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Swift action Timing is the name of the game in treating Asian soybean rust. That message was sounded loud and clear by researchers and company executives at the recent Court good customers WHAT'S THE best way to keep good customers coming back and to attract new ones? Fix annoying problems The first step is to focus on frustrations, says Price predictions THIS GROWING season there is good news about nitrogen fertilizer: It appears that prices for the fertilizer will fall in late spring and early summer Shifting loyalties I like orange juice in the morning as part of my breakfast ritual. What made me think about that was a study done at the University of California Berkeley Computers don't get tired The sole purpose of Tri-State LLC, located in Fairmount, ND, is to supply either raw or blended fertilizer for other retailers. For that reason, it has Urban opportunities URBANIZATION HAS contributed to the demise of some ag retail operations. But for retailers able to adapt to the changing landscape, it has opened new Marketing your services PICK UP ANY marketing book and you'll find hundreds of ideas that you could use to market your services and products, but before deciding to implement Design inspiration AN EXCELLENT company Web site is much more than a billboard in cyberspace. Instead, it creates an inviting and easy-to-use environment where prospective Cherry-picked software solutions WHEN MIDLAND Co-op Inc. and Impact Cooperative Inc. became partners in 2002, the partnership, called Midland-Impact LLP, faced the challenge of integrating 3 steps in creating a company brochure WHEN YOU create a brochure for your company, the act of identifying the benefits your customer receives from your service is, in and of itself, a valuable Achiever or Struggler? THE FUTURE of agriculture is likely to look dramatically different in the next 10 years, says David Kohl, professor emeritus, agricultural finance and Courting the young customer Ag retailers trying to determine how to sell to their younger customers should not make assumptions about their motivations or buying habits. Some [young Communicate 24/7 Creative agricultural retailers have learned that the Internet, once feared to be the potential source of unwanted competition from afar, has turned out It's not all about you According to business speaker and coach Donald Cooper, most businesses make the mistake of defining themselves by what they sell and by how they do business 5 ways to build referrals How can I get more referrals? is a question that Colleen Francis, president of Engage Selling Solutions, a sales training company based in Ottawa, Ontario Covering new ground Venturing into new markets can have its ups and downs. Some ag retailers have successfully added lawn and garden or hobby farmer product lines, for example Valued partners In the last few years, distributors of crop inputs have seen their role evolve from warehouse and transportation managers to providers of information Be prepared If the prospect of Asian soybean rust (ASR) hasn't already given you a scare, keeping track of the treatment options could add to the fright. A dozen Environmental protectors Agricultural businesses and individuals must project a positive image by promoting environmental stewardship of the crop protection industry to receive Learning the lessons When you've had the chance to visit with farmers, ag retailers, and farm managers for more than 30 years, there's one thing you learn right away about Value and profits Although retailers across the country specialize in helping growers produce a wide variety of crops from rice to soybeans to peppers, retailers have one The "git 'r done" approach Git 'r done. Anyone who has watched the Blue Collar Comedy Tour knows the phrase has been a good one for Larry the Cable Guy. It might be just as good Complaint control UNCOOPERATIVE WEATHER patterns in much of the Corn Belt kept many ag retailers and applicators working overtime to keep pace with farmer demands this Service-selling tips WHEN SELLING to a customer, you must illustrate value, and to keep a customer, you must prove value over time, says John Wagner, president of AgRePlan One up on Wal-Mart AN IMPORTANT part of the success of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is attributed to its sophisticated inventory management systems. In the world More E85 at the pump CHS ANNOUNCES it will provide a Cenex-branded E85 fuel to 22 terminals in Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and South Contract savvy As more products with valuable output traits come out of the crop technology pipeline, so, too, should come new opportunities for ag retailers and growers. Low impact? U.S. SOYBEAN producers, bombarded almost daily with reports of new discoveries of Asian soybean rust, may be wondering at what point new findings of the 3 ideas to help you keep customers THESE DAYS it's extra challenging to satisfy and keep customers, says Nancy Friedman, president, Telephone Doctor, St. Louis, MO, an international customer Complete systems THE WORD may cause some ag retailers to cringe, but not Rod Miller, seed systems manager for Crop Fertility Specialists (CFS), Rossville, IN. Miller says Wireless grain COMMODITY Resource Corporation (CRC) based in Caledonia, NY, is one of a growing number of operations that are working to bring bulk commodity handling Invaluable service WHY SHOULD ag retailers sell services? The resulting