Smart Tech
Smart Tech in Ag Retail: What’s Being Used Now — and What’s Coming in 2026
March 3, 2026 
Over the past year, Smart Tech has become one of the most talked about categories across the whole of the ag retail market. Late last year, CropLife® Magazine, conducted the first annual Smart Tech Adoption Survey to find out more about this upcoming category.
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 return 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.
The Read on 2026
In terms of what kinds of Smart Tech ag retailers plan to invest in for the 2026 growing season, two types of products stand out from the crowd. The first are data analysis and visualization tools. According to the survey, 29% of respondents plan to spend money on these kinds of Smart Tech systems over the next 12 to 24 months. A close second on the list was advanced equipment automation, which was cited by 26% of survey respondents as something they plan to invest in during 2026 and 2027.
Third on the list was edge or cloud computing infrastructure. This was chosen by 15% of the CropLife Smart Tech survey respondents as their purchase target for 2026. The other two items on the list — connectivity and interoperability platforms and carbon/sustainability tracking software — were each selected by 10% of survey respondents. The remaining 10% of ag retailers indicated that the Smart Tech products they buy in 2026 will include such items as spray drones, turning systems, and software.
Going further out, regarding what kinds of Smart Tech products ag retailers believe will drive value for their businesses over the next five years, the results were a little more mixed. Leading the pack was digital agronomy/advisory services at 25%. A close second was data analysis/artificial intelligence (AI)-driven insights at 24%. The only other product sector to finish in this percentage range was financial and risk management tools at 20%.
Outside this group, the highest finisher among Smart Tech items that ag retailers were looking at over the next five years was equipment automation and robotics. According to the survey, 18% of respondents think these products will drive value between now and the end of the decade.
For more Smart Tech topics, click here.
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