CropLife 100 Equipment: Exploring the ‘Other Eight Percent’
As I write this column, I am knee deep in crunching all of the numbers from the 2023 CropLife 100 survey. And while the majority of this data has to do with crop inputs, services, and financial information, a handful of questions look at the ag equipment sector – specifically self-propelled sprayers.
One of these questions asks respondents which manufacturer brands are currently present in their fleets. As might be expected, the majority of these (92% to be exact) belong to one of the three largest companies in this marketplace – CNH (Case IH/Miller/New Holland), John Deere (John Deere/Hagie), and Fendt AGCO. More analysis of these players will be presented in the December 2023 edition of CropLife magazine.
But for this column, I wanted to take a closer look at “the other 8%.” Here, the data is very interesting indeed.
Among the smaller players in self-propelled sprayer manufacturing, two companies control 7% of the market with the nation’s top ag retailers. Biglerville, PA-based GVM is the largest, with a 5% market share according to the 2023 CropLife 100 survey. Looking back over past CropLife 100 surveys, GVM has managed to maintain between a 3% and 5% market share in this sector for almost a decade now.
In second place among “the other 8%” when it comes to self-propelled sprayers at CropLife 100 ag retailers is RBR Enterprise. Normally, this company has been “part of the mix” on each CropLife 100 survey. In 2023, however, the Byhalia, MS-based manufacturer managed to capture 2% market share, according to the results. The remaining 1% included all the other manufacturers in the sector, with Oxbo and Horsch being named.
More importantly perhaps, 3% of the 2023 CropLife 100 survey respondents said they plan to purchase new sprayers from these smaller players during the upcoming growing season. Two percent specifically said buying products from RBR and Horsch was in their future plans.