Ag equipment manufacturers keen on joining ag video game space

Apr 20, 2023

Developers of Farming Simulator are having to turn away equipment requests

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The video game sector, expected to be worth north of $100 billion in 2023, includes games inspired by multiple industries – including agriculture.

Farming Simulator from Giants Software, for example, is the top farming simulator game in the world.

The game allows players to control hundreds of licensed tractors, combines, cultivators, loaders and other pieces of equipment from some of the top ag machinery manufacturers in the world.

Each version of Farming Simulator can include up to 500 pieces of equipment, and equipment makers want in on the game’s success.

In fact, the game has grown in popularity to the point where developers at Giants Software are turning away requests from some manufacturers who want to see their equipment included in upcoming versions of the game.

Farms.com recently connected with reps from the video game developer to find out how a piece of equipment is integrated into the game and the feedback they’ve received from ag equipment manufacturers.

Video: How women saved agricultural economics and other ideas for why diversity matters | Jill J. McCluskey

Dr. Jill J. McCluskey, Regents Professor at Washington State University and Director of the School of Economic Science

Dr. McCluskey documents that women entered agricultural economics in significant numbers starting in the 1980s, and their ranks have increased over time. She argues that women have increased the relevance in the field of agricultural economics through their diverse interests, perspectives, and experiences. In their research, women have expanded the field's treatment of non-traditional topics such as food safety and nutrition and environmental and natural resource economics. In this sense, women saved the Agricultural Economics profession from a future as a specialty narrowly focused on agricultural production and markets. McCluskey will go on to discuss some of her own story and how it has shaped some of her thinking and research. She will present her research on dual-career couples in academia, promotional achievement of women in both Economics and Agricultural Economics, and work-life support programs.

The Daryl F. Kraft Lecture is arranged by the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, with the support of the Solomon Sinclair Farm Management Institute, and in cooperation with the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.