Retails

[ABfarm]

Local retail useful in the level of service and local product knowledge.
Outsource your experts, way cheaper than one, in house source.
Chem reps lie, LoL.
Land here hasn't payed for itself by itself in decades.
Our small town slowly rotting anyway.
Reset?? Perhaps.
Consider how much longer a medium to smaller farm can afford to own a combine?? How can the factories stay open charging what we can afford??
Has anyone here studied what that one piece of equipment really costs???
Worst one by a mile.

So how can a local independent pay for that technical person to provide the local knowledge and service? I dont think we can afford to pay extra for it? Maybe a couple bucks a jug but if its more we cant anymore? You are right about new equipment. The service department is keeping the dealerships open. Rural towns are going to get hit hard. These businesses are their only tax revenue other then the few houses. But it isnt the farmers fault. He is just the only one contributing to these economies now. Without him its dead.

[ajl]

I am in the other corner of the county from you ABfarm and we just got dumped on again. My crops are in a claim position so that means no fungicide around here. Simple decision making. Is there an app for that? Retails if they are going to survive will have to start offering realistic pay packets. Trouble with canuckistan is that our labor market is so distorted with government being by far the largest employer. In order to fix this mess government is going to have to lead with layoffs and pay and benefit decreases so as to stop market labor market distortion.

[helmsdale]

You've got:
-"the guys" who plan a rotation for you.
-"the guys" who plan fertility for you.
-"the guys" who scout your fields and come up with high clearance solutions all year for you.
-"the guys" who market it for you.
-"the guys" at the accounting firm who do all the financial magic for you.
-"the guys" on your payroll who do most of the labor for you.
-"the guys" at the service department who keep all the equipment owned by some other guys who are nice enough to lease it to you.
-"the guys" at the law firm who cover your ass for you.
-"the guys" at the bank who keep saying YES to you provided all the rest of "the guys" haven't misspent these guys' monopoly money.

We call these guys leaches, but it seems they're the only smart ones. No skin in the game and all sorts of guys willing to throw those other guys monopoly money at them. And if you ever get tired of being on the phone coordinating all "the guys", or mother nature gets you in a pickle, you phone "the guys" at RB auction, and the realty office and tell them to find a new guy who's willing to retire you to the city with some more of that monopoly money.

FUN!

[Misterjade9]

So, I hire a private agrology company to do my soil tests and about 1000acs. of VR. I find them very reasonable and knowledgeable in helping me form a fertility plan. They sure would like to scout all my acres but that is another 4 bucks an acre and I view that as my job. It would be another 24K just for scouting, that is not a bad wage to pay myself for something I think I should be doing anyways.

[LEP]

Not sure what guys are paying for agronomy advice now. Not too many years ago guys were paying $6 an acre. Honestly I can’t believe that people pay that kind of money for that.

Not sure what marketing advice is worth but if you can’t put the effort into becoming a journeyman in both these areas you either have too many acres or you shouldn’t be in the business. IMO.