The 果冻视频 (FEMA) Technology Council is seeking industry thought leaders to share insights, experiences, and topic suggestions for our special Technology Track at the Supply Summit & Showcase on Thurs., March 26, 2026 in San Antonio TX.

The annual FEMA Supply Summit & Showcase on March 24-26 is an opportunity for suppliers and potential suppliers to network with FEMA members, discuss relevant industry topics, and showcase products and services.

The goal of the Technology Track is to educate FEMA membership about new or emerging technologies that have a direct impact on their products and services. The rapid advance of technology has our industry questioning many things, including the following:

• What do we need to do to be prepared for an autonomous future?
• How do we begin to integrate more technology into our equipment?
• How can software help me control the costs of automation?
• What role does AI play in automation and equipment design?
• Will our end customers pay for a more technologically advanced piece of equipment?
• How will I service and support my machines in the future if they have more tech?

Presentations will be grouped into two subject areas:

• Technology as it applies to member products
  (technology integrated into equipment and the features/functionality offered to end customers)
• Technology as it applies to member production/internal processes
  (technology used within manufacturing operations, engineering, design, and internal business systems)

This track will focus on topics that address these and other relevant questions surrounding the use of technology in farm equipment. We also aim to inspire FEMA member engineers to engage more deeply with our Association by providing more relevant, technical convention content, and fostering valuable networking opportunities.

Who should consider presenting?

• Technology suppliers (hardware, software, engineering services, etc.)
• Academics or thought leaders with interest/expertise/research relevant to the questions stated above.
• Universities and research institutions with relevant research, projects, or learning opportunities in the two subject areas above and project collaboration opportunities related to Farm Equipment technology.

Why participate?
This is your chance to:

• Showcase your expertise and innovative ideas.
• Connect with industry leaders.
• Raise your company’s/institution鈥檚 profile.

Who is your audience?

• Executives and technical/product leaders of farm equipment manufacturers, their suppliers, and their distribution partners.

To be considered, submit the following:

• A 250-word summary of your topic, demonstrating its relevance to the stated Technology Track goal above.
• A brief biography, highlighting your expertise and speaking experience.
• No more than five bullet points summarizing what the audience will learn from your presentation.

General presentation guidelines to keep in mind as you prepare your submission:

• Presentations should be about products, services, or topics relevant to farm equipment manufacturers and their use of technology in their own businesses (either internally or as part of their product and service offerings to their dealers/customers).
• Presentations should be engaging and educational鈥�not simply sales pitches. We want our members to learn something about technology they hadn鈥檛 considered before.
• Use of slides is encouraged, as are references to case studies, research, etc. that support your topic of discussion.
• Speakers will be given up to a 45-minute timeslot鈥�35 minutes to present with approximately 10 minutes of Q&A with the audience at the end.

Learn more and apply here.

For questions on submission content, email Chris@Acuitusag.com or call the FEMA office at 314-878-2304.

Submit your proposal to Gina@FarmEquip.org by Friday, January 23, 32026 for a chance to present at this can鈥檛 miss industry event!

by Gene Marks, 2025 Marketing & Distribution General Session Speaker. This article was originally published in .

A recent survey from Goldman Sachs found that about 68% of small-business owners are using AI 鈥� specifically generative AI 鈥渁ssistants鈥� 鈥� and another 9% plan to begin using it within the next year. Whether it鈥檚 ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Claude, Grok, Perplexity, or other popular platforms, AI can make a significant difference to your business.

Here are six business uses that will help you increase the productivity of both yourself and your team.

Chatbots for your website: There are a number of customer service platforms targeted at small businesses like Talkdesk, Zendesk, Salesforce, and Zoho that enable their customers to easily deploy chatbots on their site that can automatically answer visitors鈥� questions or pass on the customer to a human agent for further help.

鈥淎s these tools become more advanced, they are taking on a bigger role in customer service processes,鈥� said Charanya Kannan, chief product, engineering, and customer officer at Talkdesk. 鈥淎s today鈥檚 economy drives labor and skills shortages that hinder customer experience, it鈥檚 more important than ever that companies not only invest in automated tools.鈥�

Restaurant Reservations: Sydney Grims, who is the director of business development at Fearless Restaurants, a regional restaurant chain with 14 locations including popular spots like White Dog Cafe and Moshulu, uses an AI platform called Slang.ai to take reservations and answer questions 24/7. Staff can now focus on serving their customers without phone calls distracting them.

