What Farmers Want: Tech Hub LIVE Session Dives Deep Into the Mindset of Large Producers
July 22, 2021 
Bill Northey, Principal, WHNorthey, LLC, moderated the session “Inside the Large Producer Mindset Toward Technology” at Tech Hub LIVE.
One theme that was repeated consistently by presenters during the inaugural Tech Hub LIVE was the need to listen to the farmers and what they want, rather than just telling them what they need. One of the sessions allowed the retailers and tech providers at the event to do just that by hearing from three large scale Iowa farmers and asking them questions. “Inside the Large Producer Mindset Toward Technology” was moderated by Bill Northey, an Iowa farmer himself who most recently served as USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in the Trump Administration and now has his own agricultural consulting firm.
“It was a chance for ag retailers to get in the mind of the ultimate customer, a chance to be able to hear from those farmers what drives them and what interests them,” said Northey.
Large-acre growers present a unique set of challenges for service providers. In this session, panelists — Scott Henry, Partner, LongView Farms; Kyle Mehmen, Owner/GM, MBS Family Farms; and Benjamin R. Riensche, Owner and Manager, Blue Diamond Farming Company – discussed what they are looking for from trusted advisors now and into the future.
The farmer panel included:
Scott Henry, a partner in LongView Farms in Nevada, IA, whose main responsibility is business growth, process management. and the implementation of precision technology on LongView’s seed and commercial acres.
Kyle Mehmen, owner and GM of MBS Family Farms, is a fifth generation farmer from Northeast Iowa and an active member of Family Farms Group since 2007.
Rounding out the group was Ben Riensche who operates a sixth-generation family farm known as the Blue Diamond Farming Company with operations in Northwest Iowa, as well as Washington and Idaho.
Riensche really got the conversation started with the colorful history of how his operation grew from one young German farmhand who moved to America in 1861 with the dream of owning his own farm and how each successive generation kept the farm going by being innovative and adopting new technology as it came along.
The farmers all expressed their openness to hearing about the latest new products and systems, but they stressed that one of their most valuable commodities is time and they are careful about how they use it. When asked what apps were the first ones they checked in the morning, weather was number one, followed by the markets.
Northey was happy to be able to participate in the Tech Hub LIVE conference and he hopes to see it continue. “I’m only five miles away so it’s great for me, but it is great just to have it in central Iowa, and frankly it was just great to get back together in person and talk about ag tech.”
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