Looking back at a year of innovation: An end of year message from Piers Costley

As we approach the close of another year, I find myself reflecting on the key challenges and successes for the agriculture industry, and the customers we serve.

Piers Costley, VP of Operations

The dynamic field we work in ensures that no two years are the same, and this is the case once again when I look back at 2023. We continue to see significant pressures on farmers and growers to achieve efficiencies in the UK, as well as globally. Regardless of the size of the operation, we know our customers need support to maximise their performance now more than ever.

I take pride in the fact we have provided this support across the year through numerous product milestones, including the continued rollout of Farmplan Business Cloud, our latest advancements for Gatekeeper, and our Hardware and IT offerings going from strength to strength.

As our industry becomes more digital and connected, so must our solutions. Whilst offering future-fit support, we know we need to ensure that we take our customers with us on this journey. Our focus is to collaborate and work hand in hand with those who use our products, ensuring a constant dialogue so that our users benefit from the solutions we create.

Looking back on how we have listened and collaborated with our customers in 2023, I have to call out our successful Farmplan Business Cloud (FBC) Roadshow events. Our team held 12 in-person events  to educate and share the benefits of FBC. Meeting our customers face to face is the lifeblood of how we continue to create our innovative solutions, and receiving questions and dialogue firsthand is crucial. I can’t wait for the next series of these events that we have planned for 2024. Understandably, not everyone can always be there in person, and for those customers we were proud to have held several webinars too. I am delighted that over 600 users are already onboarded with FBC on the back of these events, and we look forward to welcoming even more of our customers to the platform in the new year.

Reflecting on Gatekeeper, we pride ourselves on how the customer voice has helped us develop this product from day one. Thousands of growers, agronomists and industry partners have been consulted to date, and this product continues to adapt to our customers’ needs. This year we were proud to unveil the latest integration between our software with the John Deere Operations CenterTM, allowing farmers additional tools to manage the demands of compliance and traceability.  Looking ahead to 2024, we will continue to develop Gatekeeper in line with the latest needs of the industry, enabling growers to increase yields and find efficiencies.

Finally, I want to call out an incredibly busy year for our Hardware and IT offering. 2023 has seen a huge amount of vital work carried out to support our customers, with our anti-virus software upgrades and our network installations in particular having extremely strong uptake across the year.

I close the year feeling incredibly optimistic for 2024. At Progarica Farmplan, our success is directly linked to our customers’ success. We remain committed to equipping farmers and growers with innovative solutions that enable sustainable growth for their businesses, and we cannot wait to continue this journey next year in full collaboration with our customers.

From everyone here at Farmplan, I wish you and your families a fantastic Christmas break, and a happy New Year.

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