Trying to stay abreast of technology can be a daunting challenge for those of us who came of age in the 1970s and 1980s, when computers and cell phones were just beginning to come onto the market. Those early models were cumbersome, took up a lot of space and, to those of us who weren’t (and still aren’t) tech-savvy, were downright frightening. 

 

Obviously, many sectors of society and the economy did just fine with good old paper and a No. 2 pencil, starting centuries ago. A slide rule and giant chalkboards helped put man on the moon and advanced many other technological marvels. Of course, these days we have laptops, tablets, smart phones, fitness monitors and several gizmos that are light years from just forty years ago. (I still can’t comprehend that 1980 was forty-two years ago...the last of my college days. I must have been having fun....Time flies, they say.)

God gave mankind a brain to build on His creation and to improve the lives of people and of the whole world. Overall, I’d say we’ve done a pretty good job of it. Technology as we are experiencing today can be scary and used for not-so-good things, but that’s a topic for another forum and another day. Technology is advancing the ability of businesses to measure and manage activities at a precision and in such real-time, there is no reason to avoid upping our game and trying to master the array of tools available to us to manage our business and our personal lives. There are cybersecurity issues, access issues (if the system goes down) and a host of other potential pitfalls. The ability, however, to gather data in real-time, make it useful information, and to put it into actionable form for profitable decision-making, is in the here-and-now.

 

I’m reading and hearing of the utilization of technology on dairy and hog operations that collects production data constantly, 24/7/365, puts it in a useful format and delivers it promptly to those on the front line of the work being done, so that decisions can be made on the leading edge instead of being lagging information. Informative, sure, but of limited use for the here-and-now. Such leading-edge production information leads straight into comprehensive financial information reporting for up-to-date results, giving management the capacity to adjust strategy and tactics on-the-go.

 

The investment to undertake the development of information-intensive management systems will be significant. The cost of not undertaking the development will be greater in terms of lost efficiencies and an inability to keep up in the competitive race for placing quality products on the market. The ability to capture and maintain market share and to obtain premium pricing on that quality will certainly be enhanced. Moreover, the potential to drive per-unit costs down will positively impact net profits and long-term viability.

 

The concentrated animal feeding livestock industry is the logical place this level of technology is being implemented. I also see a place for expanded use in any number of crop enterprises, from large-acreage Midwestern grain producers to fruit and vegetable production on any acreage scale to citrus production to any high-value-per-acre production. As consultants, we must determine how much we need to learn so we can effectively educate our clients about these opportunities.

 

As we visit with producers and landowners in all types and kinds of production agriculture, we experience those who are seizing these opportunities for growth and those who are still lagging, working the same way they did forty years ago, and the same way their parents and grandparents did. Good, hardworking, determined men and women, they continue to fall further behind as they fail to adapt to the complexities of the modern economy. This is the frontier we, as consultants, are facing. Helping these producers mount the curve, set up appropriate business management systems and work with them to build a financial foundation to support the business model they are seeking to build, is our charge. 

 

To add value to any relationship, we are in a continuous growth mode to keep up with the Jones’s. This is not a sprint or a one-hundred-yard dash. This is a marathon of epic proportions. Prepare to win.

 

 

 

 

Pete Weisenberger

Weisenberger Agricultural Services, LLC

pete.weis0956@gmail.com