Finding and retaining precision farming talent has long been a challenge for equipment dealers, as many look to expand or evolve the scope of their business. While recent years have seen a slowdown in hiring plans, dealers are planning to be more aggressive in adding precision specialists during the coming year.

As many farmers prepare for the heat of harvest, several dealers spent the summer providing customers with opportunities to track crop growth on a smaller scale.

Last week at the Farm Progress Show, Ames, Iowa-based technology developer Smart Ag showcased its AutoCart autonomous technology during a field day demonstration. Constructed as an aftermarket kit, the AutoCart can be installed into the cab of a tractor and synced with a combine during harvest season to give a grower control of two machines from one location.

The last half-decade has seen both subtle and dramatic shifts in dealer priorities, with evolving sales goals and service objectives. But results of the recently released sixth annual Precision Farming Dealer benchmark study reinforce several trends for how dealers plan to achieve continued business growth.

Over the past few months, Seedmaster Mfg. and sister company Dot Technology Corp. finalized the hiring process for new corporate leadership. Leah Olsen, who also serves as president of the Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada, will serve as CEO, while Jeffery Bourasa will bring 15 years of Saskatchewan-based finance and leadership experience into the CFO role.

Last week, data servicer Farmobile acquired the assets of Prime Meridian, a precision agriculture data management company out of Nevada, Mo. The move aims to utilize Prime Meridian’s advisors in data analysis and agronomy for Farmobile’s new data stewardship offering, DataServices.

If the ag industry has taught precision farming dealers anything during the last few years, it’s that no longer can they rely on singular sales of hardware and expect to grow business. For some, this has been a hard lesson learned. But the evolving market has allowed adaptable dealers to capitalize on changing technology priorities among their farm customers.

Last month, I stopped by Nebraska Equipment, a Case IH dealer based in Seward, Neb., to discuss hiring in the precision industry with sales manager Kenny Pekarek. The timing of the visit was fitting, as the dealership was just one week into hiring its first precision intern, not coincidentally during the heart of planting season.

Last month, I traveled to Lincoln, Neb., to cover the Agricultural Electronics Foundation Plugfest event. For hours on end, developers from around the world tested their platforms for compatibility in a round-robin format, hoping to fix any underlying issues en route to eventually achieving ISOBUS certification.

As planting ramps up after spring was slow to arrive in many parts of North America, farmers will be closely monitoring their early-season fertilizer applications to ensure crops get off to a strong start. Use of nitrogen stabilizers are a staple on some farms to prolong the effectiveness of spring-applied nutrients. But a new company is beta-testing a unique alternative to chemically-applied nitrogen inhibitors.