From clod cruncher and bug checker to consultant and advisor, the role of the crop consultant continues to evolve.

For a quarter of a century, James Todd of Todd Agricultural Consulting, Plainview, Texas, has walked the fields of the Texas South Plains scouting crops for weeds and insects.

Throughout his career, he's consulted farmers who were fathers and watched them become grandfathers and even great grandfathers. While some have retired or passed away, their fertile fields remain. Today, Todd advises their children and grandchildren -- a generation he initially met when they were teens riding Spider spray rigs on their families' farms during summer vacation. "My farmers are family," he says.

Crop consultant James Todd

It's this generational progression Todd says is evidence of the sustainability of his growers. "Sustainability is a way for farmers to tell their story. Sustainability is seeing that farm passed down from generation to generation," says Todd. "We wouldn't be doing things out here if it was detrimental to the land. Everybody wants to pass it down."

The management practices of his clients are also sustainability markers. "We're standing in this field, and they've got corn stubble with no-tilled wheat and across the turn row, a strip-tilled field. Farmers are doing a lot of things to control erosion and cut back on diesel emissions by reducing trips across fields. This is important to how we farm and how we're going to farm in the future.

"We have to do more with less."

Helping Farmers

Since childhood, Todd has aspired to help farmers. The grandson of a Baptist preacher who also owned orange groves, and the son of schoolteachers, Todd spent many hours driving a tractor while his grandfather stood behind the seat, instructing him as he plowed.  

"I've always had a passion for agriculture. When I was nine, I told my dad I wanted to do something to help farmers. I knew I wanted to do something like what I do, but I never knew it was a career until I was in high school."

Todd began his career in Plainview in 1992 as a summer crop scout for veteran consultant Bob Glodt. Then, along with his experience and degree in agronomy from Texas Tech University, began his own consulting business in 2007.

See, Weed control: don't be bullied 

"When I think back 25 years, we were just bug checkers. It started with a few weeds. If you mentioned them to a farmer, he got mad. They were like, 'Don't you think I know that.'

"But as technologies like Roundup and Liberty came along, it's become more important to document those weeds, the size, and provide recommendations."

Perspective

A shift in tillage practices has also broadened Todd's role. "I work with about 25 growers. I tell my growers, I get 25 years' worth of experience every year because I get to see 25 guys farm a little bit differently but under the same conditions. I get to see what works and doesn't and can share that experience with them and help them make changes."

Throughout his career, the number of people farming has decreased as the amount of land an individual farms increases. "It's almost a Walmart mentality; you have to get bigger so you can lose less," he says. But it's also elevated the need for additional consultants and the use of technology.

Technology

Lena Garrison, who will earn her masters in entomology in May from West Texas A&M University, works fulltime for Todd. She began her career as Todd's intern two years ago. As more growers use digital records to manage their operations, Todd says Garrison's youthful understanding of technology is beneficial.

"I'm an old-school guy. I like to print off papers and write on them, so having somebody young like Lena, who's technically savvy, is a big help."

Garrison recommends the app FieldX. She says it's simple to use and accessed from a phone or iPad. "I like having it on my phone because I can get to the fields easily – I'm still learning where the fields are," Garrison says. "But having records to go back to, checking what was done the week before and knowing what was applied, helps. That way we aren't wasting time going out and checking something already sprayed. Instead, we're waiting for it to work."

Todd recalls a time when his father-in-law, Charles Reeves, who farmed near Edmonson, waited faithfully every Wednesday evening by his corded, pushbutton telephone for Glodt to call with his weekly field report. Now, through FieldX, their growers have immediate access to the consultants' reports.

"They can enter their spray records or take our recommendations and turn them into a spray record, so it works seamlessly to keep records," says Todd. "And we all know they're supposed to keep records, and most of them are, but to have a format where we can look at the information, helps us make decisions if we know what's going on with their weed and insect control.

"It makes us more efficient and helps us do a better job for the grower."

Second Set of Eyes

As growers get bigger and often have less labor, Todd says consultants serve as another set of eyes on a farmer's operation. "A farmer can do what we do, but they are also businessmen -- they can't do it all."