IN10T Insights
It’s the Farmers’ Vote that Counts
By Randy Barker, co-owner & CEO IN10T As I write this blog, politicians across the U.S. are wondering how they can get you and me to adopt them as our candidate. They want us to not only adopt them, but to act with our vote. In our industry the farmer holds the ultimate vote. If farmers try your product and their feedback is engaging and positive, the farmer becomes a catalyst for success. So, how do we get them to adopt your new widget, technology or agronomic product? We don’t know yet. When the IN10T team sits down with a client, we start with a blank slate. We ask you about your vision for success and build the pillars of the process around that. And once our team and yours agrees on the path forward, IN10T has the market and industry expertise to quickly deliver on the vision. Why don’t we rely upon processes already in place? Because if your vision could be achieved through existing processes, then it would be easy. And you would not need IN10T. Traditions are wonderful when they are connected to holidays, but when it comes to meeting agri-business objectives, taking the traditional ...
Technology Highlight- The CropSafe Network
The Cropsafe Network Over the past couple of week's we've been sharing our perspective and reviews on some leading technologies in agriculture. We love learning about new technology solutions at IN10T and it's even better when that innovation comes from one of our FarmerTrial Participants. Today we’re excited to talk about one of those innovations. FarmerTrials Network member Justin Ogle is a farmer full of ideas. As he works his fields in Missouri, he often comes up with solutions to everyday problems that farmers face. What stands out however, is that his solutions often end up being turned into companies that actively make a difference in the agriculture industry. Case and point- Cropsafe, a company Justin and a team of experts started to help farmers and companies deal with pest threats. The purpose of Cropsafe is simple. To provide locations for storage of sensors that generate data valuable ...
#Harvest20 Social Index Week 3
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Technology Highlight-Platinum Ag
CropX Soil Moisture Probes Cassie & Jake Misch are a dynamic team. The husband and wife duo work in northern Indiana, Cassie focusing on agronomy and CropX advising, and Jake focused on their farm. As part of both of their work, they get the opportunity to use, review, and understand new technologies that are being employed on the field. One such technology that has quickly risen to prominent use in their area is the CropX Soil Moisture probe. The need first became obvious about 5 years ago when Cassie noticed that farmers didn’t have access to accurate decision making services to help them understand their irrigation practices. In fact, there was a general lack of access to irrigation data at all. In response, Cassie went through training and became an advisor for her area under her broader Platinum Ag agronomy services company. For his part, Jake began including ...
Empowering through Technology
Empowering through Technology By Mike Hartquist, VP of Technology How many times have you heard this statement around your business "If we just had this new technology (software) it would solve our problems”? If only it was that easy! For most businesses, technology is not the product or service being sold and should really be considered an 'enabler' to the business (and their clients). Accelerating Adoption of new and innovative ag solutions is what we at IN10T specialize in; and our technology platform is the lynchpin to Empowering our clients and farmer partners. Notice the absence of the words software, system, or tool - rather a technology Platform that enables our business, clients, and partners to understand and make informed decisions regarding the effectiveness and use of these products. We are very IN10Tional with our technology strategy and roadmap - here is what we value: ...
Technology Highlight- Senterra
Testing the Future of Agriculture Kyle Morrow, IN10T’s Lead Precision Agronomist, is always looking to push the agronomy process to the next level. One area that Kyle often studies is the use of field tools that can help with data collection. Kyle recently spent time with the Senterra drone app coupled with his DJI Phantom 4 Pro to better understand the positive applications it could have on agronomic trials.. Kyle tested the Senterra app at one of our IN10T Research Farms in Northwest Indiana. He was focused primarily on determining if the app would serve well as a replacement for time consuming stand counts, as well as to collect some visual imagery of the field. As he approached the research farm and began to set up his equipment, he noted the ease of connecting the app to his drone. Kyle notes that the app and the drone were ...
