Crop advisors are a trusted source of information for farmers regarding all types of agronomic topics, including soil health practices such as cover crops and reduced tillage. So how do some crop advisors make a business out of providing soil health-related services? What are the barriers that keep other advisors from supporting soil health practices? Armed with this information, SWCD staff and other conservationists may be able to partner more effectively with private-sector advisors to help farmers get the technical support they need. To answer these questions, in winter 2021-2022 Anna Cates interviewed 11 retail and independent crop consultants who provide services to support conservation practices.
Read the full report about the interviews (pdf).
Abigail Condie presented the interview results during a webinar on October 12, 2022. View webinar recording
Funding
University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment