For ag retailers and their agronomy teams, the end of harvest doesn’t mean the end of the growing season’s learning opportunities. In fact, the months following harvest may be among the most valuable times to evaluate field performance, identify potential problems, and develop recommendations for the next growing season.
With advances in drone imagery, satellite monitoring, digital agronomy platforms, and artificial intelligence (AI), retailers have more tools than ever to examine what happened in their customers’ fields. The challenge is turning that information into practical insights that can help growers make better management decisions.
Dan Bjorklund, Technical Agronomy Lead at Landus Cooperative, recently discussed this approach during an episode of CropLife’s Retail Week, alongside co-host Amy Asmus of Asmus Farm Supply. Their conversation highlighted how retailers can use technology and historical field data to better understand crop performance and prepare growers for the year ahead.
Turning In-Season Observations Into Year-Round Insights
One of the biggest advantages of today’s digital agronomy platforms is their ability to preserve a record of what happened throughout the growing season.
Bjorklund discussed how Landus uses SkyScout, a digital platform that incorporates imagery from drones, aircraft, and satellites to help agronomists monitor crop conditions.
During the growing season, Bjorklund can identify areas of interest in a field, place a digital pin on the location, and physically visit the area to investigate further. But the real value of the technology doesn’t necessarily end when the immediate problem is addressed.
By returning to those locations after harvest, agronomists can review the imagery timeline and compare what they observed in-season with the eventual results.
“Some things that didn’t appear apparent then are now starting to make a little more sense,” Bjorklund explained during the Retail Week discussion.
For example, disease pressure, root health issues, and other crop stresses may have contributed to yield differences that weren’t immediately obvious during the growing season. Reviewing the historical imagery alongside yield information can help agronomists better understand what happened and identify opportunities to improve management practices.
This approach also provides a more complete picture than relying solely on what growers remember seeing in their fields.
Bjorklund emphasized that this type of analysis will be a major focus between harvest and the start of winter grower meetings.
“From now really until we do our farmer meetings, which we’ll start in December, I will be looking back at what we saw and then looking at the data coming in and making some correlation as best as we can,” he said.
Using AI to Ask Better Agronomic Questions
Another important development is the ability to analyze large amounts of field data and look for patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Bjorklund noted that the SkyScout platform includes analytical capabilities and an AI agent that allows users to explore information across the acres enrolled in the system.
For example, agronomists can compare hybrid performance across different fields, evaluate fertilizer application strategies, or examine how different nitrogen application timings influenced crop results.
“We can say, okay, let’s compare this genetic hybrid, this company brand versus this one, and let’s compare it where we did fall anhydrous and maybe a little bit of spring application versus just fall,” Bjorklund said.
He added that nitrogen timing is another area that can be evaluated using the available information.
“There’s no limit to the questions that you can ask. And sometimes I can go down deep rabbit holes that way.”
For ag retailers, these capabilities offer an opportunity to move beyond general recommendations and provide growers with more field-specific insights.
Rather than simply discussing what worked or didn’t work across an entire region, agronomists can begin examining differences between individual fields, management practices, and growing environments.
Of course, data analysis doesn’t automatically produce all the answers. Agronomists still need to interpret the results, account for environmental differences, and apply their experience when making recommendations.
As Bjorklund acknowledged, “As you know, as being in agronomy, we never figure everything out.”
Making the Connection Between Past Performance and Future Decisions
Collecting and analyzing data is only part of the process. The next step is using those findings to help growers make decisions for the following season.
That’s where the relationship between retailers and their customers becomes especially important.
During the Retail Week discussion, Asmus pointed out that many growers are ready to turn the page once harvest is complete. With a new growing season approaching, they may be more interested in discussing next year’s plans than revisiting what happened previously.
“How do you take that data so that you’re not only looking back, but maybe when you start to have those discussions in December, you’re looking forward to practices that maybe they need to add or practices they did that maybe they don’t need to do?” Asmus asked.
It’s a challenge many retailers recognize. Growers may be disappointed with certain results, but they don’t necessarily want to spend additional time discussing a difficult season.
Asmus explained that this transition can be particularly challenging when growers are eager to put the previous season behind them.
