From Prediction to Reality: What the PACE Retail 2025 Report Got Right
July 16, 2025 Occasionally, we here at CropLife® like to do a bit of crystal ball gazing. Going out on a hypothetical limb, we will speculate what the upcoming years might look like for ag retailers.
Recently, while digging through our archives, I run across a speculative piece CropLife published back in early 2021. Called PACE Retail 2025, this report sought to imagine what agriculture would be like for ag retailers by the middle of the 2020s. First, the report looked back at some historical events that had already shaped the industry. Then, it looked at the ag retail world of 2021. Finally, PACE Retail 2025 speculated what the key drivers would be for ag retailers to survive into our current calendar year.
To appreciate what the report speculated, it’s helpful to understand where things stood at the moment in time it was published. In early 2021, the world was just coming through a global pandemic. Because of decreased demand and supply chain disruptions, dozens of agricultural companies and retailers were consolidating. The PACE Retail 2025 tried to identify what traits those entities that survived and thrived into 2025 would possess and cultivate.
Now that we are halfway through 2025, it’s interesting to see what traits CropLife speculated ag retailers of today would have. In my mind, three stand out. The first is technology.
“Survivors will have learned how to use technology to interact more frequently and more efficiently with their customers,” CropLife wrote. And few could argue this point. Today, an embracing of all kinds of technology — from interact systems to Smart Tech — has become a way of life for all of agriculture. And the coming of artificial intelligence (AI) promise to fulfill one of the prophecies of PACE Retail 2025. “Grower data is a huge opportunity for retailers, and whoever figures it out first will have a significant advantage,” said the report.
The second trait today’s ag retailers will possess is to proactively embrace new ways of thinking and fresh challenges. “[They will] take charge amid the uncertain developments to come in areas such as technology, sustainability, and carbon programs,” said industry veteran Tim McArdle. “To be competitive, we have to get out there on the edge sometimes.”
Third, we guessed that ag retailers in 2025 would actively develop partnerships with customers, suppliers, and channel partners, recognizing that “going it alone” is not a long-term survival strategy. “Ag retailer survivors of 2025 will have developed strong partnerships-like relationships,” said The Farrell Growth Group’s Jim Farrell.
And this certainly has come to pass. In the last few years, dozens of ag retailers, suppliers, growers, and channel partners have announced partnerships with one another to benefit all the parties involved.
In conclusion, the PACE Retail 2025 report speculated that today’s ag retailers would never lose sight of the business fundamentals that helped found this industry: “[Having] the right people, the right products, and the partners,” CropLife wrote.
In this sense, the vision for the ag retailer of 2025 looks an awful lot like the one the entire marketplace has had since the first outlet opened its doors.
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