Planning a Profitable ICM Service

For agricultural dealers, there has never been a better time to introduce fee-based crop consulting services. Precision equipment and genetic technology have made new resources available for high yields, but they have also increased the complexity of information management and decision-making in all areas of crop production. The situation has created an opportunity for dealers as well as independent consultants to profitably market services. Public sector demonstration projects conducted under the leadership of Iowa State University Agronomy and Agronomy Extension - such as the Butler County ICM Project, an element of the Iowa Integrated Farm Management Demonstration - have documented that a comprehensive integrated crop management (ICM) service program returns $8 to over $30/A./yr from management improvements