Agri-Trend manages a complex agronomic data service for diverse farming operations, working through 100 local field agronomists, most of whom are located on the Prairies, but some are halfway around the world.
It’s only possible because they’re all wired.
“I use the internet to shrink time and space,” said Rob Saik, founder and chief executive officer of Agri-Trend.
“Whether our client is right here in Red Deer or in Manitoba or Ontario or Mexico or eastern Europe, we can bring to bear on that farm the highest degree of expertise that’s available.”
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Saik is not an office agronomist, tied to his desktop computer. In addition to managing Agri-Trend, he also serves a half dozen clients in the Red Deer area, just to keep his boots on the ground.
But while his boots may be stuck in the mud some years, his thoughts are travelling through the satellites. Saik can be standing in an Alberta wheat field and be live on-line making recommendations to a coach standing in Ontario, through his Tablet, which is loaded with a 1X card.
“The 1X card plugs into a pocket PC, Tablet, laptop or desktop. I can enter data while I’m right in the field. I use Tablet to jot down notes and then go on-line to enter that data. It’s all synchronized so it’s always a hot source of data.
“MyPal Pocket Agri-Ledger gives me data management, GPS, GIS, maps, shape files and it’s all integrated on-line. It’s also integrated into a filing cabinet so agri-coaches and clients can post and access any type of files dealing with their operation. We also operate a blog site 24-7 so it’s important we have instant service.”
Saik’s affinity for instant data communication extends to farms where high speed internet links are not readily available through normal sources.
“We addressed that old copper wire problem of high speed linkups to our farmer clients way back in 2002. It’s called thin architecture. It links us all together so our clients have full access to the best agronomic information they can find anywhere.”
