Agriculture innovation close to home
Precision Agri Services Inc. may be a name you’re unfamiliar with, but one that has been doing business since 1994 in Minster.
“Currently there are two sides of the business. One side is crop consulting, agronomy services, and data consulting. The other side of the business is Ag technology and planter services,” said President and CEO Bill LehmKuhl.
The business got its start on the agronomy side before eventually expanding in 1996. “We try and provide the best agronomic environmental planning services and Ag technology products to farms and agribusinesses in Ohio and surrounding states,” said LehmKuhl. At the time, LehmKuhl said that new technology was really starting to come into the industry and that they were receiving questions about it as well. “In 1996 we started to get a lot of questions on the planter side of things as far as what works best and what kind of Ag tech is out there that I should be using on my farm,” said LehmKuhl. LehmKuhl said he’s seeing some trends in the industry currently that farmers are exploring.
“We’ve seen them more in this area with some of the water quality issues. Cover crops are there, probably at the top of the list of things guys are trying to help keep that soil in place and to do a better job of nutrient management,” said LehmKuhl. He also noted that farmers are looking at tailoring their amount of fertilizer to different parts of their fields.
“Farmers are looking at, number one, to protect their bottom line as much as they can,” said LehmKuhl.
As far as what farmers are asking of him, it relates to that bottom line as well.
“The biggest request we get revolves around them asking, ‘what’s the best return on investment that I can get,’” said LehmKuhl. That question involves looking at upgrading their technology, looking at nutrients, or having their land evaluated.
“They’re ultimately looking at the return on investment to make them profitable, and more sustainable. It might be as simple as a
repair or upgrade,” said LehmKuhl.
When he’s able to help farmers meet their goals, he said it’s a good feeling. “It makes our team feel real good that we’ve listened to their need and responded to them by providing them with the best solutions and best
equipment, to get them the best return on investment,” said LehmKuhl. But what’s more, is the education that LehmKuhl said comes along with the equipment.
“Ultimately it comes down to asking questions, back and forth, and helping educate that farmer
or grower. He may think he needs something badly, and we’ll take a look and say ‘You might not need that,’” said LehmKuhl before continuing. “From what you’re telling us, we might need to start here, to get to the point where you want to be.”