By Clark Poppert
NAICC has been active in our nation’s capital for many years, and 2023 is no exception. We promote independent crop consultants, contract researchers and quality assurance professionals to policymakers and educate them on how we assist growers in farm profitability and environmental stewardship decisions.
We explain to them the wide range of services offered and while our members play different roles, they are united in providing quality service to growers.
Answers to Unknown Symptoms and Pests
Independent crop consultants diagnose field problems and make recommendations. We work to improve our growers’ management of changing field conditions.
NAICC consultants prepare field-level maps and record planting dates, varieties and acreage to keep an accurate account of each field. Through this process, the grower or farm manager receives reports of field conditions and yield assessments.
We also maintain awareness of crop health and carry out additional assessments. Independent crop consultants supervise all scouts while on farms by providing safety training, directing them to fields, recommending walking routes for field coverage and identifying areas that need more intensive sampling.
The crop consultant interprets all observations from the scout(s) and other consultants into actionable items for the farm owner or manager.
Scouts Monitor Fields
They assess, identify and characterize infestations, diseases and crop performance. Scouts communicate observations to independent consultants with concise and accurate reports.
Many scouts assist independent consultants in soil sampling and other business requirements. We encourage scouts to pursue continuous knowledge acquisition and skill improvement as well as communicate ideas and recommendations for systems improvement to senior-level consultants.
Field scouts and independent crop consultants work hand in hand to provide trusted, reliable services to our grower-clients. It is our job to remind those in Washington, our neighbors and clients of the differences between the two, so they understand how both are essential for profitable production agriculture.
