The 2026 Precision Farming Dealer Summit in St. Louis was a great learning experience for Christian Kessler, who was one of a few educators in attendance. Kessler teaches agronomy courses at Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill., and manages the college’s research farm.

“I wanted to come to this conference to learn more about precision agriculture,” Kessler says. “I can take what I learn back to my students, develop courses and prepare them for opportunities in their careers.” 

One of Kessler’s top takeaways from the Summit is to not be afraid of technology coming down the pipeline. The people that aren’t adapting to changes in agriculture are going to fall behind, he says.

“AI was another big takeaway,” Kessler adds. “If you’re not using it, start using it today, that way you can learn about it and get it to fit what you need from it. It could also allow you to expand your knowledge and take you different places that you didn’t think you’d end up.”

Growing up, precision technology was essentially a foreign concept on Kessler's family farm. Back in 2009, their newest piece of equipment was a planter from 1991, he recalls.

“Other than that, we farmed with equipment from the 70s and 80s,” Kessler says. “At Lake Land, I’ve learned a lot about precision technology in a short amount of time because I had never been exposed to it before. It’s important to just make sure people are aware of what’s out there and how it can benefit their operations. It always comes down to dollars and cents.”

Today, Kessler teaches his students the basics of precision technology, without getting too far in the weeds covering the ins and outs of different brands and innovations. But with some of the connections he made at the Summit, a deeper dive with his students might become more of a possibility.  

“In talking with different dealers here, they’ve all made the comment that they’d love to partner with us to provide training materials, help develop courses and get their products in front of our students,” Kessler says. “We have a 170-acre ‘land lab’ where we’d be able to play with some of this stuff.”

Kessler picked up a wealth of information during the 2-day Summit, he says, and heads back to Lake Land with some new perspective on precision ag.

“I didn’t have many expectations because I’ve never been to a conference like this before,” Kessler says. “I came in with an open mind. The people here are sharing what they’re doing in their operations. There’s no holding back. The good, the bad and the ugly — they’re sharing it all so people can learn from them.”

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