Every year, there are advancements in seed, crop inputs and on-farm equipment, all of which can potentially improve your efficiency and profitability.
To stay on top of it all, you have to do your homework — or know someone who is.
“You are always learning something, no matter how much experience you have,” said Rudy Nordin, Agro Division Manager with South Country Co-op, who oversees a team of more than 100 employees serving farmers at nine Co-op Agro Centres in southeast Alberta, including the former Phillips Fertilizer location in Lomond.
“With the amount of staff that we have and the growth we have experienced, we need continuous product training. We’re not sitting still.”
Your trusted advisor
Co-op Grow and Equip Team members across Western Canada are committed to ongoing learning and professional development, which ensures they deliver impactful and relevant information to Prairie producers.
That includes sharing firsthand knowledge from the field and regularly consulting agricultural leaders and manufacturers about the latest innovations in crop production and grain handling and storage.
At South Country Co-op, it also means getting your hands dirty.
Throughout the year, South Country Co-op hosts hands-on training days for Co-op Equip and Grow Team members. This enables them to speak with authority about some of the most important topics in agriculture, including herbicide resistance, fusarium management and advancements in crop protection products.
Firsthand knowledge
Specific to on-farm equipment, these training initiatives help Co-op Equip Team members to share knowledge about remote bin monitoring, aeration systems and the finer details of storing and handling grain.
That includes how the product runs through the equipment or how much to run a motor — technical details that can only be understood by working with the tools yourself.
“We are able to have a farmer let us auger product in and out of his truck or work the product into the bin. That’s the hands-on training that our Equip Team is looking for,” said Nordin.
“You can take this training on the computer, but it’s not nearly the same. People trust you, your knowledge and your willingness to learn and teach. It’s pretty reassuring for a farmer when you can give them an answer right then and there.”