This year has shown interesting new developments in market sentiments, with dealers continuing to slowly move away from hardware and steer sharply toward data management for future revenue, according to the seventh annual Precision Farming Dealer Benchmark Study.

Agronomic service is still a push-pull offering for dealers. Some have proactively embraced and invested in providing robust support options to customers that include soil sampling, data analysis and field prescriptions.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, at least in terms of how dealers are selling and servicing precision farming products. While strides have been made establishing precision as a standalone business, dealerships continue to seek a better balance between revenue generated by hardware sales and service.

Despite the downturn in the ag economy, precision farming dealers have largely maintained an ambitious sales outlook, banking on their ability to increase billable service and capture ROI-based revenue from new products.

The last 6 years have seen both subtle and dramatic shifts in dealer priorities with precision business. For the first few years, hardware held a firm grip on the most promising areas for future profit, but there has been a gradual shift in where dealers see their greatest growth potential.

A common refrain from dealers who reflect on the hey-day of precision products is that technology tended to sell itself, with little or no assistance needed by salespeople.

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.