21 AGCO acquired Precision Planting in 2017 and announced the PTx venture in 2024. Crawford is confident that farmers can believe in what AGCO is bringing to the market. “I think people were skeptical a few years ago, thinking this is another OEM buying a technology company and they’re not going to make it available for my brand of equipment or continue a dedicated channel to bring advanced technology to precision agriculture,” he said. “I hope we’re proving people wrong by now. Farmers don’t have to completely flip their fleet to get the latest technology. They can incrementally invest and realize the benefits.” A 2023 USDA report on technology use found that 27 percent of farmers use some sort of precision technology. That percentage was up from 25 percent in 2021. Flip to page 6 for a breakdown of precision agriculture usage by state. The more comprehensive, user friendly and reliable precision ag becomes, the more farmers may be willing to adopt it, Crawford said. “My passion is to make precision ag easy to use and reliable so farmers can realize the full capability, and that’s where I think the future is super bright,” he said. “There’s more capability being developed today in related technologies, such as artificial intelligence, that helps us see how farmers are using it, and then be able to offer solutions on how they can maximize those capabilities while they’re in the season.” | pag CHOOSE BETWEEN CROP NEWSLETTERS IN YOUR REGION, A FARM MACHINERY NEWSLETTER, OR THIS DIGITAL DIGEST. “FARMERS DON’T HAVE TO COMPLETELY FLIP THEIR FLEET TO GET THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY. THEY CAN INCREMENTALLY INVEST AND REALIZE THE BENEFITS.”
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