New Technology Highlights Agriculture’s Winter Trade Shows
March 6, 2019 As I write this column, I’ve just finished the annual winter trade show circuit. For those in the know, this involves numerous state association shows throughout the month of January and then dove-tails quickly into huge national events, such as the National Farm Machinery Show and the Commodity Classic. At each of these events, equipment manufacturers gather to show off their latest products and talk with customers, both existing and potentially new.
In addition, folks also tend to use these winter events to get a read on how the upcoming growing season will ultimately play out. This year much of the talk was dominated by the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China (and its impact on agriculture), the recent government shutdown, and “the wall” (not the Pink Floyd album).
From the ag retail equipment side of things, the talk was quiet. Most winter trade show-goers were already looking forward to the 2020 growing season with their product releases. But there were plenty of new products for growers that focused on improving ag equipment technology and making the transfer of massive amounts of gathered field data more seamless, which simplifies decision making.
Naturally, this fits a familiar pattern for ag equipment makers — introduce new tech for grower machines, followed by retailer rigs a year or two later. In fact, when I pointed this out to one manufacturer representative, he simply smiled at me and said, “No comment.”
I take that as a “yes,” things on the new technology front will be heating up very shortly for ag retailers.
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