I can assure you that in Agriculture, trends are every bit as present as they are in any other walk of life. Our challenge when it comes to being a technology group is that we are constantly looking at new gadgets, gizmos, and concepts. Some of them are obviously great new tools, some are sketchy, half-baked things doomed to failure, and some are questionable.

A prolonged cold snap has settled into most of the U.S., with unseasonably frigid temperatures stretching across most of the nation. While many of us look forward to thawing out, the frigid stretch is a welcome change for some precision farming dealers, especially in the Midwest, who saw a frantic finish to 2017.

Returning from an educational and enriching visit to present our 2018 Most Valuable Dealership (MVD) award last week, I’ve had time to reflect on the reasons why our independent judging panel selected the winner of the 6th annual program.

Market share is viewed as a measurement of success, especially among farm equipment manufacturers in the U.S. But the landscape — both literally and figuratively — is different in Europe.

In search of a simple, yet satisfying explanation of the Internet of Things (IoT) it seemed logical to scour the one place I was sure to find an answer; the Internet.

We all know that good help is hard to find. But it’s also hard to keep. This has long been a challenge for dealerships, regardless of size, brand or location.

Field Analytics is the emerging buzz area of Precision Ag. It has existed for several years in many different forms and offerings, but never really gained a lot of momentum or a large following. And honestly, it’s because it is a challenging proposition to get correct.

Verizon announced that it plans to phase out its 2G and 3G networks by 2021 and transition customers into its LTE network. This isn’t a new revelation and other providers are following suit. But as the sunset dates near, it’s got the attention of GPS and auto-steering suppliers in the ag industry.

Walking the aisles at this year’s Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill., there were the usual new equipment innovations on display. But it’s the behind-the-scenes developments that also caught my attention, specifically how precision manufacturers are integrating more automation and connectivity into their products.