Solving problems in Ag

Extracted from the Farm Tender weekly Newsletter - Sign up and get the email every Wednesday morning before 5 am. www.farmtender.com.au

By Dwain Duxson

PS: Just before we start, I just want to let you know that we are going to have a 2-week break with this weekly newsletter and the associated reports (Hay, What's Hot, Auctions, PAC, etc). But you will still get the daily newsletter. The reason being is that I am going to take a 2-week break from the business, starting on the 3rd of October. 

Identifying problems in Ag is not that hard. It's finding a solution that is the tricky thing. If you are trying to solve a problem in Ag, you can guarantee it will be a complex one. Ag is complicated, and it's fine to have a solution to a problem, but trying to find a Farmer to implement it is tricky.

That's why so many Ag Tech businesses never get off the ground or fail. Many come from outside Ag to try and solve problems inside Ag, but they invariably fail because Ag is a different beast. Don't get me wrong, we need intelligent, entrepreneurial people coming in from the outside, it's imperative, but it's tough for them to penetrate. We still have to be super open to new ideas and at least give some of these ideas the time of day.

The best entrepreneurs that solve the biggest problems in Ag are the ones that come from within. They are either current or ex Farmers or come from service-providing sectors that work with Farmers. We have named many in the past, and the list is building.

Even in our business with over 61,000 members and between 7000 and 9000 unique daily visitors, we have tried things we think might fly, only to find them on the scrap heap a couple of months later. I reckon we have tried a dozen of these over the years. But by going through the process of trying, you inevitably find the occasional nugget of gold.

I think some of the biggest problems in Ag are things like succession, finding workers, dealing with climate expectations, consumer behaviour, input costs, supply chains and financial management or mismanagement.

The last one, financial management, is one we want to focus on today. Most Farmers are very good at Farming in this day and age, some Farmers are very good at managing their finances, but many aren't. And being in the business of buying and selling, we see this on a daily basis. And at the end of the day, most Farmers just want to Farm, and the financial side is something they reluctantly do at the end of the month. 

So we have an idea where you can outsource that to us.

With those observations, we see an opportunity to help. I would like to make a light introduction to a new division of our business called Farm Books.

We have had great success in helping our customers do all the invoicing for them in Farm Tender (through our NPS system), and we are offering to take that service to everyday Farm invoicing for all transactions outside Farm Tender. Our current NPS model is quick, efficient, secure, and gets the job done without you lifting a finger. We provide assurance and insurance.

Initially, we will offer invoicing but will look to branch out into other financial management as Farm Books evolves. If anyone is interested in exploring Farm Books further, either reply to this newsletter or drop me an email at dwaind@farmtender.com.au (subject Farm Books), and after I get back from my 2-week break, I can send you a package of what we can do for you.

If we can quicken up the invoice process, then everyone can get paid quicker and it makes it much easier to manage your financial commitments. 

That's solving a problem. 

End of message.