In agriculture, there is arguably no such thing as a “normal” year but 2020 has managed to bring a whole new meaning to the word “abnormal.”

I believe that as an agricultural sector we need to pat ourselves on the back for how well both individuals and businesses adapted to new restrictions to keep affairs moving forward. Just as the country was shutting down, farmers and ag-retailors were gearing up for spring. Looking back, I believe our efforts paid off.

For the most part, spring flowed nicely. Customers were great about calling ahead for product and come time to plant there was very little seed left in our warehouse.

We have seen some excellent yields this fall across many crops and the market has given us some tremendous commodity prices. This being said, spring wasn’t without its “white knuckle moments”. Jumping through hoops to bring in foreign labour, ethanol plants slowing the grind to a near halt, and the uncertainty of a total shut down were just a few of the roadblocks the ag-sector faced.

It could easily be argued that not many of these restrictions will change in time for the spring of 2021, so what can we do to alleviate some of this uncertainty? At AGRIS we have been long preaching the importance of a plan well ahead of the spring rush. We spend our winter months setting up planning meetings with customers to better understand their goals for the next crop year and then create solutions to help them achieve their desired outcome. From fertilizer plans driven by soil sampling, to crop protection and seed, we would love for our customers to know everything they will be needing ahead of the first day of planting. Part of this means getting the appropriate products in your shop. With innovative farmers always wanting to hit the ground running early in the season it is no longer efficient to be using a day fit for planting to go pick up seed.

If we ever needed a reason to stress the importance of having a plan, 2020 provided just that.

As much as we don’t know what this winter and next spring will hold I think there are some very important points to consider moving into next year.

Crop Planning is Essential

Having a plan (or multiple) in place ahead of the busiest time of the year can relieve a considerable amount of stress when it’s crunch time. When both you and your crop specialist are on the same page things can roll much more smoothly. The branch will be up to date on what you require and, in many cases, we can prepare products like seed and crop protection ahead of time. This way you have them in your possession well ahead of the day you will use them. We want to be specific and intentional with these field plans, breaking things down with you and looking at your farm field by field. Your operation is unique and requires a specifically tailored solution to reflect this. This includes seed, chemical, soil sampling and grain marketing to name a few.

Pick Up Product Ahead of Time

This comment mainly applies to seed and crop protection. Let us put the seed order that you and your crop specialist discussed together so that you have what you need on the farm for day one of planting. Of course, you can return and pick up extra bags but normally you will have a pretty good idea of what you need. Pre emerge or early post herbicide program? Let’s get the product in your shop ahead of the application window so if things progress quicker than you expected or mother nature rears her head, you can pivot and react accordingly.

Communication is Key

Plans can always change and there are many aspects of farming that are out of everyone’s control. Some of these obstacles are new but many are challenges farmers have always faced. If the line of communication is open and flowing, we can usually roll with these changes and tweak the plan accordingly. If either you or your crop specialist notices something in season that is either working great or not working at all, it's important to have a conversation about it while it's fresh on everybody’s mind. Then come planning season it can be included in the following year's proposal.

Let's plan for a successful 2021

Now that we are well into harvest and the end is in sight have an initial conversation with us about 2021 sooner than later. It’s easy to forget what went on throughout the season five months after the fact.

A meeting soon after harvest or early in the new year followed by the refreshing of plans closer to spring is a good baseline for planning. Of course, our phones are always on, and we plan to connect multiple times throughout the winter but treat a couple of meetings as the minimum.

Although how we do business in some aspects has changed, we are still here for you as your trusted advisor to plan for success in 2021. Phone calls, video chats and socially distanced conversations are all examples of how we can do some planning for the 2021 season. 

At AGRIS and Wanstead Farmers Co-operatives, we will not be letting COVID restrictions hinder us from planning for another successful season with our customers.

Nobody knows what the situation will be going into next spring, but how much more at ease would you be, knowing that you and your AGRIS and Wanstead Farmers Co-operatives team are on the same page and ready to execute a well thought out plan? Let’s get to that place together.