Help Your Growers Manage Their Data

By Jeremy Wilson – SVP Evangelism – EFC Systems

No matter what opinion you have about sustainability or carbon markets, it appears these two items are here to stay. It’s still unclear today who will be the winner in establishing a standard for carbon credit or sustainability metrics, but one thing is clear, documentation will be critical to operate in this space. Ag retailers have a window of opportunity here to bring another level of value to their growers if they choose to assist growers with documentation. Sitting through hours of presentations related to sustainability and carbon markets, a list of key data emerges as critical to document:

• Planting data
• Yield Data
• Fertilizer application data
• Cover Crop Planting
• Tillage Data
• Irrigation data

Documentation of the list of data can sometimes be easy and other times somewhat challenging.  Equipment today can collect most of the needed data but without questions, growers will need some assistance to collect quality data for reporting.  Having folks within your organization that can be there to assist growers will be critical. This new role within ag retail will need someone willing to learn field computers from many manufacturers and to take calls throughout the growing season to assist growers in collecting data. Off-season they will be working to verify collected data is correct then making plans to improve the data from year to year.

So, my question to you is, as an ag retailer / service provider working with the growers in your area are you doing your part to help growers document needed data? Maybe the initial step in this process will be to help your growers get the data collected first. As these markets begin to sort themselves out, you will be better positioned to help your growers make necessary changes to maximize the opportunity these programs offer.

Being the source of knowledge for data collection for your growers also offers other options as a retailer to bring new value to your grower. First through helping them improve agronomic decisions by utilizing the same collected data to drive decisions. Secondly, being the go-to resource for all things data-related. Farming is a business so like any business, profitability is critical to success. The data that will be collected for sustainability and carbon markets can be used to analyze field or farm profitability. Retailers will be able to position themselves as a partner to growers to strengthen their long-term relationships with growers.

Jamie Ridgley, Program Development & Operations Lead for Truterra, summarized the current state of the market best with this quote:
“Retailers have an opportunity to play a key role in making carbon revenue real and accessible to their customers. The space is complicated and growing so quickly. A trusted source of information that is well-equipped to support a farmer’s journey into carbon-smart practices through both data and agronomic insight will bring tremendous value to a grower who is just starting to get curious about the market today.”

Now is the time for ag retail / service providers to step up and bring new value to their growers by helping them to navigate the overlap in improved agronomic decisions along with building quality data in support of sustainability and carbon markets.