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South Dakota | We have hired an agronomist in the past. One was an independent & one works for a large company.
I personally think they can be worth the investment. However I think the most important thing to remember is that the idea there is ever an "OBJECTIVE, independent source of information " is basically a fairytale. This is true in many areas of life and it is certainly true in farming in agronomy. Everybody has a bias and a subjective view of how agronomic practices should work.
The reality is that many independents and agronomists see the world through their own glasses and biases. Quite a few tend to discount the opinions of manufacturer and retailers, and overemphasize University recommendations. In my opinion this tends to result in overly risk averse agronomic advice with very ambiguous " execution triggers
There is nothing wrong with this approach on the surface, but the simple reality is that universities have a bias. Consultants have a bias. Also, there is probably a lot more compensation between said independence consultants and other parties than we care to admit.
In my opinion the biggest benefit that a consultant provides is it often times he is a owner in his business. Many of the local retail outlets in my area have terrible turnover with agronomists and it is very difficult to find someone with experience and knowledge. However many of the consultants in my area have been doing it for 10 or 20 plus years and I feel like their opinions are very battle tested and often worth investing in.
Edited by case30 12/23/2015 18:53
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Agronomist opinions please
