ESSENTIAL NEWS FOR AGRI-RETAILERS
The Communicator

February 2024 Issue – See All

Increasing your company’s brand reputation

A well-thought-out brand marketing campaign will help you grow and promote your brand.

The world is not enough

Wanting to do their part in reducing global GHG emissions, Canadian farmers still can’t catch a break from federal tax fees. But what’s going on around the world?

Views, Considerations & Unknowns for 2024

With 2024 upon us, the agriculture trade show and seminar season is now in full swing.

5 agricultural technology trends to watch in 2024

As more Canadian farmers are accepting of new technologies over ye olde tried and true, look at some ways more AgTech can improve the sector’s lot.

The current state of global agricultural testing

Using just-in-time technology to thwart the spread of pathogenic disease in ag.

The world of seed technology: things to know for 2024

With science changing along with the seasons, we look at the world of seed technology, offering a forecast.

CN expands its central US reach

Canadian National has agreed to purchase the agricultural Iowa Northern Railway.

Show your mature workforce the love they deserve

Learn how the top employers support the ever-evolving needs of their employees through their changing career phases.

Member Login

Agri-retailers need to know the ins and outs of new products to be able to best serve their customers, but adopting and understanding innovative technology can also strengthen the relationship between business and customer.

If agri-retailers can stay in front and be users of new technology, to be able to say, ‘We’re seeing this capability working with this tool, but we’d recommend this other tool for these issues,’ that kind of help on the ground is useful,” says Lisa Prassack, president of Prassack Advisors. “A lot of agri-retailers are thinking internally to their operations in terms of services. It’s helpful if you make your customer smart too – thereby increasing trust,” she says.

“A lot of agri-retailers have provided agronomic services for quite some time, helping farmers with harvest data, helping them to plan for next season and figuring out zones for soil types, etcetera,” says Prassack. “There are a lot of smart agronomists that have used these tools for years.”

Beyond making sure the latest and greatest innovations are in stock, product innovation comes with other expectations for agri-retailers. According to Prassack, forward-thinking farmers across Canada have been early adopters of many new innovations, including variable rate and other precision agriculture technology.

But agri-retailers also need to be aware that many farmers have not yet adopted precision agriculture or other sophisticated tools, and there lies an opportunity to add value to the customer relationship.

“If farmers haven’t gotten on the ‘Path to Precision’ yet, it’s daunting. There are a small number of farms that have gone full-bore and adopted all of these technologies, but there are a lot of farmers who haven’t started on this yet,” she says. “For a lot of farmers, it’s just not their skill-set. So part of an agri-retailer’s job is to help the more pragmatic farmer by offering tools that have been well-vetted and easy to adopt that will help them be successful.

Wherever your customers fall on the “early adopters” to “traditional” spectrum, the best investment an agri-retailer can make is in comprehensive knowledge of the options available. When you can provide the products they need as well as the information required to be successful, you build the foundations for trust and customer loyalty.

 

Related Articles

  • It’s raining success! Learn who took home awards presented at the 2023 CAAR’s Choice Awards Banquet. Agronomist of the Year – sponsored by BASF Winner: Rahul Patel of Pioneer Cooperative Unlimited Association The 2022 Agronomist of ...
  • The RBC transformative seven With Canada having to reduce its GHG emissions, the ag industry needs more innovative technologies. So how do we do that? By Andrew Joseph, Editor Food security is a big UN goal, but so too is the need to reduce...
  • U of Manitoba CAAR Agronomy Award Winner Announced CAAR annually presents an Agronomy Award of $1,000 to a deserving agriculture student at the University of Manitoba.   Congratulations to Kevin Jungbluth on winning this award.  Jungbluth was also awarded the Gove...
  • Dig into the dirt with Nutrien and Eric Snodgrass Dig into The Dirt, an eKonomics PodKast, this week exploring severe weather's impact on the market this summer. (Sponsored Content) The Dirt podKast by eKonomics is your place for all the down-and-dirty agronomic ...
  • Dig into the dirt with Nutrien Dig into The Dirt, an eKonomics PodKast. (Sponsored Content) The Dirt podKast by eKonomics is your place for all the down-and-dirty agronomic science you need to help your customers grow their crops and their bott...

Join the discussion...

You must be logged in as a CAAR member to comment.