No doubt, the market for agricultural equipment in the U.S. is very large. Depending on which products are included, the size of the market is somewhere between $10 and $25 billioin. A report by First Research claims that the market is at about $23 billion and is made up of 1,100 companies.
Of course, the big players in the ag market are John Deere, AGCO, and CNH. Caterpillar and Kubota and many others are very involved in the market as well.
The market does fluctuate depending on crop production as well as the projections for coming years. Just like any other market, machinery is bought or not based on the expectation of the demand for it.
For many years, fluid power has provided the muscle and reliability needed by farm equipment. Hydraulic systems drive the many functions performed by a multitude of implements as well as providing the hydrostatic drive power through the hydrostatic transmissions.
Earlier this year a major new trade show started up and will continue next year. AG CONNECT is the name of the event and it features all of the equipment and machinery that make farms successful. Hydraulics & Pneumatics will be exhibiting at the 2011 event and you will see some advertising promoting the show in the pages of our magazine.
As markets go, the ag market has been a solid fluid power segment and should remain so into the forseeable future.
