Smart Tech
Smart Tech in Agriculture ‘Still Learning to Fly’
When I was thinking about Smart Tech while walking around this year’s summer and fall trade shows, I was reminded of a comment from the movie “The Karate Kid.” When Daniel asked his mentor to learn a more complicated karate move, Mr. Miyagi’s response was succinct: “First learn stand, then learn fly.”
For much of 2025, the agricultural industry has been a buzz regarding the many new technological advancements being introduced into the market. Artificial intelligence (AI), drones, and autonomous vehicles – and other forms of Smart Tech – have been talked about almost non-stop across various media forms. Given this, I naturally expected Smart Tech products to dominate many of the summer and fall 2025 trade shows.
And there were some such systems to be found. In particular, a handful of companies displayed new smarter drones. Sprayer manufacturers such as New Holland, Miller, Case IH, and John Deere also had products that fit into the Smart Tech category. This included IntelliSpray II, SenseApply, and See & Spray Premium.
However, none of these products were singled out by their exhibitors with showy displays or “new” signage. Instead, attendees interested in these Smart Tech systems found them mixed in with the myriad other products these equipment manufacturers were highlighting at these shows.
Why was this case? According to Gary Esselink, Precision Ag Specialist at Raven Industries, because of what Mr. Miyagi alluded to in his quote.
“Smart Tech is still a relatively new concept for many of these manufacturers,” said Esselink. “I believe we will eventually see much more excitement in this segment very soon. But right now, we are still in the early days of this movement for ag retailers.”
So, for now, the Smart Tech category is still learning to stand out among all the other products and systems in the marketplace. It will have to wait a little longer to learn to fly.
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