At WinField United, Remembering ‘People Power’
October 9, 2024 For the past few months, I’ve attended numerous trade shows and industry events that have touted all the latest in ag technology. In fact, phrases using words such as “drones,” “autonomy,” and “artificial intelligence (AI)” have become so commonplace these days that it is sometimes easy to forget what powers many of these systems in the first place: People.
This past July, I had the opportunity to attend a media event hosted by WinField United at the company’s Innovation Center in River Falls, WI. There, company representatives talked a lot about many of WinField United’s latest product innovations for data management and sprayer application. As spokespersons pointed out, these kinds of technological advances use science to help ag retailers and their grower-customers navigate all of the uncertainties that have plagued agriculture these past few years. This would include such weather-related issues such as ice storms in Texas, hurricanes across the South, and extreme droughts in the Western states.
Yet, according to Leah Anderson, President of WinField United and Senior Vice President for Land O’Lakes, it’s the combination of the data and the people behind these technologies that make the true difference in the ag retail space.
Leah Anderson, WinField United
“We have a purpose as WinField United: To enable the retailer to be the hero at the farmgate,” Anderson told CropLife® magazine. “We are not the only player in the marketplace. What makes us unique is that we’re taking the millions of data points our system produces every year and putting them to work through the local connections and leadership of our retail owners. We want to help the people in this industry achieve their greatest potential — whether they are our own employees, our retailers, or the farmers they serve.”
In her mind, said Anderson, this pairing of technology knowhow and data-backed insights with “a personal touch” is the key for WinField United and its retail owners to achieve a key marketplace goal: Relevancy.
“If you look at what’s going on in agriculture today, we have a challenging macro environment, challenging economics, and new risks appearing all the time that the country’s farmers are facing,” she said. “With all this in mind, we want to make sure that WinField United and our retail owners are staying relevant to provide the greatest value to America’s farmers.”
At WinField United, this means arming ag retailers and growers with the latest programs, services, and tools, agronomic and economic insights, and personnel to manage all the challenges, today and into the future. It’s for this reason that the company plans to introduce 80 new products to the marketplace over the next three years, lead the way in new and emerging markets and support the people delivering value at the farmgate all along the way.
“I hope when I leave this business, folks will say ‘the work Leah and her team did ultimately helped me reach my greatest potential,’” said Anderson. “That’s what I hope my legacy to WinField United and all of agriculture will be.”
To that, we here at CropLife whole-heartedly agree!
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