5 Simple Lessons Your AgTech Startup Can Learn From Rural Farmers

When AgTech startups read this, some may possibly well well instinctively protect their tech-first manner.

Others may possibly well well get queer about what rural farmers lift out otherwise.

Every reactions are true — nonetheless curiosity opens the door to discovering out.

They originate passionate about all their cherish gadgets. They need to relate you about their 12 sensors, their laptop programs, and their particular certificates. They fetch unique tech is steadily better than “inclined college”.

They discuss their indoor farms that develop food twelve months/yr. They relate you about their water-saving programs and their particular lights. They bid their methods are serving to assign the planet.

However their bank accounts relate a clear anecdote.

They may be able to’t gawk that 47 pieces of equipment making $100 every is upright an effortless formulation to lose cash.

Then there’s the second form of person.

While you relate them “your Agtech startup may possibly well possibly even maintain the abet of the ride of rural farmers,” you do no longer get excited. You get queer.

Because there’s a contrast between being modern and being winning.

I worthy desire interacting with the second sort.

They witness at what truly works, no longer upright what appears correct on social media.

Right here’s the reality: you do no longer prefer 47 varied methods to bustle a winning operation.

In actuality, I’d argue you upright want one – solve one affirm, with one solution, and be the most productive at it.

You don’t will maintain to be in every single put the situation, the usage of every unique manner, chasing every CNBC pattern, or what Agtech influencers are calling the “next spacious component.”

From my interior most ride, and that of hundreds of alternative rural farmers I’ve worked alongside and talked to over the years, that’s a surefire formulation to bustle one thing into the bottom.

You are going to be ready to maintain extra success by keeping it easy.

Now, I will be succesful to no longer come up with a step-by-step conception that works for all individuals – farming doesn’t work love that.

However I will be succesful to fragment the superb precept I’ve learned on our 4th generation household farm:

Fundamentals plan wealth, no longer facets.

This day I maintain to fragment with you five lessons from our farm that can help your Agtech and/or urban farm be extra winning and sustainable.

Let’s dive in!

Lesson #1: Money coming in beats excellent every time.

Right here’s the realization most CEA farmers possess: outside farming is “broken”.

❌Weather is unpredictable
❌Pests raze vegetation
❌Soil will get depleted
❌Seasons restrict what it’s in all probability you’ll possibly well be ready to develop
❌Outdated methods are wasteful and unreliable

So they perform managed environments to “repair” these complications.

✅Ultimate native climate preserve watch over
✅No pests
✅Precise nutrients
✅one year-spherical growing
✅Maximum efficiency

However right here’s what they trot away out:

Outdated farmers already solved the cash drift affirm that kills most CEA operations.

Rural farmers understand one thing most tech farmers don’t:

You cannot excellent your formulation to making cash at the same time as it’s in all probability you’ll possibly well possibly even be no longer bringing in cash from day one.

💡They plant vegetation they know will promote
💡They harvest when other folks must aquire
💡They upgrade their equipment with cash they made, no longer cash from investors

Whereas CEA farmers utilize months making their growing programs excellent, or utilize cash they don’t but maintain sooner than proving other folks will aquire their food, frail farmers promote “k” merchandise to remain in alternate whereas they uncover tips on how to get better.

This would no longer point out outside farming methods are excellent. It plan their manner to cash drift is what CEA operations must reproduction.

Rural farmers maintain mastered three fundamentals that CEA tech will maintain to tranquil toughen, no longer substitute:

Market timing: They know exactly when customers want explicit vegetation, and conception their entire growing cycle spherical purchaser demand – no longer optimal growing stipulations.

Grief administration: They diversify vegetation and planting times to ensure some earnings even when climate or pests damage allotment of their operation.

Customer relationships: They’ve constructed belief with patrons who will aquire injurious vegetation at gorgeous costs because they price constant present over excellent look.

The most productive CEA operations dispute technology to amplify these fundamentals, no longer ignore them.

Managed environments let them hit market timing extra precisely. Pest-free programs in the reduction of concern whereas placing forward the diversification precept. Fixed quality strengthens customer relationships that outdoors farmers constructed thru reliability.

Your robotic seeding machine can wait till you repeat it’s in all probability you’ll possibly well be ready to promote what you develop by hand – the usage of the market timing, concern administration, and customer relationship fundamentals that outdoors farmers already perfected.

Backside line: don’t strive to repair what isn’t broken. As a change, watch what may possibly well well work on your fetch operation and put in force.

Lesson #2: Your vegetation don’t care about your IT setup.