“Because I know with us, it’s a pretty hard page turn. And now I’m on to the new year,” she said.
Bjorklund’s approach involves working directly with growers to review the data and develop a plan for the next growing season.
He described one customer between Britt and Forest City (Iowa) who enrolled a significant number of acres in the SkyScout program. Bjorklund committed to visiting the farm every two weeks throughout the season to monitor field conditions.
“I think I pretty much fulfilled that. But we became friends enough that he calls me every day now,” Bjorklund said.
Following a disappointing season, Bjorklund planned to meet with the grower to review the findings and discuss what could be done differently.
The conversation would include preparing for potential planting challenges, evaluating genetics, and considering management practices that could help protect crop health.
For retailers, this illustrates an important point: Technology can provide the information, but personal relationships help turn that information into action.
Looking Beyond the Yield Monitor
Historical field data can also help retailers evaluate management decisions that extend beyond hybrid selection and crop protection.
Nitrogen management, for example, remains one of the most complicated areas of agronomic decision-making.
Asmus noted that growers are often focused on moving forward once the season ends, but reviewing previous application practices and their results can help identify opportunities to improve nutrient management.
The same approach applies to evaluating fungicide programs, disease pressure, and other crop protection decisions.
Bjorklund discussed how some Iowa growers who applied two fungicide treatments appeared to achieve higher yields than those who applied only one. While he emphasized that additional data was needed before drawing firm conclusions, the observations illustrate how retailers can use historical information to generate questions worth exploring.
“The whole nitrogen thing is very elusive,” Bjorklund said during the discussion, highlighting the challenges of determining the right application rates and timing.
He also emphasized that growers and retailers need to consider the economics behind their decisions.
“My recommendation as an agronomist is do not put on anhydrous if soil temperatures are above 50 like they are right now,” he said.
The goal isn’t necessarily to establish a universal recommendation. Instead, it’s to understand how different management decisions performed under specific field conditions.
That information can become particularly valuable during winter grower meetings, when retailers have an opportunity to review results and discuss potential changes before the next season begins.
Making Technology Work for the Agronomist
As digital tools become increasingly sophisticated, retailers also need to consider how technology can make their agronomy teams more efficient.
Bjorklund offered a practical perspective on this during the Retail Week conversation. He explained that drone imagery and field scans help identify abnormal areas and direct his scouting efforts.
“I’m 69. I’m not as quick in the field as I was 30 years ago,” he said.
He compared scanning a field using digital imagery to a human MRI, allowing him to identify unusual areas and determine where additional scouting is needed.
“I can take a scan of a field, and it’s like a human MRI, and I look for those areas that are abnormal, all during a growing season, and it directs where I scout,” Bjorklund explained.
“It’s a fantastic tool for old guys like myself,” he joked.
Asmus quickly agreed, adding, “Awesome old guys like me, too.”
The observation highlights a benefit that extends beyond age or experience. When agronomists are responsible for monitoring thousands of acres, technology can help them prioritize their time and focus attention where it is most needed.
Digital tools don’t eliminate the importance of physically walking fields or understanding crop conditions. Instead, they can help agronomists make those activities more targeted and productive.
Preparing for the Next Growing Season Starts Now
For ag retailers, the period between harvest and planting offers an important opportunity to strengthen customer relationships and demonstrate the value of their agronomic services.
By combining historical imagery, yield information, scouting observations, and grower feedback, retailers can develop a more complete understanding of what happened during the previous season.
More importantly, they can use those findings to help growers evaluate hybrid selection, crop protection strategies, nutrient management, and other production decisions before the next season begins.
As the discussion between Bjorklund and Asmus demonstrated, successful agronomy increasingly involves connecting what happened in the field with what should happen next.
The technology is providing more information than ever. The opportunity for ag retailers is to turn that information into meaningful conversations, better recommendations, and stronger relationships with their grower customers.
Want to hear more? Watch the full episode of CropLife Retail Week featuring Dan Bjorklund and Amy Asmus to learn more about using technology and in-season data to improve agronomic recommendations, along with their discussion of nitrogen management, crop protection, water quality, and the outlook for the 2027 growing season.
