I would like to thank Deb Campbell from Agronomy Advantage for taking the time to answer the following questions, sharing her insights into the business and industry. Deb is a strong supporter of Georgian Soil and Crop, both as a sponsor and a very active member. We are very fortunate to have her expertise and enthusiasm behind many Grey County SCIA projects. Read on to get her perspective on the local agricultural industry! 
Q: Could you tell us a little bit about your business?
A: Agronomy Advantage Inc. (located near Dundalk) was launched in March of 2012 by Deb Campbell. This business provides independent agronomy services in Central and Midwestern Ontario. We​ provide new and innovative crop solutions for farm businesses focused on increasing farm profitability. Quality service is provided to deliver proactive, comprehensive planning and attention to cropping system details. The services provided are a standalone offer and are independent of suppliers and retailers in Ontario. Our focus is on our clients, and we take pride in our personal, one-on-one approach.
​We provide timely crop monitoring through our scouting programs, soil, tissue, and manure sampling, short and long-term crop planning, and expertise in application of precision agriculture technology to optimize farm profits.
Q: Why do you support the Georgian SCIA?
A: Georgian SCIA region provides programs, activities, and information to local farmers. This overlaps significantly with my business goals, clientele, and business region. Providing support makes Georgian SCIA stronger and ensures it is here to serve farmers into the future.
Q: What parts do you like best of the business? What is most rewarding?
A: The best part about what I do is working with farmers and their families to support them reaching their business goals. No two farms are the same. Each has specific goals and challenges along the way. Being able to integrate with those goals and provide support to overcome challenges is what we do. When those goals are reached, and the farmer is happy then I am happy.
I also have the pleasure of hiring many young people early in their career from across the region. Training them, coaching them, and hopefully inspiring them to make a career in agriculture brings a significant amount of personal satisfaction for me.
Q: What would you consider strengths of and challenges to today’s agriculture?
A: Today’s agriculture is fast paced, complex and ever changing. Government oversight, regulations and influence can be seen on many levels within the farm business. Being able to combine strong production and environmental protection at the same time is the direction the market is going. It’s quite a balancing act for farmers. I don’t see the environmental influence for water quality or climate change going away any time soon. Building environmental protection into business plans will be a key factor going forward.
Q: What does the future hold for your business? Any big plans?!
A: Our most recent focus has been on soil management and precision ag. Many farms have struggled to integrate precision ag into their businesses. It is complex and requires computing skills and new technology but it brings along many benefits to the farm. Our focus is to make it as easy as possible to get these techniques on farm and implemented. We work with farmers to source program funding whenever possible to support precision ag adoption and it seems to be working well.
Q: Do you see any general strategies or best practices used by farmers today that bring about a lot of success?
A: Planter technology has brought significant gains in recent years. As we integrate minimum tillage systems and cover crops having a well dialed in planter is a must on farm to achieve high yielding corn.
Genetic gains have been a standard expectation in corn for many years, but we are now seeing incredible gains in soybean genetics. New genetics are moving soybean yields ahead 5-10 bushels. Strong agronomic management along with this genetic gain is capturing 60-70 bu soybean yields in Georgian SCIA region. It’s incredible to see those yields.
Precision Ag offers incredible input efficiency. Putting resources where they can be used best is both good financial management and good environmental management.  We are observing better yields and ROI from these techniques.
Q: Do you see general areas where farmers could tweak management to get better results?
A: Planning is a key area of focus for farmers. I see a lot of focus on new purchases and buying inputs. Planning how you are going to integrate the new practice or tool or input into your system is just as important as the purchase itself. Avoiding risk or failure comes down to good planning. New tillage tools and cover crops have been good examples where planning on how to integrate the practices has been just as important as researching what tool or seed to buy.
Q: Things that are new in 2023? Things to watch out for with this year’s harvest?
A: Nitrogen protection products are bringing some changes in how we manage nitrogen. Using these products provides confidence that your nitrogen fertilizer will stay where you put it for a period of time in the spring. Given the high cost of nitrogen fertilizer this has proven very effective in 2022 and should be integrated into 2023 plans.
Q: Any other comments?  
A: It has been a pleasure to support Georgian SCIA. I look forward to seeing members at AGMs and field days throughout the year.