[Author: Tom Junge, 03.2017 | Keywords: Iowa Field Director, Iowa Power Farming Show, Surveys]
When farmers registered online for the 2017 Iowa Power Farming Show, they completed a survey about their internet and social media use, future purchases and planting intentions. In the end, 1,686 farmers participated in the survey. Hereís a brief look at the results…
1. Tractorhouse.com remains the leader in used equipment internet searches; newcomer, machinerypete.com jumps to third.
Farmers were asked about their search engine preferences when looking for used ag equipment. Once again, tractorhouse.com and fastline.com came out on top (respectively), while newcomer machinerypete.com took third. Fourth place machinefinder.com slipped nearly 4% points and fifth place ironsearch.com slipped more than 5% points compared to 2016.
Nearly 58% indicated they only use one search engine, while 23.4% use two sites, 12.7% use three and 6.0% use four or more search engines.
2. Over seven times more farmers indicated they plan to purchase precision electronics than primary tillage in 2017. In addition, twice as many plan to purchase precision electronics over utility vehicles or livestock equipment.
2017 Ranking
1.Precision Ag Electronics
2.Tractor
3.Pickup Truck
4.Utility Vehicle
5.Livestock Equipment
6.Grain Bin/Dryer
7.Hay Equipment
8.Planter
9.Sprayer
10.Combine
11. Grain Cart/Wagon
12. Fertilizer Equipment
13. UAVs
14. Secondary Tillage
15. Grain Trailer
16. Aerial Imaging Services
17. Data Management Software
18. Seed Tenders
19. Primary Tillage
3. Social media usage continues to increase among producers with Facebook as the platform used most.
Nearly 55% of the farmers surveyed use social media. Here is a look at what they are using.
4. Mobile website searches overtake traditional website searches. Now is the time to review your mobile website!
More producers are using a mobile device to learn about the farm show than a traditional website, according to our web statistics. In two years, mobile usage at the Iowa show increased 65%, while web usage dropped 30%. Mobile usage will likely exceed web visits in 2017.
Similar results were observed at the 2016 Nebraska Power Farming Show. Mobile device usage increased 66% in two years, while usage of the traditional website declined 25%. Last year (2016) was the first year mobile visits outnumbered web visits.
5. Farmers plan to plant more soybean acres in Iowa.
Using data from the show’s planting intention survey, Agrisource, Inc. forecasts that 600,000 more acres of soybeans and 500,000 less acres of corn will be planted in Iowa this year. Nationwide, the numbers are 6.7 million more acres of soybeans and 4.3 million less acres of corn. Looks like it might be a good year to be in the draper head business!
About the Author
Tom Junge
Tom has traveled across Iowa calling on members for more than 24 years. When he’s not on the road, Tom stays busy managing both the Iowa and Nebraska Power Farming Shows. In his free time, Tom enjoys watching college and NFL football, fruit gardening and taking trips with his wife and children.