See the agtech trends that technology industry experts predict will be at the forefront of agriculture in 2026.
“Smart technology is no longer a novelty in agriculture. It is becoming a foundational part of how farmers and ag retailers plan, operate, and respond to shifting conditions,” shared a Growing Produce article. It looked at the predictions of ag tech industry experts—Reinder Prins, Head of Marketing at Agworld; Mike Roudi, CEO of Emergent Connext; and Tim Hassinger, President and CEO of Intelinair—concerning what the article calls “new phase where connectivity, decision intelligence, and human-centered automation converge to deliver more practical value on the ground.” See the predicted trends below.
2026 Ag Tech Trends
These are the ag tech trends the article shared:
“1. Adoption Accelerates Where Value Is Proven
Smart technology adoption continues to rise, but it is still uneven across farm sizes and regions. Prins described the landscape as “steady but uneven,” noting that larger, service-driven operations are leading the charge while smaller farms remain cautious.
In 2026, he expects adoption to climb in areas where tools clearly improve margins…”
“2. AI and Generative AI Become Field-Ready Decision Partners
AI has been present in agriculture for years, but often in a way farmers do not directly see. “Most AI on the farm today is still under the hood,” Prins said. It powers yield prediction, disease models, irrigation scheduling, and imagery interpretation. What farmers see is not the model, but the alert or recommendation that comes from it.
Generative AI will shift this dynamic. Prins expects it to act more like a conversational agronomy assistant. “It will explain why a recommendation was made and compare scenarios,” he explained. The real breakthrough will come when AI agents work across multiple systems instead of being confined to a single vendor ecosystem…”
“3. Connectivity and Interoperability Reach a Turning Point
Connectivity has long been one of the biggest barriers to smart tech adoption. That barrier is finally lowering. Prins highlighted the 2024 SpaceX and John Deere partnership as a milestone and pointed to increasing offline-capable tools that reduce dependence on constant connectivity.
Roudi sees even more significant progress. “We are finally seeing purpose-built rural IoT networks come online,” he said. He noted that Emergent Connext is deploying an IoT backbone designed specifically for agriculture. “Farmers do not have to wait. Every enrolled acre receives reliable IoT coverage from day one.”
Interoperability across systems remains a challenge, although the path forward is becoming clearer…”
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