U.S. Farmers Do Their Part to Conserve Water

There are a lot of political issues up for discussion this election year. For farmers, one of the biggest has to do with water.

Of course, there are a number of issues regarding farmers’ use of water but one of the biggest—and without which others don’t really matter—is the availability of water. Consumable water in the United States, for the most part, comes from one of two sources. These sources are precipitation, which is stored in reservoirs and upper soil formations, and underground aquifers.

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted their annual analyses of water levels in 32,000 wells that have been sampled over the past 20 years. This analysis showed there to be a shrinking water supply in the West and High Plains. Further, according to this analysis, water levels have diminished in wells across the country. The majority of the wells in the U.S. Geological Survey’s database rely on underground aquifers. Irrigation accounts for the use of about 90 percent of the water in the lower 48 states.

While some have argued that too much runoff ends up in the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. government does not agree with this assessment. Government agencies also dispute the argument that fishery, wetland, and wildlife regulations require too much runoff.

It is obviously good news for both the U.S. economy and the Ag industry that agricultural exports have doubled since 2006. However, there is a downside to this booming export business. Higher exports mean that the amount and quality of the U.S. water supply declines along with these exports.

Of course, U.S. farmers are very aware of the need to conserve water and are doing their part to help save this valuable resource. What follows are just some of the many ways the Ag industry is doing its part to be a good steward of water resources:

  1. Drip irrigation: delivers water directly to a plant’s roots, reducing evaporation.
  2. Pond construction: allows farmers to decrease reliance on municipal water or wells by capturing and storing rainfall.
  3. Scheduled irrigation: keeps a close eye on the weather, as well as soil and plant moisture, to schedule irrigation so it is used in the most efficient manner possible.
  4. Drought-tolerant crops: appropriate for the climate of particular region and more drought-resistant.
  5. Drying farming: relies on soil moisture to produce more flavorful but lower-yield crops.
  6. Rotational grazing: moves livestock from field to field to promote pasture regrowth.
  7. Cover crops: protect unused soil and help prevent erosion and compaction, allowing water to more easily penetrate the soil and increase its water-holding capacity.
  8. Conservation tillage: makes use of things like specialized plows to partially till the soil but leave a percentage of vegetative crop residue on the surface to aid in water absorption and reduce things like evaporation, erosion, and compaction.

When it Comes to Your Ag-Business: Trust Trumps All

If you ask farmers what type of businesses they want to work with, one of the first qualities they will mention is trustworthiness. So how can you make sure that farmers view your business as trustworthy?

In his article, Is Your Brand Trustworthy? Here’s How People Decide, Timothy Carter talks about how customers and prospects decide that a particular brand is worthy of their trust. More importantly, he talks about how businesses that are viewed as trustworthy are more profitable.

Trustworthiness isn’t the only consideration for a brand, but it is the most important to your bottom line, so don’t neglect it.

Carter believes that brand trust comes down to the following six factors:

  1. Even if you are a new player in the Ag world, you can talk about what in the past brought you to the point of opening your business. If your business has been around for a long time, make sure and play up that history.
  2. Hard selling comes off as false. State the advantages of your product or service and what it can do for the customer but avoid the hard sell.
  3. Make sure your marketing efforts reflect the fact that you sympathize with the issues your customers and prospects face.
  4. Accreditations and affiliations go a long way.
  5. Think guarantees, free shipping, trial offers, and price matching.
  6. Social proof. Encourage people to write online reviews of your products or service. Ask them to like you on Facebook. It is important that farmers, for example, know that other farmers trust you.

Carter says that if your brand can exhibit all of these qualities you’ll be able to establish trust with new customers—even if they’ve never heard of you before. After that, it is all up to you.

Once a lead has been converted into a customer, your trustworthiness all depends on the quality of your service — if you can over-deliver on your promises and produce a memorable experience, there’s nothing that should stop that customer for coming back for more (and maybe spreading the word about your brand).

What Has Social Media Done for You Lately?

If you are in the business of marketing to farmers and ranchers, you know you need to be on social media. In fact, you are probably spending a good deal of your marketing budget making sure you are visible on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

In your rush to get on social media and continue to remain active there, however, you may have forgotten why you are there in the first place. Is social media really that important? How is it helping your Ag business?

In case you are wondering what social media has done for you lately, here are some important reminders:

It has improved your SEO. Every tweet, post, and update leads to more traffic to you website. Many of those visitors are prospects that are interested in your product or service (aka sales leads)!

