Talk to dealers. Scroll through your customer data. Spend a few minutes with someone under 40 managing a 5,000-acre operation. You’ll quickly realize:
The grower has changed. And it’s not a trend, it’s a generational shift that’s reshaping the ag landscape.
Today’s growers are more analytical. More digitally fluent. More driven by value alignment than brand loyalty. They’re making complex decisions in compressed windows—and they expect the brands around them to keep pace.
At Prime46, we’ve spent decades in the ag space—on the ground, in the data, and behind the insights shaping the next wave of growth. Rhett Hawkins brings the perspective of a lifelong farm kid-turned strategist, with more than 20 years helping ag brands navigate shifting markets. Jen Halvorson, our VP of Customer Experience, applies a sharp CX lens to an industry that often overlooks experience as a competitive edge.
Together, these perspectives offer a deeper look at the intersection of strategy, customer behavior, and experience design shaping the future of modern agriculture.
How Modern Grower Expectations Are Shaping the Ag Market
The shift isn’t just digital, it’s cultural, behavioral, and economic:
- Succession is accelerating. Nearly 70% of U.S. farmland will change hands in the next two decades, per the USDA. That means new decision-makers—and new expectations.
- Trust is earned differently. Growers still value relationships, but they now validate decisions with online research, peer networks, and data-driven proof.
- Omnichannel is the new normal. According to McKinsey, over 70% of growers begin their buying journey online—even for high-value inputs.
- Efficiency matters. Time-starved growers expect clear, frictionless experiences—across channels, from brand to dealer.
- This isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about recognizing that the same behaviors driving change in other industries are fully present in ag—just with higher stakes and longer cycles.
Why Customer Experience Strategy Matters in Agriculture
“Too often, brands build smart strategies but leave the customer experience to chance. In ag, where every touchpoint impacts trust, experience is the strategy.”
— Jen Halvorson, VP of CX
We’ve seen brands invest heavily in product, pricing, and positioning—only to lose momentum when the experience doesn’t deliver. If a grower can’t easily find information, navigate a dealer site, or feel supported post-sale, they’ll disengage. And that loss of trust can be hard to rebuild.
To meet the modern grower, brands need to align what they say with how they show up—everywhere.
That’s where experience intelligence comes in. Uncover friction, illuminate opportunity, and tie real customer behavior to strategic intent. Because if you’re not designing experiences around your grower’s real-world journey, you’re guessing—and guessing doesn’t scale.
Four Ways Ag Brands Can Better Align with Today’s Grower
This isn’t about overhauling your entire go-to-market model. It’s about focusing on alignment.
- Audit your customer journey. Where are the gaps between intent and reality?
- Listen differently. Go beyond feedback forms—analyze digital behaviors, dealer conversations, and data signals.
- Clarify your positioning. Not just what you do, but how it connects to the grower’s priorities today.
- Treat experience as a strategic input. It’s not just about execution. It’s about shaping perception, loyalty, and performance.
“Growing up on a farm, I learned early that timing, trust, and follow-through matter. Ag marketing isn’t that different. If you don’t meet your grower when and where they need you, someone else will.”
— Rhett Hawkins, Ag Specialist
A Strategic Opportunity for Forward-Thinking Ag Brands
The grower is changing. But that’s not a threat—it’s a call to lead.
Brands that understand their customers deeply—and reflect that understanding across both strategy and experience—won’t just keep up. They’ll set the pace. Let’s talk.