customer interaction is invaluable and helps create long-term ties that are difficult for competitors Dry run IN 2005, agricultural retailers confronted grower fears, procured adequate fungicide supplies and developed plans for rapid application, all for a disease Treat seeds for success SINCE THE INTRODUCTION of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant traits in corn and soybeans, ag retailers have seen a huge shift 4 ideas for coping with ASR WORK HARD to manage growers' expectations about Asian soybean rust (ASR), advises Duane Mol, chemical manager for Crop Production Services, Galesburg, To expand or not to expand EXPANSION THROUGH merger or acquisition has been taking place in the ag retail industry for some time now. Some mergers and acquisitions have gone relatively Atrazine adjustments FOR GROWERS concerned with using atrazine to control weeds on sensitive watersheds, management alternatives are plentiful, says Bill Johnson, Purdue University Optimal application NOT EVERY expert agrees on how best to boost a sprayer's effectiveness, but few would disagree that the ultimate objective of a crop protection application Strip-till's profit boost AG RETAIL businesses wanting to expand sales should investigate new ways to help current customers become more profitable, says Dan Towery, ag consultant, Variable-rate review GLOBAL POSITIONING systems (GPS) and variable-rate technology (VRT) have been available to ag retailers and their farmer-customers for more than a decade Invaluable service WHY SHOULD ag retailers sell services? The resulting customer interaction is invaluable and helps create long-term ties that are difficult for competitors Natural disaster preparation LAST YEAR'S hurricanes and flooding made many stop and think about what they would do if they, too, were hit by such a natural disaster. Not long after Less chemistry, more biotechnology BY NOW, it's no surprise to most agricultural retailers that few new herbicides are entering the corn and soybean marketplace. Because new product development State-of-the-art facility SYNGENTA SEEDS recently celebrated renovations to its Phillips, NE, corn production facility. The $4.7 million project increases the plant's seed-conditioning The adjuvant advantage MORE THAN 4,000 adjuvants are on the market today to help improve a herbicide's performance. Bryan Young, associate professor of weed science at Southern Ways to manage health-care costs AS INSURANCE rates have risen over the last few years, ag retailers have looked for more cost-effective ways to offer high-quality benefits for their Buying flexibility A NEW 40,000-ton dry fertilizer plant standing alongside a unit-train spur in Alton, IA, has allowed its owners to largely avoid this winter's expensive Old habits die hard YOUR GROWERS' crop rotation has most likely changed over the years, but their lime applications may not reflect that change. Some Midwestern researchers Looking to lenders CROP INPUT financing programs have become as competitive as the products themselves, and all signs point to a continuation of this trend. The crop input Tougher beans STEVE HENRY, who farms near Nevada, IA, is trying to learn everything he can about Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS). However, he's frustrated with the lack Scout for western bean cutworm WESTERN BEAN cutworms (WBCs) have been a problem in the western Corn Belt since the 1940s and last year were discovered to have migrated further east Too reliant on Roundup? RYEGRASS AND marestail were the first two weeds to develop resistance to glyphosate, such as Roundup and Touchdown herbicides, but they won't likely be Friends of the environment THE DECISION to invest in new storage and handling facilities in the last few years has reaped rewards for Eastern Farmers Co-op and Farmers Elevator First-class delivery SPRAYER AIR technologies have been around for more than 20 years, but until recently, retailers and growers didn't use them much. That has changed, due New mix for pop-ups FMC CORPORATION has developed a new formulation of its Capture insecticide for corn that has better mixing properties than emulsifiable concentrates (EC) Environmental edge SOME AG retail businesses have found a lucrative new enterprise in an unlikely source: manure. Take the Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS), Sioux Center, Memorable field days FIELD DAY season rolls around again in just a few months. Farmers will attend, knowing they will more than likely get a good meal and a seed cap. But Soybean rust Is this the year? AT THIS time a year ago, retailers were scurrying to stock up on fungicides to quell panic among soybean growers about Asian soybean rust (ASR) and finalizing Grain storage spillover LIKE MANY grain-handling businesses, Buckingham Cooperative, near Waterloo, IA, needed to react quickly last year to find enough storage space to accommodate The Phosphorus Index NEW EPA and USDA efforts to improve surface water quality throughout the nation emphasize keeping a close eye on phosphorus (P), says Antonio Mallarino, Just-in-time fertilizer THE TIME when fertilizer dealers will be able to reliably supply customers who want to book fertilizer just before they need it is coming to an end. Dealers, Energy anxiety AFTER HURRICANE Katrina battered the Gulf States in August of last year and inflated the nation's energy-related prices, some ag retailers were caught Seed trackers THE MANY new combinations of traits and seed-applied