We’ve all felt the direct and indirect impact of widespread labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and inflation. But in the age of doing more with less, should we be more or less flexible with service expectations, especially since we’re probably paying more for it?
Perhaps. But when we’re getting less and spending more, it’s harder to justify the saying, ‘You get what you pay for.’
Think about that phrase in the context of your primary precision ag specialist or service provider. Does your investment meet expectations?
For years, dealers dared not charge for precision ag service or support, fearing it would alienate customers and damage brand loyalty. Maybe so. But today, reliable, reputable service - regardless of equipment brand - can trump tradition when it comes to customer loyalty.
A recent survey by McKinsey & Company found that almost 30% of large farming operations, defined at 5,000 acres or more by the research study, are less brand loyal than five years ago. About two-thirds of small (less than 2,000 acres) and mid-size (2,001-5,000 acres) farmers said their brand loyalty hasn’t changed during the same period.
However, more than half of small and mid-size farmers said the adoption of new yield-increasing products could provide the most opportunity to increase profit during the next two years.
The innovative farmers we’ve profiled throughout the years shared how their investment in advanced precision ag tools have generated significant return. And many cited the support of their precision ag point person as essential to capturing ROI.
So how much is quality precision service worth today?
We posed the question to a variety of farmers, precision ag service providers and manufacturers. While their answers came from different perspectives, each had one thing in common – reliable, reputable precision service is an investment today’s farmers can’t afford to squander.
Several spoke from expensive experience. One farmer had their John Deere planter, retrofitted with technology from several other precision ag suppliers, break down in the middle of planting. None of the manufacturers could provide a solution, and after four days of downtime, it was the precision team at the farmer’s co-op that engineered a fix.
Losing four days of prime planting time is expensive, but how much more could it have cost had the problem persisted for a week or longer?
How about paying the price for an improperly calibrated yield monitor? Or the return of investing in someone to crunch the numbers on collected farm data to make smarter decisions?
Sure, you’ve got to spend money to make money, but you can also spend the same amount in smarter ways when it comes to precision ag service. As one farmer candidly put it, “It took me several expensive lessons working with unreliable, inexperienced service providers to realize that opening my wallet wider didn’t get me more for my money.”
We’ve written about how evolving expectations are redefining the role of a trusted advisor. Precision Ag Reviews Ambassador and sixth-generation farmer, Austin Heil, emphasized asking the “why” behind the “how” when it comes to making sense of the dollars you spend.
As you budget for the coming year, don’t forget to assess the return on your investment in precision ag service, and let us know how much quality service is worth to you. Share your perspective below or contact us here.
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