Any precision specialist in the throes of a busy season can find themselves wishing they could be everywhere at once — especially if multiple farmers have repairs that can easily be addressed in 5-10 minutes.

While the downturn in the ag equipment market has stalled sales of precision products for many dealers, that hasn’t diminished the need for qualified specialists to service technology.

Mazeppa, Minn., farmer Rod Sommerfield has a very forward-looking view of precision agriculture. He believes the best evolution path is toward smaller, more autonomous machines that will look at the field microenvironment and adjust crop inputs for optimal yield on the spot.

Volkswagen (VW) has been in the news lately after university researchers discovered its "clean diesel" emissions were as much as 40 times higher than EPA regulations allowed.