What agronomists want growers to know before planting season

At A Glance

Margins are under pressure, meaning early planning and flexible strategies are key to managing risk and protecting returns.

• Early agronomic planning helps protect margins by preserving flexibility and budgeting clarity.

• Scenario-based planning reduces financial risk from weather, market and supply disruptions, strengthening the value of well-informed spring planting tips.

• A systems approach improves input efficiency and addresses true yield-limiting factors.

• Consistent engagement with an agronomist supports smarter decisions and more predictable returns.

AMARILLO, Texas — As growers prepare for the upcoming growing season against a backdrop of volatility, like shifting markets, unpredictable weather and accelerating technology, they’ll be faced with higher-stakes decisions and less room for error.

Given this reality, early planning and trusted relationships with agronomists are no longer nice-to-haves, they are primary risk-management tools.

As Andy Neeb, branded technologies field manager for Wilbur-Ellis, reminds growers, successful planning with an agronomist isn’t transactional, nor should it happen in a vacuum.

“It’s anticipatory, informed and grounded in the long-term performance of the farm,” he said.

Plan Early And Often With Your Agronomist

Early engagement between growers and agronomists brings financial benefits, but Neeb said its real value lies in protecting flexibility.

Starting conversations months ahead of planting gives growers access to a broader set of choices, from seed and crop mix decisions to financing structures, while reducing the constraints that often emerge when planning is delayed or ignored, especially as growers look for practical spring planting tips and ways to protect their return on investment.

“The planning piece with your agronomist definitely needs to start early,” Neeb said. “It helps set budgets early, offering insight into which crops might be the best option based on input cost, current pricing, insight into financing options and what the economists are saying the trends are going to be.”

In a market where few commodities are delivering standout returns, that early clarity can be the difference between managing margin and reacting to it.

Adapting Plans To Weather And Market Uncertainty

Recent seasons have reinforced a hard lesson: static plans rarely hold when it comes to crop management. Supply chain disruptions, regulatory shifts and weather extremes have made adaptability essential to protecting profitability.

From an agronomist’s standpoint, the goal isn’t predicting the season perfectly — it’s helping growers prepare for multiple outcomes before the first pass is made.

“A good, professional agronomist can help you build and start with your Plan A,” Neeb said. “But just as important is having a Plan B or Plan C if conditions change.”

That flexibility is shaped by constant exposure to industry intelligence. Agronomists are often an additional set of eyes and ears for their growers, offering perspective on crop management decisions across the season.

They regularly attend winter meetings, educational forums and economic outlook sessions, gathering insight on emerging technologies, market signals and agronomic research which their customers may not have access to or time to seek out.

“A lot of times the agronomist might have some critical information to help the grower make more informed decisions,” Neeb said. “It helps both parties make a flexible plan early on.”

For growers, that means risk mitigation informed by a broader view of what’s happening across regions, crops and markets.

Managing The Operation As A System, Not A Series Of Inputs

Growers must think beyond individual input decisions and evaluate how those choices interact over time as part of a broader crop management strategy.

Fertility programs influence rotations. Crop protection decisions affect future plant-back options. Soil health investments shape yield stability across seasons.

“If you have an agronomist who knows your farm, they’ll know the watchouts when it comes to important factors, such as plant-back restrictions,” Neeb said. “From a fertility standpoint, they can work with you to develop stronger crop rotation decisions based on what plants take up or leave behind in the soil.”

This systems-based view becomes increasingly important as growers face rising herbicide resistance, evolving disease pressure and more complex crop protection decisions.

“A good agronomist who knows your farm, scouting it, tracking it from planting to harvest, is going to help identify your biggest limiting factors,” Neeb said. “Is it nutrition? Is it pests? Are we dealing with new fungal diseases like tar spot or southern rust? Or, is it weed control?”

Identifying the true constraints rather than treating symptoms allows growers to allocate inputs more efficiently and protect return on investment.

Balancing Proven Practices With What’s Next In Agronomy

As growers adopt biologicals, plant health products and new technologies, profitability still depends on disciplined evaluation. Innovation matters, but so does respecting what’s already working while not becoming mired in the past.

“There are so many new technologies and innovations coming on the market,” the field manager said. “Agronomists who stay up with the latest technology and always want to keep learning are the ones who are good to partner with.”

As growers plan for the upcoming crop year, Neeb said the takeaway is straightforward: start early, build flexibility into every decision and manage the farm as a system.

That approach doesn’t eliminate uncertainty, but it does reduce unnecessary risk and help protect future profitability.