Planning and budgeting are year-round processes for us at Grow West. It’s never far from the top of my mind.

As an ag service provider, our planning means a lot more than crop protection products and fertilizer. It extends to every product and service we offer our customers, as well as what every Grow West employee needs to best do his or her job. In reality, it’s about planning, executing and being agile enough to adjust when even the best-laid plans need to change. It’s all unified by a common goal: Taking the best care of our customers that we can.

Relationships and knowing customer goals and expectations are huge

That’s why we put so much work into identifying then meeting and, whenever possible, exceeding customer expectations. The best way to do that is through strong communication. Only through strong relationships with customers can we know where we best fit into their businesses, how we can help them most, and what we need to do to align with their goals. That process starts with communication.

Whether it’s something short-term like locking in fertilizer deliveries or a long-term goal like building a large warehouse to improve crop protection product storage, every step in our planning is rooted in what we need to do to be the best ag service provider we can be. Sometimes plans have to change; for example, we may have to add equipment, people or processes to maintain our unique level of service to growers. That’s why we have to stay agile with how we build and carry out our plans.

Planning and budgeting are team efforts

The Grow West planning and budgeting processes start and end with our customers’ goals. When we sit down and go over customer budgets, historical production and projected needs, we can fine-tune plans and budgets together so every decision is agronomically and financially sound, even if it means having to resort to a Plan B. Sometimes an agronomic solution doesn’t fit a customer’s budget. But by reviewing needs and evaluating our service costs, we can always arrive at a solution together.

As you plan and budget to make sure you get the most from the crops you raise, you can count on Grow West to be doing the same. We’re right there with you. When you’re ready to sit down and have that conversation, we’ll be ready. In the pages that follow, you’ll see more about some of the specific ways we at Grow West approach planning and budgeting with customers, employees and other ag stakeholders.

Best,
Lucas Schmidt
Vice President + COO