Rural farmers focal level on biology first, instruments second.

That is exactly why they’ve been in alternate longer, and (once in a whereas) fare better than tech-heavy operations.

I’ve seen indoor farms designed by good IT other folks.  Sadly, they understand the design higher than they know the most reasonable in all probability plan vegetation develop.

They may be able to relate you exactly what their programs lift out, nonetheless can no longer relate what nutrients a plant may possibly well want upright by having a witness at it.

Outdated farmers utilize an extended time discovering out to read what they develop—realizing how the vegetation oldschool, after they’re careworn out, and when to harvest all by glimpse.

And whereas this gut feeling can no longer be downloaded with an app, technology can help possess it better.

The farms that maintain the most success combine deep interior most ride with tidy technology dispute.

Backside line: Systems and processes maintain a situation in farming. However by no plan good aquire fingers-on discovering out.

Lesson #3: Backups aren’t damage. They’re lifestyles insurance coverage.

Every rural operator worth their weight in salt has backup plans for his or her backup plans. That is exactly why they survive when high-tech farms don’t.

Agtech farmers namely, plan glorious programs that ruin completely when one allotment fails. Rural farmers customarily preserve issues that on the outdoors seem “wasteful”, because they know farming is unpredictable and unforgiving.

• They know a pair of suppliers.
• They preserve handbook controls for computerized programs.
• They maintain got easy methods to lift out issues when high-tech alternatives ruin at 2 AM right thru harvest.

For Agtech operators, this vogue having a Belief B for every thing.

Backside line: Embody technology, nonetheless know tips on how to repair and take care of issues manually if/when automatic programs fail.

Lesson #4: Collaboration beats competition every time.

Rural farming communities survive unfriendly financial times, climate disasters, and market crashes by working together, no longer competing against one another.

• When one farmer’s prick fails, others help like orders.
• They fragment equipment right thru busy times, and pitch in when one breaks down.
• When somebody finds a brand unique pest or solution, they fragment files willingly.

Metropolis and indoor farmers customarily work on my own, and may possibly well well gawk other growers as their enemies as an replacement of capacity allies. This makes the entire design frail—when complications occur, they face them on my own as an replacement of leaning on others’ experiences.

Backside line: Don’t gatekeep. Constructing friendships with operators outdoors (or adjoining to) your niche gives you get entry to to files, instruments, and market alternatives that help all individuals.

Lesson #5: Advertising is plan more challenging than your alternate conception thinks.

Rural producers understand correct farming is 50% growing issues and 50% operating a alternate.

Rural farmers know their customers in my view, and maintain spent years, even an extended time, developing deep, indispensable connections with them. They also understand their target customer’s desires, wants and concern ingredients better than they bring out.

They in point of fact maintain a pair of methods to possess cash all yr lengthy. Many tech farmers focal level too worthy on growing efficiently, then war with pricing, discovering customers, and current cash administration.

Individually, I’d argue there’s no better neighborhood accessible when it comes to relationship-essentially essentially based gross sales.

They’ve learned that constant quality and reliable provide topic higher than excellent merchandise, and that keeping customers joyful creates extra price than high costs.

Backside line: Know your numbers, nonetheless also know your customers.

What working together basically appears love.

The most productive partnerships I’ve seen between frail and tech farmers note a explicit sample:

They originate by sharing files and ride, no longer automations and digital instruments.

I cannot point out sufficient that urban farmers utilize moderately time on rural farms right thru varied seasons, discovering out how selections get made and seeing what basically works.

Next, they score what both aspect is correct at.

Rural farmers maintain land, equipment, market get entry to, and an extended time of ride. Tech farmers maintain cash, technical skills, and connections to customers who care about serving to the planet.

Sooner or later, they instruct alternatives that abet both aspect.

This may well point out urban farmers renting land for seasonal growing, rural producers the usage of managed environments for distinctiveness vegetation love fruits and vegetables, or joint marketing and marketing that mixes frail belief with unique on-line methods.

The key’s treating both aspect with appreciate for what they bring to the desk, as an replacement of thinking both plan is robotically better.

The most winning farming happens when confirmed fundamentals meet tidy innovation—and that happens thru collaboration, open markets and shared alternatives.

Drawn to discovering out extra about tips on how to reconnect alongside with your food and the other folks who produce it? Join my free newsletter – The Rural Author on Substack.

Every Sunday, I open the barn doors and come up with a in the help of-the-scenes witness at what household farming is fully love.

Join free of price 👉 https://theruralwriter.substack.com

Till next time,

🌱 Charlie