Autonomous vehicles may seem like a futuristic concept, but they are closer to reality in agriculture than many would expect. Manufacturers and developers — both large and small — are advancing the technology with plans for these systems to one day become mainstream ag machinery.

Arlin Sorensen, CEO and founder of HTS Ag, to kick-off 2nd Precision Farming Dealer Summit in St. Louis, with a general session on setting and attaining measurable goals to build lasting value with a precision farming business.

AMS specialists at Van Wall Equipment are at farms 12 months of the year. Scott Meldrum, integrated solutions manager for Van Wall, talks about how that relationship is about way more than selling as it involves getting equipment set up, managing data and understanding the customers' needs. Van Wall earned top honors in Farm Equipment's 2016 Dealership of the Year program.

Scott Meldrum, integrated solutions manager for Van Wall Equipment, shares that about 40% of crop insurance policies have an error in them that would cause that policy to fail an audit. Meldrum talks about how Van Wall ensures their customers' policies are not in the 40%. Van Wall Equipment earned top honors in Farm Equipment's 2016 Dealership of the Year program.

Scott Meldrum, integrated solutions manager for Van Wall Equipment, talks about the growth of the dealership's precision department. When Meldrum started working at Van Wall about 6 years ago, the dealership had 3 AMS specialists at 5 locations. In 2016, they now have 10 AMS specialists at 16 stores. They've also added agronomy positions to the Integrated Solutions department. Van Wall Equipment earned top honors in Farm Equipment's 2016 Dealership of the Year program.

Todd Janzen sees the new ag technology firms making mistakes because they assume farming is just like any other business. Farming is different. Here is his list of 5 things every Silicon Valley startup should known about Midwestern farmers.