7 marketing shifts every ag company should be making

Hey there!

Want to know what's keeping marketing executives up at night?

From everything I've been reading and observing in the ag sector, the conversations are getting brutal. Seed companies are facing commoditized markets. Equipment dealers are dealing with longer sales cycles. Agtech startups are burning through funding while farmers remain skeptical of their solutions.

While agriculture has transformed dramatically over the past decade—precision farming, data analytics, sustainable practices—most ag marketing still feels like it's stuck in 1995.

Companies are still pushing product features to farmers who care more about profitability. They're interrupting with ads when farmers want education. They're talking at farmers instead of having conversations with them.

Let me show you the 7 shifts to improve your marketing strategy.

Picture this scenario: a precision ag sales rep spends 20 minutes rattling off technical specifications to a farmer. GPS accuracy, variable rate application, display features, cloud connectivity.

The farmer finally interrupts: "That's great, but will this help me sleep better at night knowing my input costs are under control?"

This disconnect reveals the core problem with most ag marketing today.

For example: Equipment manufacturers that lead with outcomes instead of specifications see dramatically better results:

Farmers don't buy products. They buy solutions to problems that keep them awake at night.

The old ag sales model is dying fast: show up at the farm, pitch your product, ask for the order, disappear until next season.

But look at the companies gaining market share, they're acting more like trusted advisors than vendors.

For example, consider this approach some seed dealers are taking or should be taking. Instead of just selling seed, they offer:

Sounds good, but this shift requires completely rethinking your sales approach:

The good news are that when you become indispensable, price becomes a little less important.

Remember those full-page ads in farm magazines? The ones that looked like equipment catalogs?

They're not working anymore.

Today's farmers are overwhelmed with information but starving for wisdom. They don't want to be sold to, they want to learn something that makes them better at farming.

The smartest ag companies have become publishers instead:

Some fertilizer manufacturers have stopped buying magazine ads and started creating educational content about soil health, nutrient timing, and sustainable practices. Their blogs now attract visits from farmers actively researching solutions.

Agtech startups are creating podcasts interviewing successful farmers about technology adoption strategies, becoming trusted voices in precision agriculture while generating quality leads.

Here's what educational marketing looks like in practice:

Content marketing costs a lot less than traditional advertising and generates a lot more qualified leads.

Stop interrupting farmers with ads. Start helping them with answers.

Too many precision ag companies make the mistake of trying to sell the same system to a 500-acre corn operation and a 5,000-acre diversified farm.

Same pitch. Same pricing. Same features.

Both farmers walk away confused.

A young farmer just starting out has completely different needs than a third-generation operation planning succession. A cash crop farmer thinks differently than someone running cattle. Geographic regions have unique challenges.

But most ag marketing still treats all farmers the same.

Here is a way to segment your approach:

Mass marketing feels cheap while targeted marketing feels and is valuable.

Most marketing still follows the crop calendar: heavy advertising before planting, quiet during growing season, push inventory at harvest.

But farmers are making decisions and researching solutions year-round.

The companies building real market share maintain consistent presence and value delivery throughout the entire year:

Winter: Educational content about planning next season
Spring: Implementation support and best practices
Summer: Monitoring tools and troubleshooting help
Fall: Results analysis and optimization recommendations

Seasonal selling creates transactional relationships. Year-round value creates loyal partnerships.

Here's a uncomfortable truth: farmers don't trust salespeople anymore.

They've been burned too many times by reps who overpromised, underdelivered, or disappeared when problems arose.

But they desperately need trusted advisors who understand their operations and care about their success.

The companies winning are transforming their sales teams from product pushers to farm consultants:

Instead of quota-driven conversations, they're having strategy sessions. Instead of pitching features, they're analyzing farm data. Instead of selling products, they're solving problems.

Marketing decisions are still made in conference rooms based on opinions and past experience.

"Farmers in Iowa are conservative, so we should keep our messaging simple." "Trade shows have always worked for us." "Farmers don't use social media much."

Meanwhile, the companies dominating their markets are making decisions based on actual data:

The data often contradicts conventional wisdom about how farmers research and buy.

Track everything. Test constantly. Trust data over opinions.

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Look, I get it. Change is hard, especially in an industry as traditional as agriculture.

But the market has already shifted. Farmers are already behaving differently. The only question is whether your marketing will adapt or get left behind.

The companies thriving in 2025 won't be the ones with the best products (though that helps). They'll be the ones who figured out how to connect with modern farmers in ways that build trust, deliver value, and create lasting partnerships.

Start with one shift. Implement it consistently for 90 days. Measure the results. Then add another.

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