WinField United is entering the service warranty business for crop production. This week it announced a limited launch of its Advanced Acre Prescription Program in select markets.

Under the program, participating farmers will use an agronomic prescription provided by WinField United and its retail network. If participating farmers do not achieve 95% of predetermined yields based on the plan and their actual production history (APH) after following the plan, they will be able to recover their service warranty. (The target percentage of APH varies by plan.) WinField United officials say the service warranty includes the program fee, plus an additional amount as detailed by each individual contract.

To form customized prescriptions, WinField United will tap the over 6 million new data points its Answer Plot program generates each year. WinField United officials say the system will help prioritize and get the most from every dollar spent to deliver a more predictable and probable return on investment.

“We’re putting our skin in the game and sharing the risk of farming with the launch of our prescription service, because we believe our data helps lead to more profitable decisions,” said Jim Hedges, vice president of seed marketing at WinField United, in a company news release.

“The Advanced Acre Prescription Program is a great tool for today’s tough farm economics,” said Dave Spears, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Mid Kansas Coop (MKC), in a company news release. “It combines the data, insights, and technology from WinField United into a systematic, responsive program that is delivered to farmers by MKC’s locally-based team of experts. It is truly a system designed to help farmers increase their bottom line.”

Other Plans

Earlier this year, several other companies adopted warranty and yield guarantee programs. Rather than selling chemical by the jug or seed by the bag or bulk unit, an outcome-based model tested this year by Bayer CropScience sells a metric like a yield guarantee or a weed-free or disease-free field.

Data science via Bayer’s digital agriculture division, The Climate Corporation, can make this model work, say Bayer executives.

If the prearranged metric isn’t realized, Bayer would compensate the farmer in either cash or product refunds or rebates.



Growers Edge Financial, Inc. (Growers Edge) and Growmark have developed a yield guarantee program.

Customers leveraging Growmark crop inputs and ag technology will be able to take advantage of the Growers Edge guarantee program to improve yield and profitability without the financial risk, according to the companies.



Based on Growmark Product Yield Trials and the Growers Edge Growers Analytic Prediction System (GAPS), an artificial intelligence platform, Growmark and Growers Edge have developed a proprietary Agronomic Performance Product (APP) specifically for Growmark crop inputs. When farmers follow the specified agronomic practices for the Growmark solutions, they are assured yield improvements backed by a performance guarantee provided by Growers Edge, according to the companies.



Select Markets for 2020

WinField United’s Advanced Acre Prescription Program will be available in select markets in the 2020 growing season, but a full commercial launch is expected for the 2021 season. More program details will also be shared at local Answer Plot events in 2020, say WinField United officials.