Keynote: Addressing Agricultural Labor Shortages with Technology

The agriculture industry is facing significant labor shortages that are expected to worsen in the coming years due to various factors such as an aging workforce and changing demographics. To overcome this challenge, new technology has the potential to provide support to agribusinesses and farmers alike.

Hear insights from Tyler Hogrefe from the John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group, on the latest technological innovations in autonomous tractors, robotics, and other technologies that can help agribusinesses address the labor shortages. He will discuss how these advancements can increase efficiency and productivity while minimizing labor challenges. This talk will also help to think through what other skill sets may be valuable as this technology makes its way into ag retail.

Beyond Carbon – Opportunities in Sustainability & Traceability

Consumer demand for sustainably produced food and traceability information is growing rapidly, creating opportunities for growers to capture premiums in downstream markets. However, to take advantage of these markets, growers need access to the right information and structured data. Ag retailers, as trusted advisors to growers, can play a key role in bridging this gap and helping growers access these markets.

This session will explore the opportunities and challenges of downstream markets beyond carbon for sustainable and traceable agriculture, and how ag retailers can help growers access these markets.

Ag Retail in Transition: Evaluating a Fee-based Sustainability Service Model

Conservation Practices Study, Agricultural Retailers and Farmers Perspective Webinar

Attracting, Retaining, and Maximizing your Talent

Attracting top talent and maximizing their output is essential to unlocking new opportunities. Join us for a panel discussion where Agvend Partners will discuss their strategies for addressing labor challenges in the agricultural industry, including approaches to recruitment, process optimization, outsourcing, and innovative account management models. Learn how these companies are leveraging technology and best practices to attract top talent and drive efficiency in their businesses.

Enabling Sales Teams & Creating Opportunities

How can you help your sales team sell more and create opportunities for growth? Join the discussion to learn how you can support your sales team and drive sales growth. Our panelists will share their insights into their approach to digital marketing, cross-selling, customer segmentation, and strategies for providing growers with the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions. Gain valuable insights into the power of targeted digital marketing to support sales teams and drive business growth.

Unlocking the Future: Exploring the Factors Shaping Agriculture

The agriculture industry is continuously evolving, with technology advancements, changing regulations, and shifts in the global economy. As these changes occur, they will inevitably impact the business models of ag retailers and cooperatives.

In this roundtable discussion, we will explore how the evolving agricultural landscape will impact ag retailers and cooperatives, and what they need to do to prepare for these changes.

• Autonomy/Robotics: Discuss how advances in autonomy and robotics are changing the way we approach agriculture. Explore topics such as autonomous tractors, drones for crop monitoring, and robotic harvesting, and how these technologies will change labor requirements and efficiency.
• Traceability: Discuss the importance of traceability in agriculture, and how ag retailers and cooperatives can prepare for changing regulations and help their consumers take advantage of new marker.
• See-n-spray/Reduced Chemical: Discuss how precision agriculture technologies like See-n-spray are changing the way we approach weed control, and how this will impact the use of chemicals in agriculture. Explore how retailers and cooperatives can adapt to these changes, such as through offering new services like precision spraying or alternative weed control methods.
• Supply Chain Consolidation: Discuss the impact of consolidation in the supply chain for crop inputs and what ag retailers will have to be well-positioned.
• Farm Consolidation: As farms consolidate and farm operators trend towards being more independent and business savvy, what are the ways retailers can engage and serve these customers? Are there specific ways to better support these customers that have not been needed in the past?
• Biologicals/Reduced Fertility: Discuss the trend of using biologicals and other alternative fertility methods, and how this will impact the use of traditional fertilizers. Explore how retailers and cooperatives can adapt to these changes, such as through offering new products or services that cater to this trend.
• Artificial Intelligence: Discuss how advances in artificial intelligence are changing the way we approach agriculture, and how this will impact ag retailers and cooperatives. Explore topics such as predictive analytics, machine learning, and chatbots, and how these technologies will change the way retailers and cooperatives interact with their customers.

Leading Change and Preparing for Future Opportunities

Join our panel session with AgVend Partners to hear how they are using change management practices to progress through their digital journey and learn how they are more quickly unlocking opportunities. They will discuss their experiences with change management principles that increase adoption for both internal teams and customers, and share insights into their digital transformation journey.

Hear about the challenges they have faced, the successes they have achieved, and where they are today on their journey. Our panelists will also provide valuable insights into who owns their digital initiatives internally, the importance of having a champion, and how they coordinate initiatives across different business units.

What Lies Ahead: A Look at AgVend’s Roadmap

Learn more about AgVend’s product roadmap and what lies ahead.

Product Discussion & Feedback

Want to hear how other AgVend Partners are getting value and driving adoption with a certain part of their Platform? Want to discuss ways the platform can grow and improve? Join the table discussing the Driver or Business Unit of interest to you.

• Marketing
• CRM
• eCommerce
• Product Management
• Grain
• Energy