How Scouting Tools Have ‘Changed Significantly’ for Ag Retailers, Growers

For nearly three years, growers and retailers have been forced to cope with a broken supply chain that limited availability of crop inputs. The challenges created by a pandemic and war in Europe proved the importance of using scouting tools as a means to find the most efficient way to manage those products.

“Through the supply chain disruption, we have seen our services become even more important,” Grey Montgomery, DTN Head of Ag Product and Operations. “At the time that many input suppliers realized shortages of products or materials, our technology was already providing intelligence to our customers on the agrimarkets and trends to help minimize the impact of the anomalies and product/material challenges that many faced.”

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“The scouting tools market is saturated with good platforms that can accommodate most budgets,” Montgomery says. “The question now turns to efficiency. Since most of the platforms on the market excel at one feature, most scouts must work across multiple platforms to derive one report, which reduces potential productivity. This is why we introduced DTN Agronomy. One of the major pain points that we were hearing is that scouts were working within multiple apps and platforms to create recommendations for one customer. DTN Agronomy delivers many insights in one interface.”

There are numerous offerings from a variety of companies.

“Diverse and resourceful,” are the words Brian Dintelmann, Technical Agronomist, BRANDT, uses to characterize the scouting tools market. “Scouting tools help consultants and growers isolate issues within a field to help make in-season and/or future management decisions. Whether it be the tried-and-true scouting tools, new imagery tools or a combination of both, users have more access than ever to help their scouting practices.”

Trends

Just collecting data isn’t enough. Any system a retailer or grower uses must provide context.

Adrian Ferrero, Biome Makers.

“Scouting tools that integrate multiple data streams help farmers gather all of their information in one easy-to-read and interpret platform,” explains Adrian Ferrero, CEO, and cofounder at Biome Makers. “Scouting tools that help inform decision-making; tools like BeCrop Test can let a grower know the biological limitations of their soil and what types of biostimulants or products can unlock those limitations.”

Speed, accuracy, autonomy, and ease of use are key if a tool is going to be successful.

“I think that the biggest trends are in machine learning, AI, and automated processing of data and auto report generation,” Dintelmann says. “All to support rapid and accurate scouting feedback that is readily available to advisors and growers in the palm of their hands.”

As technology advances, so does its ability to deliver more and more valuable information.

“Scouting tools are evolving to provide remote monitoring and the use of artificial intelligence and ultra-high-resolution imagery to provide leaf level pest severity and nutrient deficiency detection,” says David Gleason, SmartFarm Business Unit Manager, North, Simplot Grower Solutions. “Additionally, digital scouting platforms and apps have evolved to enable rapid in-field pest identification utilizing pest libraries to enable users to make in-field real time recommendations.”

Challenges and Opportunities

Retailers and their grower customers are constantly inundated with the “latest and greatest” solution that’s promises to solve a host of problems.

“The market in agriculture is always about trust,” Ferrero says. “The profit margin for farmers and growers doesn’t allow experimentation and ‘trust me’ approaches. The greatest challenge to new scouting tools is demonstrating their value as a tool, not just a trick. Tools must offer practical value to growers and integrate effectively into their monitoring, testing, or scouting programs.”

Biome Makers is working with another established enterprise to bring a solution that growers and retailers can trust.

“Collaborations and integrations among different apps and tools will help grow the market,” Ferrero says. “Farmers and advisors are looking for integrations to see a holistic view of their information and compare data to make the best agronomic decisions. One collaboration that Biome Makers recently launched is with DISAGRO. DISAGRO, through its innovative advisory service AgritecGEO, offers a service model supported by digital agriculture diagnostic tools that collect, analyze, and communicate information quickly and share it with its users via an App. And now, AgritecGEO will incorporate BeCrop technology into its services portfolio to improve conditions and information for optimizing resources, precise task execution, and greater knowledge of the crops.”

The challenge Dintelmann sees is delivering not just data, but useful information: “Data overload. Sometimes collecting too much data bogs us down and can make things confusing,” he says. “Focusing on quality scouting tools over quantity will be important for keeping scouting tools relevant.”

Actionable data is what makes a scouting tool useful.

“No industry has been immune to the supply chain disruptions caused by the global pandemic, Dintelmann says. “It has made for challenging times and has exposed opportunities for improvements in inventory management and forecasting. We too have been impacted by supply chain issues, like other ag retailers. By utilizing our digital tool offerings, we’re able to better apply the right amount of inputs at the right time. These tools help us more accurately predict where we’ll need what products and help our available inventory be used more efficiently.”

Technology

The sophistication of the technology that goes in to scouting tools continues to advance.

“Scouting tool technology has changed significantly in two ways,” Montgomery says. “First, scouting tools now provide integrated insights tailored to the agriculture industry. We have gone from a clipboard and paper in the fields, to scouts using their phones or an iPad to collect and log data in the field, to ag-focused intelligence that combines multiple factors impacting the producer and provides insights in real time.

“Second, scouting tool technology has changed the scout’s work processes. Today’s technology can autonomously create reports and intelligence for scouts to build confident recommendations,” Montgomery continues. “By streamlining the process and taking out much of the manual work, scouting tools can help scouts increase their efficiencies and help growers realize risk or opportunities quicker.”

BRANDT’s Dintelmann has seen similar advancements.

“Over the years, scouting tools have evolved in numerous ways,” he says. “For example, advancement in mobile technology has propelled the market from traditional book ID guides to mobile friendly apps to help identify weeds, insects, or nutrient deficiencies. More recently, photo recognition technology has nearly removed the guessing game in some of these areas. The use of drones has allowed growers and consultants a bird’s eye view of their fields to look for patterns of damage. Today, scouting tool technology is advancing with drone and satellite imagery technology. Better in-season imagery technology is allowing practitioners access to precise data that cuts down on time spent in a field diagnosing or finding a problem. These tools also allow imagery data to be overlaid with field operation layers such as planting or harvest to help make agronomic decisions.

“Imagery data is leading the market when it comes to scouting tools,” Dintelmann continues. “Whether it’s from a drone or satellite, better imagery means less time spent in a field isolating problem. Imagery data is also expanding beyond the scouting tool market. The See & Spray Technology will help make herbicide applications more efficient and cost effective in the future.”

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