by Jordan Howe
It’s hard to predict where the ag economy will be a year from now, but history shows us that the ag industry moves in cycles. While we can’t know when or how quickly conditions will change, it’s important to take actions that can improve your position now rather than waiting for the economic tide to turn.
Conventional wisdom tells us that periods of depressed commodity prices often present valuable windows of opportunity.
The interlude between harvest and planting seasons gives growers a chance to pause and consider what opportunities they might have to create a strategic advantage going into 2026. Here are a few key areas where growers can focus to unlock new opportunities:
Make smart investments focused on return on investment. Planning tools are key to maximizing profitability. This includes financial decisions as well as agronomic decisions — such as whether to invest in added nutritionals or finding the right products and timing of fungicide applications — and the extent to which growers have aligned those two plans to complement each other.
Having the right products is one thing, but managing your cash flow and financing strategically to maximize your purchasing power is what sets the most successful growers apart from their peers.
The good news is that growers today have access to more data than at any other point in history to better align agronomic and economic plans and to follow a data-driven approach. For example, using digital tools, you can align weather data and intelligence with your cash flow, ensuring that you apply the right products at the right time for maximum efficiency and return on investment.
Focusing on ROI and the business side of your operation is another smart way to manage your spending. Financially sound operations are often relentlessly focused on their bottom line. Few, if any, decisions are made without having a direct impact on profitability.
It may take extra office hours, but balancing the agronomic and economic details of your business plan and fine-tuning your marketing strategy and spending decisions usually pays off in improved returns.
Partner with similar-sized operations. Beyond optimizing your own operations, strategic advantages often emerge through collaboration. Having strong partnerships to lean on when times are tough is essential. Beyond providing solidarity during tough times, strategic partnerships also can create new opportunities.
For example, you might open doors of opportunity by working with similar-sized operations. Maybe it’s a neighboring farm or you band together with other growers in your region to help sustain each other’s operations.
Do you know someone who’s not seeing a viable return to continue operating, but who also isn’t ready to sell their land? Can you work together, sharing equipment to help lower capital investments and reduce maintenance costs, or sharing resources, like a new technology designed to enhance yield? It’s important to consider the unique skills and resources you can bring to the table to help others.
In doing so, you’ll be able to leverage your partners’ skills and capabilities and round out areas where you might have a shorter hand.
Engage your inner circle in planning efforts. These partnerships become even more valuable when integrated into comprehensive long-term planning. The end of the year is typically when growers start to look at revenue and expenses and build out goals for the following year. As growers run through these exercises, it’s good practice to involve people from your inner circle who have more specific expertise in key areas, such as your crop consultant or legal and tax professionals.
These are folks who can help you make the most informed decisions and offer different perspectives that support big-picture thinking. Inviting trusted partners into the process may uncover new ideas or opportunities you haven’t considered to move you closer to your long-term goals.
The reality of the current ag environment reinforces why it’s important to consider the long game when you’re thinking about your own success. The perfect season, where agronomic, economic and environmental conditions all line up in a grower’s favor, is rare. You want to set yourself up to thrive under any circumstances.
With planning tools, financial strategies and systems in place, you can create success, regardless of which variables are moving in your favor.
Howe is an area manager with Nutrien Financial who oversees operations across the Corn Belt, western U.S. and Canada. He provides leadership and innovative solutions to help growers increase their buying power and maximize every opportunity for success. Learn more at nutrienfinancial.com.