Survive and thrive: Nutrien Financial pairs agronomics and economics

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Ind. — It is difficult — for some, even impossible — to create a strong financial foundation for the future when most of your money must go toward bills and debt.

Fortunately, there has been a slight decline in interest rates. But it still takes time to recover from years of inflation, said John Maman, senior director of business development at Nutrien Financial.

“One of the things that our growers consistently look for is an alternative source of capital, and the operating line is the lifeblood of that organization. It’s what growers use to do all of their business — to pay employees, to farm, to be able to leverage operational efficiencies, buy land,” he said.

“One of the biggest things that Nutrien Financial offers is a complementary line of credit that doesn’t include the operating line, so that we can focus on building the right promotional offers for the inputs that we sell.”

Nutrien Financial collaborates with Nutrien Ag Solutions strategic suppliers to provide a variety of low-rate promotional financing offers.

Maman said Nutrien Ag Solutions is always focused on creating additional value for customers that caters to their success.

“That’s always rooted in agronomics, first and foremost, but then we have complementary businesses that allow additional reach into that agronomic integrity and Nutrien Financial is one of them, where we pair agronomics and economics, so that growers have the best farm-focused agronomy with the best farm-focused ways to pay for it,” he said.

“We like to think we blend the best aspects of cash, prepay and financing, so our growers have awareness to all the tools and resources that are available in the marketplace for their input purchases.”

Nutrien Financial offers customers flexible payment options with interest rates that aren’t tied to prime, customized due dates and best-in-class payment terms.

With that added financial flexibility, farmers are able to create a marketing strategy to capitalize on the most opportune time to sell their harvest.

Farmers earn revenue once a year, at harvest time, so it is critical to maximize the return to cover expenses throughout the year, Maman said.

For example, he explained, financing can be aligned with the crop cycle, giving farmers the flexibility to wait to sell their crops when they would earn the highest profit, rather than having to sell right after harvest when prices are lower.

“We’ve got a full support team of territory managers that are based across North America that focus on driving the right agronomics and economics for our growers,” he said.

“We have great people that can help make great decisions at the farm gate, and it really starts with building that crop plan and finding the best terms, rates and incentives that we can use, whether it’s cash or prepay or financing, to drive the value space for our customers even deeper, to have those trusted advisers ready not only when it comes time to make a commitment, but throughout the year, to be able to look at the operation and say, ‘Are we doing the right thing with our agronomic plan?’

“And if that changes so should that financial profit plan, that economic plan, because we have the ability with that alternative line of credit to make adjustments.

“Inevitably, even in tough times like we’re seeing, with high inflation and challenges in the marketplace, growers will succeed. Growers will also look for ways to be more fiscally responsible.

“Whether times are challenging or whether times are good, there are always ways to be more fiscally responsible and do so in a way that represents a better agronomic opportunity at the time.”

Maman touted the Nutrien Hub — https://nutrienagsolutions.com/digital-hub — an easy-to-use, personalized all-in-one customer experience.

This one-stop shop for secure online support helps farmers monitor weather reports, easily pay their bills and keep track of purchases.

“It all starts with the trusted relationship at the farm gate, recognizing that a finance program can help save some money, but it has to be rooted in agronomic integrity,” Maman said.

“We can help maximize your cash flow so that you can make the best choice for your farm, because in some cases, the opportunity to grow isn’t linear,” he said.

“You might want to build a grain bin, you might want to acquire land and the method that you do that might require savings in different areas, might require other agronomy boosts in yield in certain areas, and at Nutrien Ag Solutions we can offer all the expertise to grow agronomy and grow yield, and we can also offer better ways to pay for it through Nutrien Financial.”

Every acre is unique, so every farmer’s needs are unique, as well.

“We exist to make sure that we offer those unique needs of our customers in a localized presence, so that we take the global reach and innovation of Nutrien and bring it down to that farm-gate level for what matters most to our customers on their acre, their turnrow and their operation,” Maman said.

“I like to think that we have the tools and resources at the localized level that are as invested in the outcomes for our growers as they are and being able to lead with the right awareness and the right agronomic integrity and then back that with all of our aligning business units, from our proprietary products to our proprietary financing, our strategic supplier line, to give them every opportunity to be successful, regardless of market conditions, regardless of commodities, weather events, because we have the level of care, that localized level, to be able to serve them in every way they need.”