insecticides have quickly multiplied the number of seed choices available to growers. Although most 4 risks in buying fertilizer PERHAPS THE biggest lesson learned by the agricultural supply industry in the past year is that the business environment is riskier than ever, especially Nourishing the bottom line Offering nutrient management services requires a fair amount of investment whether it be in additional staff, training, specific software or simply more 21 days and counting It generally takes 21 days for a certain behavior to become a habit, says Colleen Francis, president of Engage Selling Solutions, a sales training company Fall fertilizer forecast Fertilizer Management has become more of a year-round responsibility than it used to be, says Gayle Melcher, manager of Clarinda Co-op Company, Clarinda, 5 ASR tune-up tips ALTHOUGH ASIAN soybean rust (ASR) already has been found on kudzu across the South (see page 18), it's not too late to fine-tune your treatment plans Strong track record In Wyoming County in upstate New York the state's top dairy county farmers are looking for good silage hybrids as well as good hybrids for grain. Tom The first impression Finding reputable home remodeling and repair companies is never easy, but after we decided to replace all the windows on the front of our 30-year-old Managing what you know What do we know? I might say I know my customers, but what does this mean? Do I know these people socially, and do I have deep knowledge of their business BREAKING NEWS Low Foam Technology Syngenta announces that new Touchdown Total herbicide with Low Foam Technology reduces foaming during mixing and tank fill. Low Foam BREAKING NEWS New corn herbicide American Vanguard Corporation announces that its subsidiary, AMVAC Chemical Corporation, entered into an exclusive multiyear agreement Healthy beans ANOTHER soybean processor has joined the list of companies that plan to contract for Monsanto's Vistive low-linolenic soybeans. CHS announced it will Company merger CROMPTON Corporation and Great Lakes Chemical Corporation recently completed an all-stock merger to create Chemtura Corporation, the fourth largest publicly Highlights from Louisville farm show THE NATIONAL Farm Machinery Show held February 15-18 in Louisville, KY, had a record-setting attendance year, with more than 312,000 people visiting the First lab accredited BIODIAGNOSTICS of River Falls, WI, is the first seed lab in the United States to become a USA Accredited Seed Lab under USDA's new seed lab testing program. Seed treatment combos Syngenta’s seed treatment group touted the potential of its two new insecticide/fungicide seed treatment combos. FROM THE TOP Tell us about your experience with Syngenta Crop Protection in Latin America and what that experience will mean to your new position here in North America. Profit from suggestions Back in the mid 1980s I was working with a crop protection company that was making a concerted effort to convince soybean growers that fungicides could Fungicide-insecticide combo SYNGENTA CROP Protection hosted two June field tours near Gilbert, IA, and Champaign, IL. Company seed treatment specialists, university experts and crop Win free seed GARST SEED Company is celebrating its 75th anniversary in the seed business by giving away 75 acres of free Garst brand seed corn to 75 growers. Growers New grass herbicide SYNGENTA Crop Protection anticipates that its new postemergence grass herbicide Axial will be approved for U.S. and Canadian registration and sale later Nematode knowledge A NEW online course about cotton nematodes is now available from Syngenta Crop Protection and offers certified crop advisors one continuing education The meaning of full-service dealer At a recent international conference, my Brazilian pesticide stewardship counterpart, Joao Rando of the industry-run organization inpEV, described in Win back lost customers If you could increase your chance of selling to a particular customer group by 20 to 40%, would you pursue it? According to research from Marketing Metrics, Stay ahead of your customers WITH THE fast pace of change nowadays, identifying your customers' needs may seem like trying to hit a target moving at the speed of a Japanese bullet 6 steps to capture customers online Most agricultural retailers have Web sites, but they rarely use them effectively as a business-building tool. That's a shame, because a Web site has the Compatible data for GPS/GIS NEW SOFTWARE that allows automatic download of compatible data into major GPS/GIS software is now available from The Consulting Company of DeWitt, IA. Dish extends wireless HAWKING TECHNOLOGY'S new Hi-Gain Wireless-G dish adapter uses a directional dish antenna to boost effective wireless network distances by up to 300% compared DTN goes mobile DTN INTERNET users now can get real-time access to markets and weather information on cell phones and PDAs through DTN Mobile. The service can be customized NH3 nurse tank data plates THE AGRIBUSINESS Association of Iowa (AAI) has provided updated information on how to keep NH3 nurse tanks in service if the tanks' ASME data plates are New crop-scouting tools Several companies recently have enhanced or upgraded their crop-scouting tools. Here's a quick look at some of the latest developments for the crop scout's Ask to learn Selling is a knowledge process. More specifically it is a knowledge gathering process that has three phases: Diagnose Problems, Evaluate Impact and Collaborate