Yara produces and sells fertilizers to distributors and farmers around the entire world. The ambition, however, is not to just to sell fertilizers but to supply plant nutrition. That is why agronomists assist the sales organisation to identify and supply the plant nutrition solutions that help growers to grow their produce according to needs and demands of the food market.
The right nutrition will contribute to increase the profitability of growers and create a win-win situation beneficial also for Yara as supplier. Yara believes that this approach also contributes to a sustainable development of the agricultural sector since it helps to achieve not only the best crop yield but also the top crop quality required by the grower, the food processor, the distributor of fresh produce and finally the consumer.
A plant nutrition concept for growers must provide answers to the following questions:
- At which growth stage shall a nutrient be applied to the crop?
- Shall the nutrients be applied in one application or split into several applications?
- What amount of the nutrients shall be applied?
- In which form: dissolved in water (liquid) or as solid particles?
- How to apply the nutrient?
- Shall solid nutrient particles be place in specific locations near the plants or broadcasted?
- Shall liquid nutrients be applied with irrigation water (fertigation) or sprayed onto the foliage or fruit?
Agronomic support in the field to demonstrate the benefits of plant nutrition concepts
Growers only buy into a crop nutrition concept if it increases their profitability. That is why the sales team needs to fully understand plant nutrition and draw upon agronomic support activities.
Agronomic support activities in Yara include:
- Demonstration trials
- Presentations in workshops with growers
- Visits to single growers (trial on his field / problem solving)
- Seminars with key plant nutrition advisors
- Information exchange with food processors (they usually have contracts with growers).
- Tools that help diagnose the nutritional status of a crop (e.g. Yara N-Tester).