Planting Equipment Market – An Overview

The ability to effectively reduce labor cost using planting equipment; the capability to enhance the efficiency of agriculture practices by substituting traditional labor-intensive activities; the rising cost of labor as well as the scarcity of labor due to an increasing shift towards non-agrarian activities; the rising adoption of precision farming facilitated with planting equipment that offers value-added features are few of the determinants that are estimated to positively influence the planting equipment market currently during the next few years.

Planting equipment is essentially farm or garden implements that facilitate the sowing of seeds in a mechanized manner into the ground usually in rows when it comes to agriculture. They also find their functions in small-scale landscaping and gardening. The emergence of precision farming is one of the foremost factors that are expected to drive the planting equipment market growth. The rapid technological advancements like the internet of things (IoT), AI, among others, the need for meeting the global food demand is the need of the hour for framers across the world. Moreover, the growers are faced with increasing pressure to deliver due to factors such as a more restrictive regulatory environment, climate volatility, increasing input costs, among others. This has resulted in the need for tapping into the potential for improved productivity.

In view of the above, it should be noted that the agricultural industry is faced with unprecedented demands and factors that are expected to affect the same. Taking the example of COVID 19 which has plunged the world in economic difficulties, the demand for food hasn’t stymied. Rather due to the lockdown measures initiated by the various governments of the world during the first quarter of this year, the demand for food has been sustained by a profusion of delivery services facilitated through eCommerce transactions. Further, after the world normalizes the demand for food is expected to further grow. Moreover, the growing global population, diminishing resources, and stressed agricultural supply chains have led to, among others, growing demand for the adoption of practices that ensure higher productivity at a relatively lower cost. Further, the shift in individual consumption patterns which are determined by cultural practices and the availability of income to realize them are also key aspects that are expected to speed the process of farm mechanization adoption. Especially now that the Chinese government has initiated a farm modernization drive, among others the APAC region is expected to reinforce the growth of the planting equipment market.

Further changes in consumer preferences, that are driven by socio-cultural and income-driven continuing urbanization, rising female participation in the workforce are expected to contribute to higher consumption of healthy processed food; increasing proclivity to eat outside of the home, and preference of food which are devoid of any additives. These factors are increasing the demand for agri-based food products which are in turn driving the need for precision farming. This development is expected to drive the growth of the planting equipment market during the next few years. Additionally, the plant-based alternative which is spreading like a wildfire across the world is expected further, drive the demand for the planting equipment market during the coming few years as players engaged in manufacturing ingredients are investing in agriculture to source their raw materials swiftly.

Besides, there have been prominent developments that are expected to augment the growth of the Planting Equipment Market, which are being elucidated below:

January 2019, Acquisition

The acquisition of two affiliated Brazilian limited liability companies known as Defensive and Agrovant was announced AMVAC Chemical Corporation (NYSE: AVD), whereby the latter will be benefitted by a strong platform to market and distribute its products along with a means to introduce SIMPAS (Smart Integrated Multi-product Prescriptive Application System) planting systems in South America, among others.

February 2019, Product Launch

 Electrically driven, with 36 row and 20 inches spacing a bulk fill back planter called Kinze 4700 was reportedly announced to be launched in 2020. It was reported to feature Blue Vantage™ display interface.

March 2019, Product Development

 It was reported that Moisture Planting Technologies (MPT) a company based out of Australia has developed a tine based, tech-enabled broadacre planter that can monitor the soil conditions while plating by employing a combination of artificial intelligence and integrated sensors. During the period of the announcement, the organization was reportedly offering a by-the-hectare-leasing-arrangement in place of the traditional purchase, to the farmers.

April 2019, Product Launch

The Maestro SW 4715 and 4815, two of Horsch’s newest models were launched. These types of machinery were designed with the rationale to facilitate the seeding of both small-seeded crops like canola and still plant corn and soybeans. This translates that to the fact that farmers who are trying out beans and corn in comparatively small acres can now reap the benefits of investing in planters.

January 2020, Collaboration

Kinze and Ag Leader have collaborated to launch a new high-speed planting system. When Kinze will be selling it the product will be called True Speed interfaced with the Blue Vantage system and when it will be sold by Ag Leader for aftermarket planter updates, it will be called SureSpeed. The collaboration stems from the rationale of leveraging the expertise of both organizations, which encompasses Kinze’s expertise in leading seed meter technology and Ag Leader’s expertise in precision farming.

Therefore, from the aforementioned, it can be concluded that due to technological developments and a profusion of farm mechanization as well as continuous developments are, among others, are fueling the demand for crop planting machinery that is expected to drive the growth of the planting equipment market.