Times are tough for producers, and dealers need a silver lining. Between the chaos caused by late planting, followed by the cloud of uncertainty created by the trade disputes with China, equipment dealers’ sentiment came in lower in this year’s Ag Equipment Intelligence 2020 Business Outlook & Trends Farm Equipment Forecast.

What percentage of annual revenues is derived from production farming, hobby farms/large property owners, etc.? Check out this data.

Many economic indicators that measure the general health of the U.S. economy are trending upward, and this is good news for rural lifestyle dealers who count on sales of smaller equipment and machinery. This is particularly true when compared to dealerships who rely on big ag equipment for a bulk of their sales.

For dealers who focus on the rural lifestyle market, spotting economic patterns that provide data for planning or support marketing and sales efforts isn’t as clear cut as it is for retailers whose main customers are production farmers.

According to an Ag Equipment Intelligence report, lawn and garden equipment, 2WD mid-size tractors and 2WD compact tractors are best bets for improving unit sales in 2019.

Every 3 years since 2011, Ag Equipment Intelligence and Farm Equipment magazine have conducted a poll asking farmers why they would move away from their favorite brand of equipment.

For dealers who specialize in smaller equipment, the professional farmer who is categorized as “small” should also represent a fertile area for customer prospecting — because it’s huge.