan-era — good vs. bad with a fair dose of drama.

While pro wrestling is certainly more style than substance, the recurring theme of teamwork is one which resonates with my son. Everyone has an ally they can count on and those partnerships are often rewarded with victories or championships.

While there is no title belt in precision farming, the willingness of industry professionals, including iron dealers, agronomists and retailers, to work together will undoubtedly determine the amount of success each segment has individually.

This is a point emphasized by precision farming expert Steve Cubbage in the most recent webinar hosted by Farm Equipment, “Data Management: The Next Frontier for Farm Equipment Dealers.”

Cubbage, president of Prime Meridian and Record Harvest precision companies, discusses the value and opportunity dealers have to capitalize on precision data collection, storage and analysis.

But they won’t be able to do it alone.

“No one entity will control all of the data,” Cubbage says. “Even if they sell all of the technology on the vehicle side, there’s too much information from too many sources to handle everything.”

As Cubbage explains, dealers are realizing the value of working with local retailers and agronomists to develop a data management network for customers, rather than trying to single-handedly provide precision hardware, software, planting prescriptions and soil testing.

There certainly appears to be enough room for everyone to play together, at least for the foreseeable future. According to a recent study, the precision farming market is expected to reach $3.72 million by 2018, at an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.36% from 2013 to 2018.

And while North America leads the way in precision market share, the study projects that the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market will grow at a CAGR of 26.15% from 2013 to 2018.

It will take time to get precision industry professionals to fully work together, and as Cubbage notes, the scarcity of education is a “glaring omission” in the industry today and a roadblock to more rapid growth.

Perhaps not everyone will buy into a collaborative approach, but as the precision universe continues to grow, so too will the need for those invested in the success of their customers to work together in order to pin down the most profitable solutions.