At this week’s 3i Farm Show in Garden City, Kansas, several farm retailers report continued confidence by farmers in the value of precision farming tools, according to a story in The Hutchinson News.

“Farmers are buying technology and new concepts of innovation,” says Greg Brenneman, marketing director with Salina-based Great Plains, noting that innovation “has always been a cornerstone at Great Plains.”

Mike Zimmerman, sales manager for Lang Diesel out of Hays, says that while the agriculture economy has slowed after an extraordinary year in 2008, he expects to see plenty of visitors interested in updating equipment or precision agriculture systems.

January and February were dry months for farmers and slow for his industry, he said. When rain started falling in April, the pace picked up.

“We’re selling quite a few tractors and combines,” he said. “It’s a lot better than we thought.”