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Independence key to building a long term data-driven strategy
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Big Data Analytics
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Agriculture
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
- Logistics & Transportation
Use Cases
- Farm Monitoring & Precision Farming
- Predictive Maintenance
- Supply Chain Visibility
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- Data Science Services
The Challenge
Hough Farms was using a legacy farm management software but when that company was sold to a large input supplier, they wanted to ensure their farm data was stored with an independent party. They were also looking for a solution with better reporting capabilities to make data-driven decisions to help manage the business. The farm management system they had initially adopted was bought by a Big Ag company, which changed the stakes for them. They felt their data should be safe and secure with an independent party and realized their data would be used for different purposes that don’t necessarily align with their needs and preferences. At the same time, they also started to realize that this system didn’t really offer them the kind of reporting that they needed in order to make informed and data-driven decisions.
About The Customer
Hough Farms is located in Eastern Nebraska around the David City area. On 8,000 acres the Hough family grows corn and soybeans, both seed and conventional, as well as alfalfa and some cover crop rotations. They also run an 8,000 head feed yard and have a cattle herd of their own. Hough Farms is led by General Manager Jesse Hough, who runs the farm with a mix of staff consisting of both family as well as hired help. Jesse Hough grew up on the family farm, but after obtaining an accounting degree and becoming a CPA, worked as an agricultural accountant and financial advisor for nearly 20 years. Jesse worked with farmers on income tax planning, family business structure as well as profitability, profit centers and how they can manage their business more from a cost accounting standpoint.
The Solution
After speaking to their financial services provider, K⋅Coe Isom, they decided to join them on the Agworld platform in order to achieve synergies and uninterrupted data flows to their accountant as well as improved internal communications. The Agworld platform can function as a workflow management system that helps them from budgeting all the way throughout the season. It also allows their team to double check that the right seeding rates are used, the right fertilizer is applied, the correct variable rate script is used and so on. Agworld is independently owned and does not use or sell their data, so they can rest assured that their data does not get used for anything that they haven’t consented to.
Operational Impact
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