Ag Retailers Can Ensure a Successful Tech Journey for Their Grower-Customers
February 14, 2024 For me, the cold, dark days of winter are a time to slow down, do some organizing, foster new habits, catch up on reading, and indulge in some deep thinking.
One topic that I mull over frequently is technology and how it’s impacting nearly every facet of our lives. There are plenty of examples of negative effects, especially social ones like increased isolation, bullying, and intrusive surveillance. Yet, technology has also enabled greater connectedness and communication, telehealth, and access to more information than one can possibly imagine.
When we think of quantum computing, gene editing, deep fakes, Large Language Models, and AI singularity, it’s not a stretch to draw a parallel with what J. Robert Oppenheimer contemplated, and understandably feared, in the New Mexico desert in July 1945 when he witnessed the detonation of the first atomic bomb.
Yes. The absolute power of technology is frightening, and nefarious actors are a given in this world.
However, there’s an undeniable “good” that technology yields, and I believe that agriculture is where it promises to shine.
Indeed, technology-enabled agricultural production is the only way we can feed a growing global population with finite natural resources.
Technology supports a safer food supply chain, more nutrient-dense and healthy crops, more environmentally friendly production, along with a reduction in food waste and food insecurity.
For ag retailers and growers, technology is fundamentally changing how they produce crops and do business.
And no one is more excited about ag tech than Adam Gittins, President of HTS Ag. I spoke to him as he made his way through the massive CES show in Las Vegas on January 10th. We talked about how ag retailers can assure a successful technology journey for grower-customers.
With regards to technology: “It just keeps coming at us from every direction,” acknowledged Gittins. While it may be overwhelming, “farmers need to pay attention to avoid being left behind or not understanding what they’re dealing with,” he said. “An inadequately trained robot can go out in the field and wipe out an entire crop.”
That’s where ag retailers come in.
“At HTS Ag, we’ve long held the position that we need to be out front of technology. We need to learn it and then do a good job of explaining it to our customers and help them understand how it can have an impact on their operations,” said Gittins.
“That’s another reason why many of us at HTS Ag are directly involved in production agriculture, including myself. We use the technology on our own farms so we can prove that return on investment. It’s not about selling technology or gadgets; we’re transforming technology into a tool that they can use on their operations,” he said.
“We view this as the biggest value add we provide. Not only do we explain the technology and sell and service the equipment, but we also do a good job of helping lay out a technology plan for the next three to five years.”
Let’s get growing!
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