Patrick Ligon, a crop advisor in Good Hope, Illinois, with Simplot Grower Solutions, shares his favorite part of his job is when a farmer reaches their yield goals, and how others in the in-dustry have served as great mentors. He has experience on the manufacturer side of the crop protection business as well, and has worked in several states including: Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Lousiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Oklahoma before head-ing to Illinois.
How are you helping farmers navigate some of the challenges in 2022?
You can only control what you can control. Right? And two things I was taught in playing football in school: there are things you can control those are your attitude and your effort. You control those things, and you can do pretty well for yourself regardless of what goes on in the world.
What do you see as the challenges for the 2022 growing season?
The hot button issue is supply. That’ll be a challenge, but that’s nothing we can’t overcome. Everybody is making a plan, and depending on what you get with supply, you may have to change it up and what-not. But there’s nothing that can’t be solved.
One thing is disease pressure. What is tar spot going to do this year? Last year it came up, and we were hit pretty hard.
What are you seeing in terms of trends with herbicide usage?
This year, it’s about what you are going to get, and maybe what you aren’t going to get. There’s plenty of stuff out there. It’s just not what we are used to using.
You’ve got to know what your mode of actions are doing to the weed and how it can help and then layer residuals. The name of game is layering residuals. Killing weeds before they come up.
This year, farmers are using things that hadn’t been used in awhile, but they’re still really good chemis-try. And we’ve got to study and see what’s going on in the field and scout. That way we know exactly what to use.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
It’s really just working with the grower, and knowing his needs and what he wants to accomplish. Then, watching that, for example that field get burned down and stay clean and his reaction to that, and then his reaction at the end of the year when he does a good job and pulls out what he was shooting for. It’s just gratitude for the professionalism in working with these guys and a relationship with them.
What would you share with professionals starting out in ag retail?
I’d say always keep the door open. Always make friends.
Maybe the reason did so well last year is because the people I worked with did an amazing job and were there doing a lot of that work with me.
Growing up and starting in business gentlemen who are older than me took me under their wing and taught me everything you know. Those are guys I’m real close with, you know, I call them my mentors and people really helped me and shape me to the knowledge extent that I have to the ability that I have.
