Farm Director, KC Sheperd, had the chance to visit with the Director of Agricultural Services at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), Austin Gelling.
“When you take a look at equipment sales, it is kind of a bit of a mixed bag,” Gellings said. “When you get into the lower horsepower range, we are maybe seeing a bit of a dip. But, I think that’s kind of reflective as to the economy as we’re moving into an election year, but do when you look at starting to get into the upper horsepower range and the four-wheel drive tractors and self-propelled combines, you know, things are still looking good.”
Gelling said he believes that farmer sentiment is still holding strong. It is an exciting time, Gelling added, because of the new technology that is coming out.
“We have got a lot of new and innovative things coming out, that are really helping to make farms more efficient,” Gelling said. “Any farmer will tell you; you know, you operate on the margin. That’s kind of where you live or die and make your bread and butter. So, anything that can come along and help farmers maximize those margins and give them insights into how they can better their operations and become more efficient-that’s really where I think farmer interest is going to lie.”
As some farmers may have mixed feelings about new technology, Gellings said he recommends slowly trying new technologies instead of diving in head first.
“Start small, and if that works, work your way up,” Gellings said. “I think that is the easiest way to prove that it works.”
With broadband set to improve across the state of Oklahoma, Gellings said technology and data will continue to improve to aid farmers in their production practices.
“I think if you go back just a couple of years, we were gathering all this data but really didn’t know what to do with it,” Gelling said. “We are starting to move into actually understanding how we can utilize and leverage this data. So, I think, you know, that’s an area where we’re vastly improving along with addressing the connectivity side of things.”
As far as the state of the industry is concerned, Gellings said he sees production agriculture in a good spot.
“I think in the wake of COVID, people are starting to realize how fragile our supply chain was,” Gellings said. “As a result, there’s more appreciation for where our food comes from.”
Farmers are in a great position to be part of the solution in the sustainability conversation, Gellings said, so as producers continue to tell their stories, appreciation for the industry will likely increase.
