The Rogue Agronomist

Funds have been frozen, agronomists taking money to make recommendations, and more moral dilemmas that crazy amounts of government funding has created in the Ag industry. My take and where we go from here is still up for interpretation.

Influencers are all the rage on X and the TikTok ban has me reflecting on why I don’t post podcast episodes anymore with low engagement and everyone wanting everything for free

Things are changing in the retail landscape, can Ag Retail keep up? A very frank discussion on what’s going on and what the future may hold.

You’ve likely heard this expression, but how does it play into today’s agriculture? After seeing this video where he talks about an experiment they did it seems very easy to apply to agriculture. Could someone make a recommendation that might be easily shown to be based on flawed data but still feel like they are in the right? Dice Experiment Dr. Dan Ariely https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV1dVtG8xwQ

With current market prices we could all be losing our heads, but while everyone keeps talking about the markets negatively those who have a plan and keep their emotions in check may come out ahead. Discussing taking the emotions out of decisions and why we can’t afford to have an ego in this market. Also, a discussion on ag mental health and making sure you reach out if you need help.

Selling/buying the plot winners might be easy and exciting for some but what happens when the plot winner isn’t the hybrid a farm needs? Sales training and how “sell the mix” changed how I approached seed sales in a world of Type A personalities feeling like the outsider.

My journey in dealing with narcissists and their gaslighting ultimatums towards sales staff. Also ideas on how management can identify and help their staff deal with this problem.

We spend all winter trying to find ways to save money and once the crop is planted we spend money to “improve” it. The importance of having a budget and focusing on per acre costs and not total price.

We all know about the Farm Crisis in the 80's but are there any comparisons to what is happening now? A look at what led to the Farm Crisis and what the current Ag environment shares with the 70's/80's

A Wednesday two-fer because....why not. With weather, rootworm issues, weed resistance, commodity prices, and input prices the past few years is this our new normal? Indecision and emotions may just be our downfall if we don’t work with people who push us to be better.

What is sticky trapping and does it provide a good picture of what is happening in your fields? An insider perspective on our current rootworm environment and what the industry is doing to adapt. For information on sticky trap sampling check out these resources: https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/blog/ashley-dean-erin-hodgson/use-sticky-traps-monitor-corn-rootworm-beetles-summer https://ipcm.wisc.edu/blog/2021/08/corn-rootworm-beetle-scouting-3/

As we see business hours get shorter, availability get less, and charges go up for services is it generational differences or could it be farmer consumer driven? An analysis of generational differences and changes in farmer purchasing habits.

As advisors should our role be to make others follow our agenda or should we provide information for informed decisions? Championing those who fail doing it another way is counterproductive.