How can farmers compete or get ahead in the evolving agriculture world?

More efficiency and information in recent breakthroughs in technology have changed farm management. But farmers must decide what purchases are right for them in a tough economic environment.

“One way is to use a step-by-step process,” said Mark Licht, associate professor and Extension cropping systems specialist at Iowa State University Extension.

“It can help decide when and how much upgraded technology to do. Incremental can be a wise way to go.”

Maybe custom applicators and sprayers are sorely needed for a farm, but other farm operations need investments in specialized equipment. The farmer will have to choose one or the other, he said.

“The result of prioritizing will help cut costs as well as pay off with more and improved quality of crops,” Licht said. “Maybe that helps to prioritize what you do and when.”

If a farm operation is feeling a pinch on available funds to spend, that may be an instance when the owners or managers should be open to asking for assistance.

“Maybe they can’t do that purchase now but maybe in a pinch they can work with their co-op or maybe borrow from a neighbor who isn’t using that equipment right then,” he said.

Being flexible, open-minded, improvisational and creative goes hand-in-hand in how farmers progress positively to update technology for their operations.

“Do whatever it takes to keep things going or to get machines back to running good,” Licht said.

Precision agriculture technology can be a good investment.

“Remote monitoring systems are a way to manage but you’re not right on the site in question,” Licht said. “And when you see alerts, you’ll say to yourself: ‘Hey, we got to go fix that now.’”

It’s a method to help farmers make decisions in real-time based on data collected from sensors and analysis tools.

“It saves time and money — simultaneously at times,” he said.

For example, less fertilizer use by moving it to a targeted area that needs it most means less cost.

Need more help, but getting too few qualified candidates?

“That’s most interesting or important to farmers with labor shortages,” Licht said. “… You can have an autonomous tractor do it.”

Timeliness is key when variables such as drastic weather pop up suddenly.

“Look forward to invest and get it all done in a timely manner,” Licht said. “If money or time is tight, diligently follow your maintenance schedule to make sure everything is ready just before it’s needed. Down time is money.

“Producers have a lot of things to get ready for different seasons. If anything causes down time — a combine, semi-trucks, semi-trailers, utility vehicles, GPS on remote monitoring equipment, grain bins, grain bin fans, any of them — get on it.”

Ag financial firms emphasize acute attention to farm operational costs as a must for continued success or improvement.

“The cash flow of the business, budgeting, cutting costs, doing a better job of marketing to get the best price, risk management and commodity programs are important factors we consider with clients,” said Douglas Redenius with AgriFinance Advisors.

“Find ways to cut costs and increase margins, then you have more money to invest.”