Mitchel Aden
Econ 331
2/26/09
Business Proposal
The name of my business that I am proposing is MACC, which stands for Mitch Aden Crop Consulting. My business will offer three main services: crop scouting, soil sampling, and data processing/interpretation. These three services are somewhat tied together, and they are all important in helping a farmer be a more efficient producer. The soil sampling would take place during the early spring and late fall, and would consist of myself taking sample cores from within a field. The crop scouting would take place during the growing season, and would consist of myself scouting fields to advise farmers on problems within their fields and offer recommendations to them. The final part would consist of data processing and interpretation. This would consist of me collecting data from farmers’ monitors and then processing that data into maps and reports and interpreting the results for the farmer.
My intended customers are area farmers who are interested in increasing their farming efficiency through grid sampling, crop scouting, and precision farming. There are countless farmers who are trying to reduce their input costs, and I would be able to help them with this throughout the growing season. First by soil sampling their fields to determine what nutrients need to be placed where. If a farmer wants to variable rate any products, I would be able to set up their equipment in order to do so. During the growing season, I would scout their fields in order to determine the effects of their inputs. After harvest, I would process their data and interpret the results in order to determine what program worked the best for that particular farmer’s field.
This service is different from already available services because it is what I would specialize in. There are a few coops that offer some of these services, but they are also in the fertilizer business. This means that they are also interested in selling more fertilizer to the customer, although that farmer may be able to get away with less. Also, my experience in the field of precision agriculture will enable me to handle most any situation in which a farmer would want to incorporate precision agriculture on his farm.
The size potential for this market is very large, to say the least. With the record high input prices, farmers are looking for any way possible to be more efficient. Variable rate fertilizer and seed are two huge possibilities, and I would support both of these technologies, among many others.
Money would be made by my business based on a per acre charge. A season long package including all services would be the best deal for the farmer, as well as for me. Soil sampling, crop scouting, and data processing could be utilized individually if a farmer so desired, and would be priced accordingly. Other services (precision agriculture product instillations, etc.) would be charged on a per hour basis.
I am a senior at ISU, and I am majoring in AST, with a specialization of precision agriculture. I am also graduating with a minor in agronomy. I have spent two summers working with precision agriculture products, which most have been Ag Leader. I plan on achieving CCA certification in the future in order to instill confidence in myself with my customers.
I feel that this is the right time to start this business because of the currently high input prices. If a farmer can reduce his input costs by an average of 5%, then he is very likely to invest in my services. I am looking for both an agronomical and technical minded entrepreneurial team, with some form of experience in both agronomy and precision agriculture.