鈥淭his is not to reduce head count,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e cannot get rid of greeters. Our goal is to provide easy answers to guests quickly. We had over 250 coinciding calls at one restaurant in a week 鈥� that鈥檚 about a thousand covers we would just lose without this platform.鈥�

Improving communications: AI assistants have become good at transcribing and summarizing online meetings as well as polishing emails, writing memos, and tightening other written communications.

鈥淲riting emails is a lifeline, but is often time-consuming when running and scaling a business,鈥� said Kevin McLaughlin, a partner at Philadelphia-based accounting and advisory firm Centri. 鈥淲e use ChatGPT to assist by quickly drafting emails that capture the right tone and message, which the owner can then personalize in minutes.鈥�

Company policies: I always tell my clients to never allow a single contract, agreement, quote, or bid to leave their office without uploading to their AI assistant for comments. These platforms have become well versed in spotting problems, identifying issues, and suggesting ways to not only improve your corporate documentation but to identify risks and protect you against potential liabilities.

Neha Arnold, CEO of Sedna Consulting Group, a technology consulting firm based in Edison, N.J., agrees. She frequently has her team use an AI assistant to help with corporate documentation by double-checking outputs, and acting as both a creative and analytical assistant. But she鈥檚 also careful to not rely on the platform entirely.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to understand AI鈥檚 limits,鈥� she said. 鈥淩ecent studies show that AI models can falter with complex reasoning. It鈥檚 best used to support 鈥� not replace 鈥� human insight.鈥�

Marketing materials and blogs: Howard McCabe, founder and creative director of Dream Syndicate, a brand specialist based in Philadelphia, leans heavily on AI to write rough scripts, create graphic styles, come up with content ideas, design and generate voice-overs and custom music.

鈥淲hen shooting a commercial if we miss a line of copy, or the talent mispronounces something, we can train the AI on the particular actors鈥� nuances and then the AI can generate a new scene with the talent saying the missing line or correcting the mispronunciation,鈥� he said.

鈥淚n addition, now we are able to have the talent speak in a different language 鈥� so if we produce a commercial in English, we can then very quickly generate that same commercial in a different language.鈥�

Not everyone鈥檚 in the content creation business, but with image and video creation platforms like Sora, Google鈥檚 Veo, and others, you can publish professional content that can help set your company apart from its competitors.

Market research and competitive analysis: Your AI assistant is a trained adviser who has the entire internet at its immediate disposal and can discuss 鈥� just like a human 鈥� any business problem, issue, or challenge. I have clients that are leaning into AI assistants for help researching markets, products and competitors, and brainstorming ways to stay ahead.

Arnold said he uses his AI assist to provide critical feedback by prompting questions like 鈥淲hy do you recommend this approach?鈥� or 鈥淲hat are the alternatives?鈥�

Other business owners, like Russ Napolitano, a partner at the Philadelphia marketing agency Xhilarate, uses an AI assistant for client discovery and meeting preparation.

鈥淏efore meeting with a prospect or client, we use ChatGPT to conduct quick discovery 鈥� researching their industry, identifying potential challenges, and surfacing relevant trends,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like having a research assistant who can brief us in minutes.鈥�

AI cannot be relied upon 100%. But what adviser can?
Even in its current infancy there are plenty of ways for today鈥檚 AI chatbots to help in your professional life.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been utilizing AI across our operations for quite some time, and it has truly transformed the way we work,鈥� Arnold said. 鈥淧ersonally, AI has allowed me to save an average of 60鈥�75 minutes every single day, time that I can reinvest directly into accelerating business growth, deepening client relationships, and exploring new opportunities.鈥�

Don鈥檛 miss Gene’s presentation on Navigating 2025 and Beyond: Strategic Moves for Manufacturers on Wednesday, October 29 at the Marketing & Distribution Convention in Las Vegas. Learn more at .