Federal law prohibits price fixing or collusion among competitors. As more ag data moves from farmers' tractors and computers into the cloud, the temptation to price fix by ag technology providers grows. Is it inevitable that sooner or later, ag data platform providers will conspire to fix prices?

I’ve typically been one to lend a neighbor, friend or family member a tool, book or household supplies when in need. I’ve certainly been on the borrowing end of the equation and I’m happy to reciprocate.

As dealer optimism continues to inch upward heading into the second quarter of 2017, no-till farmers are eyeing increased adoption of numerous precision farming technologies.

Our most recent online poll asks how soon dealers expect autonomous vehicles to be commercially available, and the vast majority don’t expect we’ll be waiting very long.

What will Elon Musk's impact be on agriculture? This is what I kept thinking after reading his biography by Ashlee Vance (Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future) and, although the only part about agriculture was a brief period in Musk’s life working on a family farm in Canada, I think there is a lot agriculture can learn from entrepreneurs like Musk.

With a week to digest the global buffet of equipment, technology and agricultural trends on display at the SIMA Agribusiness Show in Paris, France, I particularly enjoyed visiting with some of the young innovators showcasing progressive products.

Greetings from the SIMA show in Paris. One of the highlights of the event thus far has been an international dealer session, where retailers and distribution coordinators shared the state of their country’s equipment distribution model.

Returning from last week’s National Farm Machinery Show, many of the precision product suppliers I spoke with shared a generally optimistic view on the next 10 months of 2017.

It’s no secret that as the precision hardware market continues to mature, profit margins are shrinking for many dealers who are selling into a saturated and increasingly competitive market.

A number of poultry growers have filed suit against Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, and other poultry integrators alleging that growers’ production data was shared among integrators to depress grower payments. This is the first case where farmers’ ag data is the center of the lawsuit.