Smart Tech
Smart Tech Adoption Findings: More Adoption in Ag Retail, But Challenges Remain
December 11, 2025 
Over the past year, Smart Tech has become one of the most talked about categories across the whole of the ag retail market. In fact, it seems as if every conference or event held during 2025 featured at least some discussion of the rapid advances now taking place in agriculture and what this might mean for the industry going forward.
But questions remain. How deep is the market penetration for these Smart Tech systems? More importantly, what barriers remain for more widespread adoption?
To answer these questions, CropLife® Magazine sent out the first annual Smart Tech Adoption Survey this fall as a companion to our yearly CropLife 100 survey of the nation’s top ag retailers. The results show the promise of Smart Tech adoption – and highlight some of the significant challenges remaining for more ag retailers and their grower-customers to embrace this movement.
‘Tried and True’ Systems Top the List
In terms of what kinds of Smart Tech are currently being used by ag retailers, the survey found that the most popular of these were longstanding products. Among respondents able to choose multiple options, 84% said they were using systems such as variable-rate application and GPS guidance. Seventy-one percent cited agri-finance/credit platforms as their Smart Tech of choice in 2025, with another 61% saying they used farm management software in their operations.
Newer technologies are less common. Among respondents, 53% said they were working with drones for spraying and scouting. Only 24% said they were using such Smart Tech systems as sensors and “smart” equipment in their businesses.
As for why these Smart Tech systems may be having a hard time being adopted by ag retailers and their grower-customers, survey respondents cited finances and communications as the biggest obstacles. According to the survey, 39% of respondents said uncertain returns-on-investment was their biggest hurdle to using more Smart Tech in their businesses. Another 22% blamed the lack of interoperability of these systems for not using them. Nineteen percent said the upfront costs were the biggest drawback to adoption.
Obviously, this just scratches the surface of the findings from the Smart Tech Adoption Survey. Look for more information online and in the January 2026 issue of CropLife Magazine.
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