It has established you as an expert in your field. Through a blend of content and engagement, farmers and ranchers can tell that you know what you are talking about – and they look to you for the answers. And when it comes time to make a buying decision, they will look to you, as well!

It has improved your customer service. Comment or question? Problem or complaint? No matter what your Ag customers need, you can get it for them. Equally important, when you solve a customer’s dilemma quickly and completely, the whole world can witness it!

It has built your brand. Your brand is your most important asset. No matter what message you want your brand to convey, social media lets you do it. It also lets you tweak your message along the way if you feel that is necessary.

It has helped you get to know your target audience. Are the farmers and ranchers you are trying to reach bored with your message? Do they want to know more about you? Do they love what they are learning from you? Social media allows you to answer all of these questions so that you can literally “give the people what they want.”

We Know the Rules Surrounding Search Engine Optimization Have Changed. The Question is: Have You?

If you are still utilizing old search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, or worse, your SEO vendor who you are paying continues to implement old SEO techniques, you may (and probably will) wake up one day and find your website is nowhere to be found within the search engines. That’s because the game of SEO and online visibility have changed dramatically. It’s not about the links. It’s about the content.

We talk to so many businesses in the agricultural space who still are not maximizing the web like they should or could. The worst part is that many think they are even though they are nowhere to be found inside the search engines. More and more farmers and ranchers are going to the web to search new products and new ways to run their operation. It’s a perfect time to reach these people who need your product. And maximizing the search engines is a perfect way to reach them in a very cost-efficient manner.

Everybody wants good, solid leads. Everyone wants more customers. And many times, the best place to start is to ensure your website is reaching your market online. So many businesses continue to spend money to create a website, but do nothing with it. It’s not Field of Dreams. Just because you build it, doesn’t mean anyone is coming. The good news, though, it doesn’t take a lot to be visible online – to get qualified prospects to your website. The new rules of online visibility is about content, blogging, social media, mobile friendliness, videos, etc. Don’t get left behind.

If you have positioning, don’t lose it. If you don’t have good visibility within the search engines, don’t fret. Believe it or not, it’s easier to get on Page 1 than you may think. That’s because so few companies are following the new SEO rules. Start looking at content more closely for your website, and you will be amazed at the increase of visibility you will see. And what does more visibility mean to you? More customers.

If you want to learn more about this, contact US Farm Data (www.usfarmdata.com), we’ll be happy to speak with you about this. We work with numerous companies, managing their website, social media platforms, and help them grow their business. We can do the same for you.

Responding to Feedback on Social Media

Many businesses, including Ag businesses, understandably fret over how they will respond to negative reviews or customer comments on their social media sites. The truth is, even responding to positive feedback or simple questions can be challenging. After all, you are basically engaging in a public conversation and that can be difficult.

You don’t have to be a social media guru to know that the absolute worst thing you can do on social media is to ignore someone who is reaching out to you. Remember, these are customers and prospects. When someone makes a concentrated effort to contact you, you must respond. This includes questions, compliments, or complaints. So how do you best respond in these three instances? Here are some tips:

Questions

We all know how to answer a question. It gets a little dicey, however, when there is no clear cut answer available. Maybe a farmer is waiting for a much needed item that is backordered and they are wondering why it is taking so long. Since this may take some time to research you can’t be expected to provide an answer immediately. What you are expected to do is to acknowledge the question immediately. Let the customer know that you are looking into it and then provide regular updates. Even if you don’t have an answer, people want to know that you received their message and if it takes some time to find an answer, they want updates to know that you haven’t forgotten about them.

Compliments

Responding to compliments about your service or product or anything else having to do with your brand is imperative. If someone took the time to compliment you and you fail to acknowledge it, what does that say about your business? Be sure to thank that person for the compliment and let them know that you value their business. Such interactions will keep these customers engaged with your brand.

Complaints

Even if you believe a complaint or negative comment by a farmer or rancher is unwarranted you still need to take the high road and acknowledge the problem. You then need to apologize that this person had a poor experience. It also is important that if a person complains publicly, you respond publicly so people who saw the initial complaint know that you handled it. By keeping it all out in the open, you are getting the message across that you take complaints seriously and always do your best to make things right.

Social media interactions can be difficult but they are essential to building brand equity and keeping customers engaged. And it is important that you don’t drag your feet when responding. Studies show that people who engage a business on social media expect at least an initial response in less than an hour.