AgWired

While pioneers in the cropping business used the tools at their disposal, often relying on hard, sweat of the brow work, gut feelings and a blank want-list paper at the kitchen table, today’s farmer-entrepreneur has a multitude of resources, often at his fingertips.

A Saskatchewan firm is offering a new Internet based farm management system to prairie grain producers saying benchmarking its unique strength. Developed by Leo Kosokowsky, an agricultural Consultant based in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, calls the system AgMpower. “Since the system is Internet based, producers are able to compare their costs, returns, margins and seeding intentions with other participating producers,” said Kosokowsky. “Even the best managers can improve their operations by benchmarking.”

Participating producers have a password to access their account at www.agmpower.ca. On the site, producers can adjust their seeding intentions, price projections and expense assumptions as conditions warrant. By accurately calculating the cost of production for each grain, producers can determine their breakeven prices and do a superior job of marketing. The company says the real strength of AgMpower, and what makes it unique is benchmarking. While maintaining confidentiality, the site makes the aggregate information available to producers who in turn make their information available to the system. Producers are able to determine if their overhead costs per acre are lower or higher than average. They are also able to watch as overall seeding intentions and expected revenues figures adjust through the year. This provides valuable insights into the marketplace.

The company markets AgMpower to producers online and through local suppliers and advisors. At a cost of $300 per year, a farmer can plan, benchmark and view aggregate seeding intentions and crop margins.

Siemens Says

Here’s a great example of how you can use a blog to accomplish a communications goal. You need to meet Leon the Milkman. He’s a blogger in South Africa who was fed up with all the negative information about dairy on the internet. He’s also got a website at Dairy-Info.org. He’s offering a free dairy dictionary if you visit either of the sites and register.

Leon the Milkman says that he finds it quite easy to get new issues to discuss on his blog – he just writes about everything that happens during his workday. He finds blogs to be the easiest way to get his ideas on the Internet and also likes that he can easily change the template and look of his site, using the WordPress Blog format. This comes in handy with changing seasons or wanting to change the blog’s look for a special holiday, like making everything green for St. Patrick’s Day.

“I find it so easy to just sit back at the end of a day and writing something short for the blog – it even helps to get perspective – much like writing in a journal would.” Leon philosophizes, milk in hand. Yes, he blogs in the evening, because mornings are for fresh milk deliveries of course.

We can all learn from a little from Leon.