When it comes to brand loyalty with different ag equipment products, no-tillers are more likely than the general farm population to change brands when it comes to purchasing seeding and planting equipment.

In a 2024 survey conducted by Ag Equipment Intelligence (AEI), 43% of farmers indicated they had bought a different planter or drill brand over the past 5 years than what their major supplier offered.

Broken down further, data from the past 5 years showed 43% of growers bought a planter than was different than their favorite major equipment brand. This was followed by 21% of growers who bought a different colored drill.

Looking back at previous AEI surveys, data showed 40% of growers had bought a different drill or planter in 2020 compared to 45% in 2017.

With effective spraying being so critical to the success of a no-till operation, 31% of these growers had bought a sprayer from a different manufacturer during the past 5 years.

In the most recent AEI survey, conducted by one of our other Lessiter Media publications, overall ag equipment brand loyalty saw a slight decline to 62% in 2024. This represented a drop from its peak in 2017 when 75% of growers identified as ag equipment brand loyalists. Farmers who were more loyal to their brand than 5 years earlier hit an all-time low in 2024.

14 Reasons to Switch Brands 

Here are a number of significant factors that would be considered by farmers when it comes to changing to other majors or shortline lines:

98% listed the lack of parts availability at the dealership level.

97% wanted better product engineering from manufacturers.

96% wanted higher quality service from dealers.

95% requested lower equipment prices when compared with other brands.

92% asked for more informed product specialists at dealerships.

89% requested better warranties from manufacturers.

82% cited poor dealer experiences.

83% desired better scheduling of repair and service work.

83% saw a lack of loaned equipment during critical seasonal equipment breakdowns.

81% cited a bad dealership experience with manufacturers.

69% found better financing options.

64% had concerns with changes in dealer ownership.

64% saw multi-owner dealers dropping local locations.

61% found opportunities to consolidate equipment buying at a multi-line dealership.

The increased use of computerization and electronics have also resulted in new battle lines being drawn between farmers and manufacturers when it comes to service and repair needs. This seems like it is becoming a bigger worry with growing right-to-repair concerns due to whether independent dealers can offer service and repair needs rather than major line dealers or allowing farmers to do more of their own repair needs.

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Brand Loyalty Can Be Fleeting

Among 2024 John Deere customers, 67% still considered themselves brand loyal, which is 10% lower than in the 2017 survey.  This was followed by 65% of Case IH customers, 54% of AGCO customers and 52% of New Holland growers.

When it comes to considering other brands, 60% of AGCO users would do so. This was followed by 56% of New Holland users, 51% of John Deere users, 51% of Case IH users and 41% of Kubota users.

It appears no-tillers are much more likely to switch drill, planter and sprayer brands than the general farm population. Once again, this demonstrates the fact that you and fellow no-tillers understand the importance of using the latest available technology when it comes to getting the crop placed accurately in the ground in a timely and effective way.