Networks perform vital roles in nature. A plants veins provide support for the leaf. They transport life giving water, minerals, and energy throughout the plant. The veins (vascular system) connect plant parts that perform vital but different roles. Roots collect water and minerals and leaves produce energy but without the network to connect them; both wither and die.
In business and life, networks have some things in common with the veins of a leaf.
Dictionary.com defines a network as “an association of individuals having a common interest, formed to provide mutual assistance, helpful information, or the like.”
For decades Crop Quest Agronomists have come to rely on the aid of the agronomic network.
I’ve witnessed the network in action for more than fifteen seasons. I’ve seen the network:
- Answer difficult questions
- Train new and veteran consultants
- Lobby government
- Aid sick or injured consultants
- Alert of approaching issues
Weekly Crop Quest Sugarcane Aphid Observations from June to November.
Our clients have come to expect a certain level of services and the network helps meet those expectations.
We are always looking for ways to improve and expand the network. Internally we pass information around via email. Until recently, when sugarcane aphids were moving into areas we would have relied on word of mouth to monitor them. Now, technology is allowing us to hone this ability and track issues more timely. Our hope is this will translate into improved detection and proactive responses to threats.
To the left is an animation of this past seasons sugarcane aphid detection.
The Crop Quest network, like the veins of a leaf, performs a simple but important role. We are a group of consultants and growers that seek to advance agriculture for the benefit of the individual and the industry as a whole.
Written by: Nathan Woydziak, Hoisington, KS
Featured Image by: Martin Chilvers, Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology, MSU
