When Free Really Isn't

Something that I find interesting is the fact that some farmers still believe that soil sampling, tissue sampling, and crop monitoring is a “free service” provided by their supplier. The farmer may receive an invoice for the samples but the time involved is considered a cost of doing business by the supplier. This is really not the case because the cost of the employee sampling, his insurance, fuel, and postage will be covered by the gross margin the dealer makes on the products he sells to the grower. This is all well and good if the person doing the sampling as well as the person making the recommendations, is qualified. It is widely known that the errors in soil sample results are not made in the lab but are made at the time of sampling. The recommendations that the farmer receives are only as good as the sample that was taken. That goes for both soil and tissue samples.

Ag Tech Services, LLC, will do your sampling at a fee that ensures you will get the best of our 36 years of experience. Yes we will charge for both sampling and recommendations but the data belongs to the grower and he can take it wherever he wants to for supplies.

This makes more sense than to expect these services for free. Everything has a cost and sometimes the least expensive may cost the most.



Great Time in Arizona

This time of the year in Western Washington can be very wet and dreary looking. Clouds that you see in the morning follow you all day long, tuck you in at bedtime, and greet you again in the morning. Day after day! So going to Arizona for the 2012 International Meeting presented by BioHumaNetics, Inc., had a two-fold benefit—Brian and I learned a lot and we got warm at the same time.

The difference between BHN’s liquid fertilizers and others in the industry is their Micro Carbon Technology (MCT) which is the base of all of their products. Plants produce their own carbon but often the amount they produce is inhibited by herbicides or naturally occurring stress. The MCT of the BHN products acts as a booster when the plants are under stress. We look at a crop a few days after a BHN application and can see the MCT effect. Plants are greener and healthier looking. The greater the stress, the larger the positive response. Good Stuff.

All in all, we learned a lot, got warmed up, and returned to our families safe and sound. And today is rainy.

A Weekend in LaConner

It is no big secret that a lot of people go to La Conner to get away for a weekend. We spent a weekend recently in La Conner for the same reason—we wanted to get away from home and the home office to do some planning. So off we went, Celine, Brian and I to do some talking and planning for the 2013 business year. We discussed what went right and what went wrong with nothing left unturned. All topics held the same amount of importance because at the end of the day our decisions were for the company and the company is for our clients.

For me, the sights and sounds of the boats coming and going on the channel were very distracting. Fortunately, Celine knew that and threatened to pull the blinds so my focus could be maintained. We had a timer going to make sure we had a break every hour and a half and it was needed. There were treats to keep us going as the day wore on. Then at the end of the day we met Sarah and Brian for dinner. Not only was it the perfect way to end a day of brainstorming but we were feeling good because we knew that as a team we were looking down the same gun barrel toward the future.

I would suggest such a getaway for any management team, it provides an opportunity to open up and put new ideas on the table. Whether you are a business owner like I am, a farmer with management personnel, or a supplier with a management team, get away from the office, tune out the outside distractions, and let the ideas fly. Try it, you'll like it!