Ag Tech Sunday - Agriculture Experts in the Digital Age

By Patrick Walther - AGvisorPRO

Our brains start from scratch when we are born. While our parents’ generation had the opportunity to be generalists, our generation must be more specialized within our knowledge as the information in each domain is growing exponentially.

However, modern farming operations touch so many different areas. Even if they decide to focus on one area such as growing canola, they still require the expertise from an agronomist, a business manager, a market specialist, an equipment specialist and a human resource manager to help them stay competitive. No farmer can be a specialist in all of these areas.

Farmers need a network of experts available. As an expert yourself, how can you serve the needs of these many farmers? One of the biggest challenges within agriculture is that it is, by nature, very spatially dispersed. Which means if you want to help a farmer or producer, you will have to travel. Let’s take a second to reflect.

• How many kilometres did you drive in 2019?
• How many flights did you take for work in 2019?
• How much will you in 2020 with COVID-19?

How many times did you travel to one of your customers only to realize you could have solved the problem just by a simple video call?

So, how can you best serve the needs of farmers? We think the solution is by being available at their fingertips. The second they need you, you can be there, therefore becoming an extension of their team with a click of a button.

That is where technology comes into play. AGvisorPRO leverages a technology called Optical Real Time Communication (ORTC). This allows you as an expert to be in the pocket of any farmer across the world, just one click away from being connected. A farmer can communicate with you via chat, audio and video through his mobile phone or desktop.

So what does that mean for you as an expert and how does it shape your workplace? First of all, it should help make your life easier. You no longer have to be physically present on the farm to help. This means farmers can profit from your knowledge while you are in the comfort of your home, on the roadside or while eating Timbits – we won’t judge you ;). So essentially this means you can now start stretching your brain instead of your body. We also built within the app the option for you to set your availability as well as the ability to postpone a call by 5-15min in case you are in the midst of something else. Farmers can also schedule later sessions with you for less urgent matters. (Note to self: more time with family).

AGvisorPRO also allows you to spend less time on the road while still expanding your reach. Instead of always driving to your clients, a quick video call can often solve the problem. Less traveling means less costs and is ultimately also safer. AGvisorPRO allows you to expand your reach and help more people in the ag sector. We built a proprietary matching algorithm that matches you with a farmer that has a question about a certain topic. Let’s say a farmer has a question about “canola root rot” and this happens to be your area of expertise – we match the two of you. This means you are able to connect with farmers you may have never reached in the past when they were in need of a local expert. The proximity of the “local” expert becomes “global” with our app.

AGvisorPRO also has ratings and reviews. Why? We are impressed by your advice and want to share this with all of our users as well. We believe you are joining us with good intentions.

Okay this sounds good so far, but what are the costs to me? The app is completely free to download and there aren’t any costs for you. It gets even better, you get PAID for giving out advice. Yes you heard that right, AGvisorPRO finally offers an easy way for you to monetize your knowledge and wisdom. A farmer pays anywhere from US$30-60 per 10min session to reach out to you. The range is based on your years of experience, your education and professional designations. So, not only do you get paid, but the service you can now provide your customers is quicker and better by offering them video support from anywhere at anytime of day. (Note to self: I even get paid)

Farming nowadays is fast-paced and farmers need you to help them keep up with all the new trends and challenges they are faced with daily. Let’s help them to be better at their job and offer our expertise to them at their fingertips when they need it with AGvisorPRO.

https://agvisorpro.com/