2022 CropLife 100: 3 Key Challenges Facing Ag Retailers Today
November 21, 2022 As the world jumps into the 2022 holiday season with both feet, here at CropLife, we are busy wrapping up our year-end CropLife 100 report. It will be a little while yet before we officially release this year’s figures and percentages, but we can look at some of the key challenges facing today’s ag retailers.
In any year, there are always those key market issues that keep most ag retailers up at night with worry. In 2022, there were three main ones, according to the 2022 CropLife 100 survey.
For most ag retailers surveyed in 2022, labor was once again the chief challenge. According to 46% of respondents, finding/retaining/paying top employee talent was the No. 1 issue. This was up significantly from the results of the 2021 CropLife 100 survey, when only 30% of respondents said labor was their No. 1 concern going into the new year.
“The labor shortage is the largest issue and being able to continue to provide all the services we provide today,” wrote Matt Schoper, Agronomy Sales and Marketing Manager at Crystal Valley Cooperative, Mankato, MN, on his CropLife 100 form.
Last year’s No. 1 market challenge, supply chain issues, dropped back into second place in 2022. According to this year’s survey, getting/finding products for their customers was the No. 1 concern among 39% of respondents. Still, this represented a significant drop from the 60% of respondents on the 2021 CropLife 100 survey that cited this issue as their No. 1 concern for the upcoming growing season.
“Supply chain interruptions and global volatility are the most concerning aspects in ag today,” wrote Brad Fronning, Head of Agronomy Operations at West Central Ag Services, Ulen, MN, on his CropLife 100 survey.
The final major issue for ag retailers in 2022 seems to be more geographic specific. According to 13% of 2022 CropLife 100 ag retailers, water availability/regulations are their No. 1 concern. And this seems to be situation for any ag retailer based in the Western U.S. – particularly in the states of Arizona and California.
“The scarcity of labor and water in California is affecting/threatening our grower-customers’ ability to compete in a national/global market,” wrote Brian Lish, CEO at AgRx, Oxnard, CA, on his 2022 CropLife 100 survey.
As for other major concerns among the nation’s top ag retailers, the remaining 2% mentioned such items as market consolidation, ecommerce, and inflation as their primary challenges to continued profitability.
Loading ...For the rest of the findings from the 2022 CropLife 100 survey, check out website posts starting in December and the December 2022 edition of CropLife magazine.
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