Episode description

Variable Rate done RIGHT with SWAT MAPS: https://swatmaps.com/

Kessler Ag Ventures: https://kesslerag.ca/

FoA 398: The Evolution of Precision Agriculture with Cory Willness and Derek Massey of Croptimistic Technology

This is the first installment of a new series of the podcast called "Field Reports", where we will hear from the people who actually use and hopefully benefit from the innovations we so regularly discuss on the show. 

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, because in this respect, the show has been very one-sided. We hear from the visionaries that are creating new ventures, technologies, programs, research and ideas. But we too rarely hear from those that try them, buy them, and have to make them work in practice and in the field. 

We’ve been doing this a little bit through the spotlight segments that have aired at the end of about one episode every month. Those are sort of customer testimonials from our quarterly presenting sponsors. I’ve really enjoyed these stories and the tried and true perspectives that come from them. So I’m going to make these short standalone episodes and a regular thing: sometimes with users of the technology from the sponsor, and sometimes not - just profiles of farmers and another users of agricultural innovations. 

In today’s case, Tyler Kessler owns an independent agronomy consulting business in Southern Saskatchewan alongside his wife, Brooke Dorgan. The company provides a range of agronomic and precision agriculture services for farmers who want to optimize yield, improve soil health, and reduce your environmental impacts. They are also a service provider of SWAT MAPS, our presenting sponsor this quarter. 

Before incorporating the business in 2015, Tyler worked in ag retail for eight years and spent a couple of years with an ag chemical manufacturer. He says in those days he wasn’t seeing a lot in precision ag that convinced him it was really adding a lot of value to farmers. But then he discovered SWAT MAPS.