News broke last week that, it appears the mega-merger between Bayer and Monsanto will happen, creating another diverse giant in the ag industry. The Germany-based Bayer had launched data-driven platforms including xario and Zoner in recent years. But in an increasingly crowded data management service field, those brands got little if any attention in North America.

Last week in Valley City, N.D., John Deere showcased their largest version of the 1895 No-Till Drill to date with a 60-foot model. Offered in addition to the release of the drill is the RelativeFlow Blockage Monitoring system, designed to monitor each primary tower and secondary hose on the drill for seeding blockages, and alert users of any particular issues from the cab before they occur.

Technology adoption among farmers can be influenced by supply and demand for certain precision systems. While there are other variables farmers consider prior to purchasing hardware, there is are general precision practices that apply to the majority of North American farms, including auto-steer systems and GPS guidance.

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.

Since Monsanto purchased the The Climate Corp. in 2013 for nearly $1 billion, the ensuring years have seen some dramatic changes in the precision farming landscape.

Peer groups are nothing new to the agricultural industry, but developing a network of external support is an increasingly valuable resource for precision farming professionals. Joining or even forming a precision peer group of non-competitive dealers is an option to network with other specialists and trade tips, challenges and success stories.

Having returned from the third Precision Farming Dealer Summit last week in Louisville, I’ve had an opportunity to reflect on a few of the highlights. The sold-out conference drew nearly 170 attendees including representatives from more than 70 dealerships throughout 26 states, along with Australia, Canada and South Africa.

While we officially welcomed the new year this week, dealers began preparing for 2018 long before flipping the calendar to January. This includes forecasting the most promising precision technologies to increase revenue in the coming year. Precision Farming Dealer recently asked dealers to identify their best precision bets, and the results ranged from expanding service offerings to new product lines.  

Every two years, the Equipment Dealers Assn. (or EDA) releases their Compensation & Benefits Report, a comparison of salaries, benefits and unique components of compensation plans from 1,500 dealership responses throughout North America. Included in the most recent report, released and compiled in 2016, is a widened scope on precision farming-related positions, both at the corporate and dealership level.

The term artificial intelligence, or AI, as it relates to agriculture, is often equated with other trending technologies like autonomous equipment and field sensors. But AI-based equipment is distinct in that rather than being programed to perform a function, it’s being designed to interpret data pulled from the field, act on it and teach itself best practices in the process.