It might be a good idea to increase your production costs next year.
As silly as that sounds, it could be a smart move if it boosts profitability.
It’s a fine line. Most producers spend serious cash to maximize profits, but some seek to invest even more on the latest innovations to gain an edge.
Geoff Gyles knows a number of these farmers. His company, Wolf Trax from Winnipeg, is making waves with a unique seed nutrition product. Part of the appeal for this product is, ironically, the high cost of putting a crop in the ground.
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“I think attitudes toward seed nutrition are starting to change as the price of seed moves up,” says Gyles, who founded Wolf Trax in 1998 with partner Kerry Green.
“What’s emerging are high-performance farmers who, because they’re investing more money on seed and other inputs, have much higher expectations when it comes to yields.”
Wolf Trax is best known in areas where soil is deficient in micronutrients such as copper, zinc and manganese.
Gyles and Green developed an innovative way to apply micronutrients by processing them into a fine, dry powder that clings to other objects through electrostatic adhesion, similar to how a balloon sticks to a surface after rubbing it on your hair.
However, their new product is aimed at an entirely different audience: farmers who Gyles says are trying “to reach the maximum potential for their crop.”
Company reps describe Protinus (a latin word meaning “forward”) as baby food for seedlings. The idea is to give seedlings a nutrient boost from the moment they germinate to produce swifter root development, more even emergence and a more robust and higher-yielding crop. It can be applied to everything from grains and oilseeds to vegetables and forages.
Wolf Trax was cautious in bringing the product to market. It spent four years doing field trials, mainly by universities and independent researchers, before initiating a limited commercial roll-out in 2010.
This approach reflects the mindset of those high-performance producers who are early adopters of new technology. They are willing to spend extra money on something new but first want to know the product has been thoroughly tested and evaluated, says Gyles.
“These types of farmers are looking for all the different ways to unlock the true potential of the seed they’re investing in,” he says.
“They are looking for different things than what their grandfathers were looking for.”
This column is not a pitch for this particular product. What’s key here is the fact that there is a category of farmers actively seeking, and finding, ways to gain an edge. They have taken to heart the advice of farm business experts such as Danny Klinefelter, who says “the only truly sustainable competitive advantage is the ability to learn and adapt faster than your competition.”
It doesn’t matter whether it’s trying out an innovative input, mastering precision ag techniques, taking better advantage of today’s high-tech equipment or finding a way to attract and retain skilled employees. It’s all about finding a way to stay in the forefront.
This is the high-performance mentality. It’s why Canada’s Olympic program created its Own The Podium initiative.
Of course, this approach doesn’t suit everyone. Most are content to let the early adopters sort out what innovations work and how best to use them.
But you also have to be aware that competition in agriculture is fierce and unrelenting. Although Wolf Trax is a relatively small company, it has salespeople across North America, Latin America and Europe for the simple reason that there are high-performance producers in almost every corner of the globe.
Farmers around the world are looking for an edge. What’s yours?
