Independent Crop Consultants Help Growers Improve Margins

Tim Hammerich

News Reporter

Independent crop consultants have been around a long time, but their relevance is only growing with the amount of money they can save for farmer clients. A lot of agronomic advice still comes from retailers, but with more options available, having an agronomist on your side can provide a very worthwhile return on investment. John Silvera is an independent crop consultant in the central valley of California. He says at first it can be a challenge to get a farmer to add his services because it’s a new line item expense on the budget.

Silvera… “What I have to do is remind them, yes, you do get that bill. But we save it and make it back over here. That's through the buying process of fertilizer, seed, chemical. And just using the four R's too: the right rate, right timing, right application. And knowing that, you know, I'm not making a sale off of it so I'm going to do it at the right time for the grower, because I think of it as my own farm. If it saves the grower and then it ultimately makes me look good too. So that's the name of the game.”

Silvera’s company, Silvera Consulting, covers 12,000 acres of pistachios, almonds, tomatoes, garlic, and dairy crops in the Visalia, California area.