Is Your Tractor Running?
Andrew Levenson
VP @ Root+Beta | Founder @ Terra Group | CRM & Analytics Nerd | Coffee Guy ? | Demand Gen Guru
Happy 2025. It's a write-of-passage for a newsletter to go through a 9-month dry spell, but The Lowdown on Ag newsletter is back and better than ever. New year, new brand (and a shiny new logo).
This month's edition:
Industry Insights ??
2024 was a tough year for the industry. Low farm income, commodity prices and high interest rates led to one of the most turbulent years in recent history, with layoffs occurring across manufacturing, production and agencies.
Is your tractor running?
Automation was a trending topic at CES 2025 in Las Vegas with two major OEMS, 约翰迪尔 and Kubota Corporation , unveiling new autonomous tractors along with accompanying precision technology. What do you think about the shift towards autonomy in farming?
Tariff after tariff
Brooke Rollins, nominated to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is considering offering direct payments to farmers to offset losses from trade tariffs. She also touched on issues like ethanol and worker protection.
Used equipment surplus
There’s still a surplus of used equipment, particularly in the large ag market. Historic levels of equipment auctions have driven the market down, benefitting buyers and hurting dealer groups and OEMs.
The Lowdown with Matt Cave — Farming Watch
Each month you'll be hearing from a marketer in the agricultural industry. If you'd like to be featured, email [email protected] or reach out via message.
This month's feature is Matt Cave — Farming Watch . The seed for Farming Watch was planted ten years ago when a traveling farmer met a videographer living on an island in the south of Thailand. What started as a simple request for drone clips on Tyler's farm quickly grew into a unique partnership. In just over two years, Farming Watch has gained over 350,000 organic followers online, and they're just getting started.
One thing no-one would guess about you:?
I have shot content in over 15 countries but have only shot agricultural content in 1. 2025 is the year we are looking to change that!
What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least?
Influencer marketing isn't a new trend, but I'm optimistic about its growth specifically in the agriculture sector. I do think generic drone clips of farming may die down but telling an honest story will never go away.?
I'm also optimistic but wary about advancements in AI and its implications for marketing. Balance is key here. AI can be a great tool if used correctly in the content space for idea generation and boosting efficiencies, but it can't be solely relied on for content creation.?
How do you see the ag industry changing this year?
A larger focus on building social media audiences and pushing creative boundaries.
领英推荐
What We're Reading This Month ??
Yes, that's right - reading! Here's what our team is reading that you might want to take a look at as well.
The search landscape is changing and UGC-focused content platforms like Reddit are the biggest winners, according to a recent study by Search Engine Journal.
AI tools are simplifying crop management?and startups like Taranis AG are providing faster, easier and more effective ways to manage fields.
Voice search will continue to shape SEO strategies in 2025. Focus on conversational queries, optimize for local searches, and make sure your content is quick and easy to find. Make your brand discoverable when people speak, not just type.
?? Or Flop: What's Working, What's Not
Tactics, channels, and trends we're experimenting with across the agriculture industry. Let us try it so you don't have to.
Personalized customer journeys can lead to outsized results for agribusinesses. We’ve been expanding our CRM work with clients, using tools like SMO, HubSpot and Salesforce to drive increased engagement and ad relevance.?
Dynamic Inventory Advertising on Meta and Display have been driving incredible results for equipment dealers - many of which are seeing upwards of 10% click through rates.
Long-Form vs Short-Form Content - as content consumption evolves, there’s a long-standing debate between the effectiveness of long-form versus short-form. There’s no longer a silver bullet methodology to always keep videos under a minute. Your audience will watch your 10 minute video if it engages them. The key is tailoring your content to your audience and purpose to yield the best results.
Shameless Plug - Conferences & Awards???
Sorry, but we have to promote ourselves for a minute. We're about to enter conference season & we'd love to meet you in real life - coffee is on us.
Also, Root+Beta recently took home 7 chapter & regional NAMA awards for our work with United Ag, Northeast and Heritage Tractor - a big thank you to all our partners & friends.
Ag Jobs
Looking for a new gig? We promise not to tell. We've compiled some of the top open job listings in ag from January.
Let's Connect
Tell us your secrets? Just kidding. Whether you'd like to chat about the content in this months newsletter, have a recommendation for future content or do, really, want to tell us a secret - connect with us on Linkedin at Root+Beta
?? Marketing Strategy at Root+Beta
1 个月Great information! It's worth a read for anyone who works in AgriMarketing.