#Harvest20 Social Index Week 2
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Views From the Airport Control Tower – How Speed Impacts the IN10T Team
Views From the Airport Control Tower - How Speed Impacts the IN10T Team By Josh Gwaltney, IN10T Business Analyst If there is any part of an airport that stands out to me, it has to be the control tower. No matter where you are, or what part of airport operations you are participating in, the control tower serves as a beacon that helps keep operations running smoothly. The tower serves a very important purpose. Those who work in it are able to monitor planes taking off and landing, helping to coordinate the integral functions of the airport and respond with a bird’s eye view to rapidly changing conditions. From their vantage point they can see three primary levels of operations: Looking to the sky and seeing the planes in transit, observing the runways to see who is coming in and coming out, and viewing the rest of the ...
Visiting FarmerTrials | North Dakota & Minnesota
Have you ever wondered what a trip with the IN10T Agronomy Team looks like? Check out this video with IN10T Sr. Precision Agronomy Lead Kyle Morrow as he visits farms in Minnesota and North Dakota. Kyle completed a standard research visit at each location, measuring stand count, corn kernels, and trial response along with other results.. The data he recorded was uploaded into our IN10T Portal to increase the accuracy of trial results. As part of each field visit, IN10T agronomists work directly with FarmerTrials Network participants to gather their thoughts on the trials they participate in. By hearing the qualitative response participants have to products, the IN10T team is better able to understand the full story of each trial. Members raise a variety of crops for trials such as the corn, soybeans, and wheat seen in this video. As a result, IN10T agronomists travel the country, ...
#Harvest20 Social Index Week 1
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World AgriTech South America: Accelerating Market Adoption of Biological Products for Tropical Agriculture
IN10T CEO Randy Barker led a distinguished panel during the World AgriTech South America Summit to discuss the impact of Biologicals in tropical environments. The discussion covered multiple aspects of Biological products including fertilizer applications, use as inoculants, and sustainability implications. If you want to learn more about the future of Biologicals in tropical areas, check out the rest of the interview and reach out today! Click here to watch the video!
A Coach Reflects on the IN10T Team
A Coach Reflects on The IN10T Team By Alex Thompson, Director of Finance and Business Operations Before I joined IN10T, before I earned my MBA, before I taught high school math, before I was the head boys basketball coach for the Starkville Christian Cougars, I played point guard for the Covenant Christian School Eagles. I love playing basketball - the constant movement up and down the court, the speed and agility of my teammates to change up plays, the adrenaline rush that comes with pushing toward a goal together … and winning! It’s been several years since I’ve coached or played, but last harvest it felt like I was back on the court again. Only this time it was with my IN10T teammates. And our endgame was helping our FarmerTrials Network participants wrap up data collection for the 2019 season. Due to excess moisture all growing season, challenging ...
The Easy Button Drives Adoption
The Easy Button Drives Adoption By Sarah Pierce, IN10T VP Commercial Services Have you ever thought to take the time to ride along in the buddy seat as a farmer tries out your product? The experience provides quite a bit of insight into what it takes for producers to implement your products or technologies. In other words, it’s a great opportunity to understand their Customer Effort Score. Customer Effort Score, or CES is a term applied to a single-item metric that measures how much time, energy or effort a customer has to exert to effectively implement your product or utilize your technology, get an issue resolved, a request filled, a product purchased/returned or a question answered. Quite often in agriculture, we’re so focused on the yield benefits or product performance that we overlook the fact that farmers, like all business owners, are busy. Efficiencies matter. There simply aren’t ...
Free Product Trials Don’t Work: Top 3 Learnings from IN10T
The IN10T Business Has Been Built Upon the Premise of Solving for These Challenges By Kevin Heikes, COO IN10T In today’s world, large parts of agriculture product testing, data collection, and product development decisions come from offering prospective customers free product trials. These trials often promise participants access to the latest in products, with no cost or action required outside of using the product itself. Sounds like a win-win situation for the company and the farmer, right? Unfortunately, we rarely see this approach deliver the desired results of driving product adoption. We’d like to share with you the challenges we see with the existing free demo trial experience, and how at IN10T, we have effectively solved for these to drive successful product adoption. Here are 3 primary challenges the typical product demo program faces: 1. Free Product = Low Value One of the main struggles with running a ...