Precision Dealers Share Potential Solutions to Biggest Challenges

Apr 04, 2024

The 11th annual Precision Farming Dealer benchmark study recently asked, "What do you see as the biggest challenge facing your precision business in the next 12 months?"

Dealers from across the U.S. and Canada responded with their top challenges and also shared how they plan to address them in 2024.

Challenge: Economy
Potential Solution: Creative financing and deferred payment plants

Challenge: Being able to hit John Deere's benchmarks while remaining profitable
Potential Solution: Stay close to Deere, hope they will provide some help and guidance

Challenge: Prices of goods and services, and unpredictable down time of satellites
Potential Solution: Offer the best service, make sure the customer is getting what they're paying for

Challenge: Transitioning from selling Trimble to selling more Raven and CNH products
Potential Solution: Training our precision specialists so they are able to sell the products

Challenge: Interest rates and the uncertainty in the market
Potential Solution: Try to leverage the knowledge and experience of our team to partner with growers to add value and help them control the things that will put money back into their pocket

Challenge: Charging a higher percentage of precision specialists' time to customers
Potential Solution: Bill more phone support and closely manage what the specialists are doing on a daily basis

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.