Ag retailers trying to determine how to sell to their younger customers should not make assumptions about their motivations or buying habits. “Some [young farmers] may find credit an overriding issue, and that will drive decisions,” says Jay Akridge, director of Purdue University's Center for Food and Agricultural Business. “Some will be ‘chips off the old block’ and have the buying preferences of their parents and relatives. Others have earned college degrees and want to put their education to work, ‘self providing’ some information services. This is challenging from a sales standpoint, but keeping an open mind until a relationship is established will help a retailer start the right relationship with the grower.”

As these farmers develop their own management style, understanding exactly where you fit into their business is no small task, Akridge says. But ag retailers also can play an important role in the grower's career development.

“When I identify an up-and-coming young farmer who has an interest in expanding his or her knowledge base or skill set, I will offer to cost share or pay their way to attend educational events and help them establish networking opportunities,” says Greg Peton, key account manager, Pioneer Hi-Bred International. “Young farmers will flock to a person who is open to talking and working with them, and adding value to their business operations.”

Peton also oversees the American Soybean Association (ASA)/DuPont Young Leaders Program in which state soybean associations nominate farm couples or individuals to participate. The first of this two-part educational program is conducted each year at the Commodity Classic, and the second part is held at the Johnston, IA, headquarters of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a DuPont business.

The program focuses on leadership, management and key issues affecting the soybean business, such as biotechnology and international trade.

The Young Leaders Program focuses less on age and more on the nominees' “thought processes.” They tend to be forward thinking and focused on leadership in their local communities. One of the goals of the program is to help these farmers identify their skill sets, Peton says.

Pioneer and Rabobank (the ag financial services company), and in cooperation with Successful Farming, sponsor the New Century Farmer Program, which educates young, prospective farmers about the opportunities and challenges of production agriculture. This is an all-expense-paid seminar held at Pioneer headquarters in Des Moines, IA, every July. The topics covered include becoming involved in the value chain, such as working with ethanol producers or snack food producers.

Educational programs designed with young people in mind are very important, says Adam Steinbauer, seed services administrator, Crop Production Services (CPS), Galesburg, IL. This young seed company professional is also vice chair of the Future Seed Executives (FuSE) committee of the American Seed Trade Association.

Established in 2004, FuSE provides educational opportunities and support for the next generation of seed industry executives (those with less than 10 years of experience in the business). The organization facilitates networking between salespeople and their marketing peers as well as with older executives who are 10 to 15 years away from retirement, Steinbauer says. This can result in career and business partnership opportunities, he says.

While FuSE is primarily open to young seed professionals at this time, Steinbauer thinks it will likely expand to include other young ag professionals in the future. FuSE is structured so that it does not matter what company the person works for, he says, adding that the organization is friendly, “even though you might have head-to-head competition in the same room.”

FuSE also offers members the opportunity to learn more about the newest developments in genetics and biotech traits, sometimes arranging visits to company research centers.

Although some would argue that young people lack the experience that older farmers have, the industry, at least when it comes to biotech traits, is changing so fast that everyone is on a level playing field, Steinbauer maintains. Young people, he notes, also have an advantage in that they grew up with computers, which help make farm operations more efficient. When it comes to computer and Internet technology, the younger generation is generally more adaptive, he says.

At the same time, the younger generation is challenged by farm consolidation issues and they often do not have sufficient resources to capitalize larger operations. “This is a concern for young farmers who wonder how they can be productive and make good margins with more acres,” Steinbauer says.

Like Akridge, Steinbauer says that young farmers have different buying behaviors and that this can be a challenge for ag retailers. There is some brand loyalty; a young farmer might buy the same kind of seed that his father bought, for example. Although this mind-set can be difficult to overcome, Steinbauer feels it is easier to educate younger farmers about new technologies (biotech traits, for example).

Ag retailers should recognize that young farmers may be the decision makers in a family-farm operation. Therefore, it is important to talk not just with “dad,” but the next generation as well, Akridge says. The young person will likely take over the management (and the checkbook) at some future date.

Retailers might also want to be alert to generational differences between their own salespeople and young growers. Young farmers are generally confident, optimistic people and likely want to be treated with respect and not as the “young guy/gal,” Akridge says.

“If you think about the lifetime value of a customer relationship, then getting in on the ground floor with a younger grower offers a lot of upside over time,” Akridge says. But retailers should not assume this group looks at the world the way a more experienced grower does, he adds.

Younger growers tend to be more confident in their abilities and more optimistic about the future compared to growers further along in their careers, he says. “They tend to be heavier users of computers for record keeping and the Internet. They also tend to have more aggressive growth plans but are likely to be starting from a smaller base.”

Technology is important to many young farmers. Akridge advises that if young customers prefer to get information via e-mail, ag retailers should use it. “Respecting time is a big deal too,” he says. “Busy growers with young families will likely value personal time differently than some mature growers.”

Bill Belzer, e-business marketing manager for Pioneer, says the company does not segment farmers by age. Rather, the company's focus is to work with customers to maximize their profits through technologies (for example, technology traits, precision farming), which transcends age boundaries.

Young people have been more prepared to use precision farming tools than their older counterparts, but many established farmers are coming online — with field mapping, for example — because there is a need for it across farming operations, Belzer says. “Farmers want to see how their crops perform on different soils and what issues need to be addressed to maximize their profitability (tiling, for example).”

More farmers also are using the Internet, Belzer says. He manages Pioneer's GrowingPoint Web site, which provides frequent agronomic updates from local Pioneer agronomists.

Pioneer recently released a new record-keeping tool on GrowingPoint to help growers manage on a field-by-field basis. Pioneer customers will be able to access the Web site using a password/authorization, pre-load field maps, enter data (for example, planting and crop protection application information) and get customized advice online.

Similarly, MaxYield Cooperative, with corporate offices in West Bend, IA, and several locations in northwestern Iowa, focuses on customized service. The cooperative's motto is “We see more in your fields.” This means more than finding pests and weeds. It also means seeing more business opportunities in the farmer's operation, says Larry Arndt, agronomy and technical services marketing director.

Before the cooperative became MaxYield, it was the West Bend Elevator Company and had merged with other area cooperatives. “Due to the adversity this company experienced in the 1990s, we realized we had to change or we wouldn't survive,” writes Joseph Anniss, the company's general manager, in a company brochure explaining MaxYield's business approach. The cooperative took a new direction, using an entrepreneurial approach to business.

Part of the culture change at the cooperative was to hone in on identifying key accounts, learn about clients' needs and learn more about them personally, Arndt explains. It also fine-tuned a solution provider concept, dividing its sales team (called business solutions specialists) by who could best serve particular client segments (those making decisions mostly based on technical, personal or traditional reasons). The idea was to match a client with a business solutions specialist who was at least comfortable with managing two of the segments, such as technical and personal type clients or personal and traditional clients.

Like Akridge and Belzer, Arndt says that young farmers do not necessarily fall into one category. However, he has seen some general trends. “Generation X” wants to continue learning for the most part, he says. They also have a lot of challenges, such as determining how to grow and how to capitalize their operations. While most are college educated, they do look to retailers for answers, Arndt says.

CPS's Steinbauer observes that his young peers generally appreciate ag retailers' recommendations. He concludes that retailers can help build young farmers' confidence, and their recommendations can help farmers (young and old) run the most profitable, efficient operations possible.

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© 2007 Penton Media, Inc.