Erin Hightower, an agronomist for John Deere dealer RDO Equipment who is based in Kennewick, Wash., often uses a sports analogy to illustrate the first step to successful data management

“The best teams start by having honest conversations with themselves about where they need to improve during the off-season,” she says. 

Data management starts with identifying the right farm management software for your operation. There’s no one-size-fits-all, but it’s advantageous to pick software that has growth potential, Hightower says. She likens the process to her own experience with financial software.

“I spend a little extra money for a really good personal financial software,” she says. “The reason I paid a little extra is because I’m choosing a software that continues to grow, one that’s always coming out with new features. It’s the same thing with farm management software. If it doesn’t grow with the times and the technology, then there will be an issue because we need a farm management software that will keep up.”

Hightower identifies a few basic prerequisites for a successful data management plan. First, make sure the data you’re compiling is in a format that allows you to easily obtain analytics. 

“Data is only valuable if it’s usable,” Hightower says. “I worked with a farmer who refused to have his data in one place because of his mistrust of cloud-based data. He used John Deere, FarmWorks and Precision Planting software. His harvest data was in one place, and his planting data was in another. He couldn’t…