The US is the world’s largest agriculture market. It’s also one of the most fragmented, relationship-driven, and regionally diverse. Here’s what a decade of experience on both sides of the Atlantic has taught me.
I’ve spent the better part of a decade working in agricultural technology across the Netherlands, broader Europe, and now the US Southwest. The differences between these markets are real, significant, and underestimated by almost every European company I’ve seen try to make the jump.
Scale is deceptive
The US agriculture market looks enormous from the outside — and it is. But it’s not one market. It’s dozens of regional markets, each shaped by different crops, water regimes, soil types, climate pressures, dealer networks, and regulatory environments. A product validated in the Netherlands — a country roughly the size of West Virginia with one of the world’s most technically sophisticated farming industries — does not have a ready-made market in rural New Mexico or the Texas Panhandle.
This isn’t a reason not to come. It’s a reason to be deliberate about where you start. Pick one region, one crop, one problem. Own that before you expand.
The relationship infrastructure is different
In the Netherlands, you can reach a large proportion of the farming industry through a relatively small number of trade channels, cooperatives, and industry bodies. In the US, no such centralization exists. The cooperative extension system, agronomy dealers, input retailers, and regional grower associations all play roles — but they’re not coordinated, and they vary enormously by state and crop.
This means your US commercial strategy needs to be much more locally grounded than your European one. The companies that succeed here invest early in people with genuine regional relationships — not just sales experience, but community credibility.
What travels well
The good news: European agricultural technology tends to be genuinely world-class. The precision, the data quality, the sustainability focus — these all resonate strongly with the segment of US growers who are actively looking to modernize. The Southwest in particular is home to sophisticated irrigated agriculture operations that are actively seeking water management solutions, and European irrigation and soil sensing technology is directly relevant.
What also travels well is a genuine commitment to understanding the farmer’s operation before trying to sell them something. That approach resonates everywhere.
Ready to grow?
I work with European AgTech companies entering the US market, with a particular focus on the Southwest. If you’re planning a US expansion, let’s have a conversation.
