Making Decisions in the Face of Uncertainty, with Hallie Shoffner
It isn’t surprising that most farmers have to be expert planners and investors. But getting an inside view into how a farmer plans for the future of their business is a rare opportunity.
In this episode, you’ll hear firsthand how Hallie Shoffner, a sixth-generation row crop farmer in the Mississippi Delta, makes decisions for her farm and company, SFR Seed. While Hallie is an enthusiastic adopter of new farming innovations, this conversation shows that every decision must be well supported by reliable data and the right incentives.
Listen in to hear Hallie speak about:
- Investing in conservation practices as a tactic to mitigate financial and environmental risk
- What farmers like Hallie want to see from potential partners and vendors in agtech
- How COVID-19 impacted a large project to electrify operations on the farm
- Why many farmers are skeptical of participating in carbon programs and markets
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Key takeaways
- Hallie has shifted her understanding of investing in conservation practices from being a nice-to-have, towards being commercially sound in terms of return on investment and of adding an extra level of financial and environmental risk mitigation.
- Hallie's experience as a customer indicates that promises of yield increases or input efficiencies are great, but promises don't always mean results. She carefully tracks her investments and expects speedy returns, especially in high-risk environments like we have today.
- As an investor she wants to see deep experience in ag amongst company leadership and a demonstrated understanding of why the industry operates the way it does, in addition to a company having worked with farmers during the development of their technology.
