Unlocking farming’s potential with technology: 3 key management opportunities for farmers.

TLDR:

• Bushel conducted a survey with 871 farmers to highlight key management opportunities
• The top three opportunities identified were increasing operational efficiencies, improving marketing strategy, and tracking/improving field performance

At the end of 2023, Bushel conducted its State of The Farm survey via email with 871 farmer respondents to give perspective on their businesses and adoption of technology. More than half of the respondents were in the Southern Plains and Midwest. From the results, the three highest-rated management opportunities included: increasing operational efficiencies, improving marketing strategy, and tracking/improving field performance. Ryan Raguse, co-founder of Bushel, notes that the agriculture industry is in its second phase of ag tech, and farmers who are growing in scale are those adopting technology and considering how tools relate to their business. Bushel aims to bring in the next era of value chain productivity for agriculture with its digital infrastructure to move data, transactions, and money.

One key finding from the study is the decrease in the number of farmers receiving grain contract payments via paper check, with younger respondents valuing quicker payment processing. The study also highlighted the preference for texting as a method of communication with grain buyers, showing a desire for efficiency over personal relationships.

Regarding marketing strategy, high-growth producers are more likely to price multiple crop years and follow advisor recommendations, while larger-scale producers are comfortable marketing a higher percentage of their crop before planting. The study revealed that local grain buyers are the most relied-on resource for grain marketing.

In terms of field performance, younger and growing farmers are aggressively adopting technology on their farms. Apps and software have been shown to create value by increasing convenience, with many respondents using technology for activities such as weather tracking, accounting, yield mapping, and farm management.