Stratus Ag Research: Evolution of Channel Influence Study 2024 Highlights and Analysis

Stratus Ag Research is an independent agricultural market research firm that delivers data-driven insights to support agribusiness strategy and decision-making.

Every two-years, they deliver an Evolution of Channel Influence Report for the Midwest USA, providing a timely and nuanced look at how grower purchasing behaviors and retail influence are shifting— particularly in the context of crop protection (CP) products.

Below you will find two macro themes that I took from their Evolution of Channel Influence Report illustrating the changes in grower expectations and retail influence throughout the Midwest United States, and what that might mean for crop protection companies and retailers.

Stratus Ag Research is a collaborative partner of Upstream Ag Insights and has provided access to a rich dataset that will further illustrate these macro themes that Upstream Ag Professional members gain access too. All graphics contained in this article remain the property of Stratus Agri-Marketing Inc. and cannot be shared without consent. Please contact Krista MacLean from Stratus Ag Research to learn more about how you can access the Evolution of Channel Influence report to inform your strategic business decisions.

For other publicly available data from Stratus Ag Research, check out their Insights Page.

Index:

1. Digital Customer Experiences: Expanding Opportunity and Competition

2. Do Crop Protection Companies Need to Evolve Their Grower Strategy?

3. Final Thoughts

Digital Customer Experiences: Expanding Opportunity and Competition

Data from Stratus shows that 20% of farmers are using a customer portal provided by their ag retailer.

I asked Krista MacLean of Stratus Ag Research what stood out to her on digital experiences:

That insight plays into a key ag retail consideration: customer experience

Customer portals are often positioned as a “purchase experience,” however, I look at them as an augmentation of the entire customer experience— just like when I use my preferred airline’s mobile application, I am using it for more than purchasing a flight. I use it for augmenting the flight that I purchased— such as understanding where my checked bag is, getting alerts about gate changes, flight departure times and checking-in for the flight. I use it to save time, put my mind at ease and simplify my flight experience. The customer experience portals provided by ag retails are the same.

The data from Stratus reinforces the interest in an integrated experience across 10+ features:

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