From humble, yet ambitious beginnings, Ag Leader Technology founder Al Myers developed one of the cornerstone innovations in precision farming, and has his sights set on the next game-changer for the industry.

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.

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.

The Monsanto subsidiary announced its R&D pipeline of more than 35 projects, the first in-depth pipeline of its kind in the digital agriculture industry.

Dealers voice both disappointment and relief to the termination of Deere's planned acquisition of Precision Planting and discuss the impact the outcome could have on their businesses going forward.