Tech Hub LIVE Day 3: Digging Through the Data
July 22, 2026 
As the 2026 Tech Hub LIVE Conference wrapped up its latest edition, the spotlight shifted from what kinds of new technologies are begin employed across the ag industry to how to properly manage all this information.
Day 3 of the conference started with a series of discussions on this topic as part of the popular Fireside Chats. With participants representing the ag retail and grower sectors, this video talks looked at how ag retailers can best utilize artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations and what benefits these kinds of systems bring to the table. According to Brendan Bachman from GROWMARK, his company’s recently introduced AI-powered myFS Agronomy system is a perfect example of this in action.
“When we look at AI, it is only as good as the context it has,” said Bachman. “What we are doing with myFS Agronomy is getting all the relevant agronomic, soil, environmental, and product data information into one spot to analyze a whole host of variables.”
However, as Kyle Courtney, a grower and founder of AgriAI Coop, pointed out, keeping a proper handle on all this data is very important to the grower community.
“AI is making it very easy to access all the valuable data a grower has,” said Courtney. “But we have to put some safeguards in place when accessing this data so that only the correct people are being able to use it for the benefit of the grower.”
The keynote speaker of Tech Hub LIVE Day 3 also looked at the data question. However, this was viewed through the lens of how ag retailers are adopting newer technologies into their operations.
According to Purdue University’s Bruce Erickson, the university’s annual Precision Ag Adoption Survey, compiled in partnership with CropLife Magazine, many ag retailers are still struggling to make newer technologies “make a profit” for their operations.
“According to our data, soil sampling and variable rate fertilizer still make money for ag retailers, with 64% of respondents saying this was the case for them in 2025-26,” said Erickson. “However, for some newer systems such as machine vision weed detection spraying systems, 33% of ag retailers say this service is a money loser for them.”
Given circumstances, perhaps these kinds of numbers shouldn’t be that surprising. In one of the final sessions at the 2026 Tech Hub LIVE Conference, Dave Swain, Founder of Vision Tech Management, explained many users of newer ag technologies are still behind in their way of managing them properly.
“I saw a comment online that said our industry needs to stop calculating ag tech return-on-investment like it’s still 1995,” said Swain. “We now have very different tools being used today. If you want to make a profit on ag technologies, you need to come up with a more modern return-on-investment model to use.”
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