Case IH Talks Market Corrections

CHELSEA, Ala. (DTN) -- Kurt Coffey is vice president of Case IH North America. Overseeing the CNH Industrial brand's commercial functions, Coffey is managing the launch of a new series of high-productivity combines and a growing line of automated technologies.

In a recent interview with DTN/Progressive Farmer, Coffey said it has been a challenging year for Case IH, as it has been for the entire ag equipment industry. In the first six months of this year, parent company CNH (Case IH and New Holland ag businesses) reported sales down more than 17% across all its markets. Earlier this past summer, CNH projected that its ag segment sales will be down between 15% and 20% compared to last year.

CNH will release its 2024 third-quarter results on Nov. 8, 2024.

In a sideways-to-down market, Coffey said it is critical for Case IH to design new equipment but also manage the customer partnerships that bring solutions, if not new equipment this year, to the farm gate.

Coffey, who was born and raised on his family's central Illinois grain farm, also talked about CNH's effort to find and train the technicians needed to sustain the Case IH equipment line. It is called Top Tech.

Here are excerpts from the interview with Coffey. They have been edited for clarity.

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DTN/Progressive Farmer: Kurt, what's your overall look of the ag equipment industry?

Coffey: We're focused on high-caliber performance in a softening, if not declining, market. Certainly, this year is a tale of two halves. The first part of the year was quite strong. The latter part of (this) year has been softening in line with commodity prices. But as you go through a market correction, it's important you don't just say (to customers), "Look at all our new stuff." You also talk about how we are a reliable partner right up to the farm gate. We also want to roll up our sleeves and talk solutions.

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DTNPF: Agriculture needs a farm bill, correct?

Coffey: Yes. It's critically important. If you look today at 2024, many customers hedged above what you see today -- plus margin protection, plus multi-peril crop insurance. My concern would be going into 2025. The farm bill is a bipartisan issue. We need a farm bill in place as a safety net for agriculture in 2025.

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DTNPF: Talking to other Case IH folks, they tell me this is the Year of the Combine for Case IH.

Coffey: We have the whole new 60 series (combine). We launched the AF11 at Louisville (2024 Farm Machinery Show). And (at the 2024 Farm Progress Show), we launched the AF9 and AF10. We've been taking (combine) orders. Next year we'll go into full production. We're very excited about the 9s and 10s. The reason would be this: At the top end, you have the AF11. Those are going to cut a lot of soybeans, canola, shell a lot of corn on large farms. But if you look at middle (farming America), consider this next generation (of combine) you're going to see the durability, the repeatability, the quality, the cleanliness of our flagship (260 series) platform. We've taken that and "elongated" it into a super single (rotor 40% longer than the 260 series combines). This is the Year of the Combine. We are in a sideways-to-down market, but we are still investing in solutions for the customer. I'm looking for the 9 and 10 to be the bell cows of our portfolio.

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DTNPF: Let's talk about Case IH's efforts to train and hire technicians, to maintain all your technologies. It's hard to find skilled technicians. How is Case IH approaching the problem?

Coffey: At the farm gate, we're trying to overcome (on-farm) labor challenges with automation of processes. Automation in the combine, automation features that allow unskilled labor to perform at a high caliber. In the distribution channel, we have a program called the Top Tech. We are trying to understand what that can grow up to be. We continue to lock arms with dealers in an attempt to make sure they can secure and retain the talent they need. It's different than when I was a kid. It used to be, "Do you know how to work on a diesel engine, turn a wrench?" Now, it's "Do you know how to use this laptop? Do you understand A-B lines?" We have dealers that have created their own, I'll say, "vocation school," and in others, we are partnering (with technical colleges). I want to see a quantifiable pipeline of talent that can work with their hands. We are iterating and adjusting, but I think that program is delivering fruit.

Dan Miller can be reached at dan.miller@dtn.com

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