International Perspective: Ag Leader’s International Distributor Training

Earlier this month, 34 distributors from 18 countries attended the Ag Leader International Distributor training event held in Merida, Spain. This is the second time we have held training for our overseas distributors outside the US. The first was held in the UK two years ago. The week included a mixture of classroom based technical training as well as an opportunity to try out both hardware and software in the field. It also provided the opportunity for distributors to exchange ideas and experiences, as well as enjoy a drink or two together in the process! There was also time towards the end of the week to visit the famous Roman ruins in Merida.

The first three days consisted of classroom-based technical training for Ag Leader’s product line, with a particular emphasis on the guidance products and DirectCommand-based applications, and also included field-based ride and drive sessions. These were conducted by Nick Ohrtman (International Sales Manager), Matt Pifkin (Machine Guidance Support Supervisor) and John Muggenberg (Technical Support Representative). This was all held at La Orden farm, which is about 20 minutes west of Merida. We even had the pleasure of a local Spanish TV station showing up and filming some of the ride and drive sessions, which was later shown on Spanish TV during the evening news! (You can watch the news segment here, around minute 11:30.)

The last 2 days consisted of SMS training at the conference centre conducted by Isaac Bowers (Software Support Supervisor).

Putting together an event like this takes a lot of organisation and planning, which was largely undertaken by Nick Ohrtman and me. However, none of this would have been possible without the help of our Spanish distributor Carlos Escribano (AAMS Iberica). And of course, the week would not have gone as well as it did without the cooperation of the fantastic weather, the distributors who attended and the Ag Leader representatives from the US who carried out the training. My thanks go out to all of you.