If you have questions related to anything agriculture, or even something related to personal well-being, an expert on AgvisorPro can likely provide an answer.
In this era of the internet that might sound like no big deal, but the agriculture information service launched in 2019, accessed through your smartphone, has evolved into such an extensive network that the original concept of connecting farmers with an expert has become the tip of the iceberg.
Providing a forum for farmers to find answers to all sorts of questions that will benefit production and management is still the core of the service, says Rob Saik, founder and CEO of AgvisorPro.
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“Our overall objective to provide a way for experts to be paid by farmers for their knowledge, expertise and wisdom is still there. But we have evolved into so much more. Today AgvisorPro is an ecosystem — a fully baked, social network dedicated to agriculture. It is high quality, very professional and 100 per cent committed to the agriculture industry. Its width and depth have grown considerably, and it’s not done yet,” says Saik.
What happens on the app, which is available for ISO and Android phone platforms?
The app is free and for the time being there is no subscription fee. That might change to a nominal monthly fee in the price range of a couple of cups of coffee per month.
Connecting with experts on virtually any aspect of crop and livestock production, farm management, marketing, horticulture, greenhouse production, machinery, succession planning, stress management and overall good mental health is as simple as that, says Saik. Just post a question.
START WITH A QUESTION
“A farmer has a question about anything related to farming, farm management or equipment, for example, but they don’t know who to ask. They can just post a question on AgvisorPro. Someone will answer,” says Saik. The question service is anonymous. It will show a community name but not the person’s name asking the question.
Since its inception, it has enlisted the services of more than 750 agriculture experts, primarily across Canada and the United States, representing just about every discipline of agriculture. There are about 50 agriculture service companies on board as well.
The company has clients and service providers in nearly a dozen countries including Brazil, the Philippines, Sweden, Uganda, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, to name a few.
On the AgvisorPro app, select the subject area and ask a question. Under the Field Crops section, for example, there was a recently posted question from a farmer in the community of Barrhead, Alta., about the price of oats in 2023. That question got two replies.
Under the Cattle Production section, a client from Vermilion, Alta., asked about the best remedy for ringworm in cattle. That question received a response from a specialist in Red Deer, Alta.
A client from Arthur, Ill., had a question under the Row Crop section about finding a robotic weeder for organic row crops. That producer got four replies.
Answers may satisfy the questioner, or the questioner may want to connect with the person who posted the reply, contract services and ask more questions. They can set up a meeting or open a chat.
There is also a search function. For a question about fertilizer rates in canola, for example, enter that topic into the search bar, hit send and it opens a window. In this example there were 81 questions on the topic of fertility in canola and those questions received a half-dozen replies.
The question may be answered there, or it may lead a farmer to connect with an expert who provided an answer for more details.
CONNECT WITH COMPANIES
AgvisorPro has a listing of more than 50 agriculture-related companies, and it’s also doing a pilot project with agencies such as Saskatchewan Agriculture, Manitoba Agriculture and financial lenders.
“Again, it can be a situation where the farmer has a question for one of those companies or agencies. They don’t know who to talk to. They just really need to connect with someone,” says Saik. The producer can open the link to a particular company, post a question, and someone will answer. That creates a connection if the producer has more questions.
COME TO THE MARKET
There is a virtual farmers’ market of specialists offering specific services through the app. For example, southern Alberta crop consultant Scott Gillespie offers a service to help farmers complete the application for the On-Farm Climate Action Fund for a flat fee of $500.
Matt Maess, a consultant in Saskatchewan, will help clean up yield data and provide an interpretation of the data for $165 per unit. Another expert will provide unbiased crop protection recommendations, and still another is offering to help with forage recommendations. Both experts offer their services for $100 per hour. Inspection services, drone regulations and support, energy and agricultural services, greenhouse feasibility assessment and much more is available.
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES
A newer feature of AgvisorPro is the creation of public and private communities accessible through the app. The “communities” are an assembly of specialists or experts in a specific topic area.
The five public communities now include Regenerative Agriculture, Precision Agriculture, Agricultural Drones, Horticulture and Controlled Environment Agriculture (greenhouses). Farmers interested in those subject areas can connect with consultants or contributors in those communities.
There is also a platform for private communities. This might be a company or an agency that wants to connect with employees or clients directly. Joining one of the private communities is by invitation only.
“We are also looking at, perhaps, creating a technical community and an agronomy community such as Precision Ag Pro or Agronomy Pro that connects with and talks to their subscribers about these topics on a much more technical level,” says Saik.
He can see the community concept of the platform being used as a communication tool for just about any commodity group or farm organization.
“It could be an agricultural society or commodity group such as the barley growers, canola growers, oat growers, Hereford producers, Angus producers or whatever,” says Saik.
“Any agricultural organization could use the community feature of AgvisorPro to connect with and communicate with their clients or members either in a public or private community. The structure is there for any organization to connect with its members and vice versa.”
The service has developed much the way Saik envisaged but continues to expand.
“I see it as an important tool for people to connect with and learn from each other,” he says. “In some ways it is an internet of people. I can see it playing a role in transforming the way the agriculture industry communicates.”
Among the important lessons Saik has learned in his career are the best expert to help a farmer may not be someone they already know and “agriculture needs to do better, needs to move faster and needs to adopt technology that leads to sustainable production,” he says.
“There is a lot of valuable information out there but how do I make use of that on my farm operation? Connecting with the right people is the who part and it is those specialists who can help producers figure out the how.”
