Collaboration In Ag Technology
In three short years, manufacturers of precision technology have moved to acquire, partner, an ally themselves with companies that serve to strengthen their market positions and gain a competitive edge. The accompanying graphics serve to illustrate the drastic changes, especially amongst the more entrepreneurial companies.
– Trimble and Ag Leader, whose decade-long partnership had become strained in recent years, was finally severed in November when Ag Leader announced a new partnership with AutoFarm.
– Ag Leader also struck an agreement with sensor manufacturer Holland Scientific, which will yield its first product for the 2010 season.
– Trimble spent 2009 and late 2008 making acquisitions to diversify its product offerings, including software manufacturer FarmWorks, seed controller company Rawson Control Systems, planter clutch maker TruCount, and on-the-go sensor manufacturer NTech Industries. Trimble also struck a strategic partnership with Dickey-john.
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– Raven Industries partnered with AutoFarm on developing new technology.It also acquired Canadian technology company Ranchview (an unknown player in the US Precision Agriculture market) which was a key component in the development of Raven’s Slingshot brand. Raven also bought a minority stake in SST Software.
– Pioneer Hi-Bred acquired software manufacturer MapShots Inc.
– SST and Raven worked closely with Monsanto, as the biotech giant began developing its own proprietary agronomic recommendation software.
– Leica and TeeJet struck up a strategic alliance
– Topcon and AGCO kicked off a strategic alliance that will bring Topcon’s technology research and development power to the equipment giant.
– CDMS launched a new agronomic decision making program called Adviser
All this means that 2010 will be a year of challenging transition, as dealers settle in on an evolving product line and growers try to figure out their next move with their precision technology. Stay tuned to PrecisionAg.com for the lastest news on the precision front!
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