Scythe & Spade Blog

Selling Our Ideas

by Chas Bonner

Despite what we want to think, we all must make a sale, even if just to our spouse. However, most farmers must make a case to bankers, vendors, customers, partners, and employees. And the difference between “making the sale” and not being able to convince anyone can be a costly chasm.

While everyone has theories about selling one’s ideas, since we have the floor, we make the rules:

• First and foremost, be introspective. Who is our customer, what are the needs, can we fulfill, barriers to overcome, allies to find, and “fact-based” decision making (a term that is used often today since so many arguments use anecdotal evidence rather than replicable data).
• Instead of making a presentation to all decision makers in a group, try aligning yourself with influential players, and hopefully they will become “co-presenters.”
• If there are critics of your position, hear them out in private, and attempt to convince them prior to any group meeting so the well does not get poisoned. One or two critics can become a lynch mob.
• Often sellers of ideas focus on features rather than benefits, and there is a huge difference. While features are merely attributes that may or may not help the “buyer,” benefits are clearly the positives that inure to the “buyer.”
• Finally, many people sell all the features and benefits, and then WAIT for the order. ASK for the order. Before doing so however, read the audience to determine if the tenor is right for decision making, and that you have proven you can deliver.
• If repeat sales are needed, remember the maxim: Under-promise and over-deliver.

Now try this on your wife; that is the toughest sale!

Consumer Report

by Patina Thompson

Once again I must focus on high cotton prices. I can’t help myself! So many adjectives have been swirling with respect to this topic; epic, astonishing, unprecedented, remarkable and probably most common . . . . . unbelievable. While the unbelievable prices have brought some retired tractors and farmers back into the business and have forced considerable thought about crop rotations and planting, my thoughts, however, have switched to the consumer side of the business.

U.S. markets are seeing the ramifications of a high cotton price that inevitably transfer to the consumer. Cotton was selling for less than $0.80 cents per pound a year ago and peaked over $2.10 per pound in March. This translates into the price of a youth’s cotton T-shirt that was $6 a year ago now priced at $10. The price of jeans has increased by an average of 10% over the past six months.

Much of the demand for more cotton is a result of China, the world’s largest cotton producer, having cold, wet weather as well as widespread flooding in Pakistan. India also contributed to this increased demand by imposing strict limits on its exports.

Meanwhile, the world economy is improving.

Kurt Salmon Associates reports a 1.7% increase in retail spending in March 2011. How (and if) this trend will continue with the rising price of gasoline is yet to be seen.

It’s also important to mention that the high price of cotton has attracted many farmers to put inactive farmland back into production. This additional increase in the production of cotton would in theory cause the price of cotton to return to historic levels come harvest time. But if demand continues to rise and production from world markets is somehow reduced, prices will most likely stay high. The year 2011 looks to be a wild ride no matter how you look at it and an unbelievable cotton year that is sure to be talked about for years to come!

Foodborne Illnesses & Remedies

by Chas Bonner

Recently, we were asked to review a business plan that has real applicability to agriculture, primarily cattle, dairy, and poultry. It is a novel method to disinfect meats and dairy that are the main transmitters of foodborne illnesses. Because of the newness of the product line, we cannot divulge names or identities. Suffice it to say however, it has real promise in that it can disinfect almost anything without having to transport a lot of liquid chemicals as is done presently. Essentially, the process uses salt and water in brine which is then supercharged with a patented electrical element that produces a disinfecting acid.

To determine market potential, we then researched the subject of foodborne illness, and found much data in the Centers for Disease Control---www.cdc.gov---a real shocker.

CDC believes there are 76,000,000 (Yes, 76 million) cases of foodborne disease annually in the U.S, resulting in over 5,000 deaths, and countless lawsuits of producers. Most of the cases are attributed to well-known causes---Salmonella, e coli, and campylobacter, but often the causative pathogen cannot be identified which makes it even more difficult to prevent or treat.

The cost to the food industry to keep food clean and pathogen-free is staggering. For instance, in the dairy industry, every day all systems that carried milk must be flushed, disinfected, usually with chlorine based liquids, rinsed, and prepared for the next milking. It is a four-step process.

By contrast, using the electrolyzed water produced by this company, those milk cleaning processes are reduced to one---a real saving to the dairy. Furthermore, all meat products, a much larger industry, can use the same low-cost disinfecting process which not only reduces illnesses, but also adds to storage time.

Yet another exciting example that “One man’s problem is another man’s opportunity.”

Setting Goals

by Chas Bonner

From the time we were little kids, our parents, teachers, and mentors reminded us of the importance of goals. Even one of our schoolyard games used goals---goalposts to score and win the game. But now that we are adults, how many of us truly set goals, track movement, and determine why we did or did not meet our goals?

There are many long-standing rules (subject to argument) about goal setting and achieving those goals, among them:

1. Write down your goals to make them more tangible and finite.
2. Make them detailed, specific, and time-bound.
3. Review and measure on a quarterly basis.
4. Analyze reasons for success or failure.
5. Define the obstacles impeding progress.
6. Make adjustments to remedy failure or to accentuate success.
7. Review and revise again…….and again, and again.

Do I practice what I preach?   Ooops!

We all know the rules, but few of us follow. Just remember, not setting goals and measuring performance is our loss and our competitor’s gain.

Water Crises

by Chas Bonner

No, this is not an April Fool’s joke, and yes, it is somewhat repetitive. But remind yourselves: Repetition = Recall.

It is no secret that water is becoming of increasing importance; it is already causing riots and wars in parts of the world, and will only get worse as populations grow, and parts of the world become drier. Some examples:

• Only 3% of the world’s water is fresh, and 70% of fresh water is frozen.
• In 20 years, it is estimated that 1/3 of mankind will have only half the water needed to meet basic needs.
• Lake Mead is drying up, and is fast filling with silt.
• Desalinization is slow and uses huge amounts of power, although new technologies are being developed.
• Usage of underground water is estimated at 160% of recharge in the U.S.
• The Ogallala Aquifer underlying the Mid-West is the largest in the U.S., and has been drawn down about 100’ in less than 100 years.
• And the scary one for agriculture, we use 70 - 80% of all fresh water.

When products or commodities become short, they become more expensive. And water is a commodity.

Therefore we urge our farmers and ranchers to examine their water use, conserve where possible, check water rights as they can be lost, be prepared to grow crops which use less water, and pay more for water use.

Finally, one of the core competencies of Scythe & Spade is water usage, rights, irrigation, and costs. If help is needed, we are as close as a call.