One of the traits of a trusted precision specialist is their ability to perform under pressure. Some might argue this is a daily occurrence for the profession and even the most mundane days force moments of innovation out of necessity. 

But some situations require more spontaneous problem solving than others. Whether it’s drilling new holes in a plate to get a receiver mounted or running cabling through and underneath, rather than around and above the back of a cab, specialists tend to have an eye for in-the-moment ingenuity. 

Improvisation is another quality that skilled precision dealers possess and I’ve seen it on display during on-farm service visits. Perhaps one of the best descriptions came from Youngblut Ag owner Pete Youngblut this spring. 

As a sole proprietor of his precision dealership in Dysart, Iowa, Youngblut practices a bend, but don’t break philosophy during peak seasons. Working on a customer’s planter system installation this year and faced with a tight window to get him into the field, and a little short on parts, Youngblut was asked a simple question.

“Can you cowboy it?” was what the customer asked, Youngblut says. “I had to chuckle a little, but I knew exactly what he meant. The rain is coming and he needs his field planted. We had what we had for tools and I knew I had to figure it out and get it done, and we did.”

How a precision specialist responds to adversity can be the difference between a customer getting a crop planted in their window of opportunity or seeing it close along with the business account the customer had with the dealership.

Youngblut will be presenting at next week’s Virtual National Strip-Tillage Conference on how to help customers take a systematic approach to develop a profitable strip-till system. 

Whether your customers are looking to transition into a new tillage practice or improving on the one they have established, are you prepared to “cowboy it” when you need to and keep them satisfied?