BY BENJAMIN ALLEN
TECH
@WORK
Ridingshotgun
“RIDING SHOTGUN” IS A TERM
that was coined during the days when
stagecoaches were the fastest means of
transportation across rural North Ameri-
ca. If the cargo being carried was valuable,
then a security person would be assigned
to sit next to the driver with a shotgun and
protect the stagecoach during its journey.
So a shotgun rider is a protector, armed
and stationed to deter trouble.
In today’s fast-paced world, agricultural
technology is changing extremely quickly.
The adoption of auto-steer took a bit less
than a decade to reach full market pene-
tration in the 1990s, and tech adoptions
speed up, so today new technologies are
reaching full market penetration in less
than five years. That’s fast! Couple that
with the corporate consolidation moves
being made (our company was recently
purchased by Trimble Navigation, so I’m
very familiar with this trend), and you
have the recipe for change.
All of this change has created the
need for a trusted advisor who focuses
on technology. Most farms have trusted
advisors for agronomy, financial issues,
large equipment and more, but when
it comes to new technology, it can be
harder to find the right person to “ride
shotgun.” In some cases, your equip-
ment dealer or agronomist can take on
this role—and if that is the situation
you find yourself in today, then you’re a
lucky farmer! Many farmers are actively
searching for the right person to fill the
role of trusted advisor for technology, so
here is a checklist of attributes you’ll want
this person to have:
P
They get excited about new
technology
∏ This means they carry a newer cell-
phone, and have probably even tried
out a smart watch. They enjoy tech
and play with new tech toys all the
time.
P
They understand agriculture
∏ You don’t have to explain to them
what each piece of equipment does,
or why you would use it. They get
farming. Period.
P
They know multiple equipment col-
ours and monitor brands
∏ You want someone that has struggled
to get different pieces of hardware to
talk to each other.
P
They know how to get the data out of
the equipment
∏ It’s one thing to have monitors re-
cording activities, but that data isn’t
useful until you get it out of the mon-
itor and into a computer that can help
you analyze it and make decisions.
P
They will be around for years
∏ Once you find a good trusted advisor,
you want to hang on to them!
Similar principles should guide your se-
lection of which companies to work with
as you step into more and more technol-
ogy. Venture-capital-funded startups are
riskier than well-established companies.
Firms with a long history of working with
farmers and supporting their needs are
preferable to companies that are new to
the ag market. And companies that are
known to bring new technology to market
are safer than companies that are new to
technology products.
Technology on your farm is becoming
more important, more expensive and
more difficult to manage. You could just
wait around until adopting a new piece
of technology becomes really easy, but in
most cases that means that you will miss
out on the key benefits and fall behind
your competition. So look for help, and
build a relationship that will last in this
key area of your operation.
When you can connect satellite weather
data to agronomy software that will
generate variable-rate prescriptions that
your equipment can execute throughout
the year, you know you are doing it right.
When you can track every action and
every expense, and tie that information to
yield outcomes, then you will be making
decisions based on actual data that is
specific to your farm. And all of this will
be managed and delivered to your phone,
no matter where you may roam.
You still drive, but having the right “shot-
gun rider” help you with technology choic-
es will get you home safe and sound.
Benjamin Allen serves as the chief revenue
officer for Agri-Trend® and Agri-Data® where
he focuses on helping customers use technol-
ogy to produce safe food profitably.
Spring
2016
grainswest.com
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WHAT GUIDES YOU IN TODAY’SWORLDOF AG TECHNOLOGY
