If you have a sore foot, you don’t want your doctor to treat you for a headache. If you have a stomachache, you don’t want your doctor to put a cast on your hand.
The treatment should be driven by the precise diagnosis.
Such is the case in modern agriculture, where farmers are recognizing that different types or amounts of soil treatments can be applied more precisely exactly where they are needed. Today we’ll meet a company that is helping farmers use data to apply their inputs in a more efficient, effective and environmentally friendly way.
Landon Oldham is the founder and owner of Heartland Soil Services, headquartered in Cunningham with representatives in several other Kansas towns. Landon grew up in Cunningham, working for multiple farmers in the region. He met Vicki in grade school and they would eventually marry. He earned a degree in agribusiness at K-State.
During and after college, he worked for a Missouri company installing precision agriculture equipment. “It seemed to me that there was a missing link,” Landon said. “Farmers needed more data in order to use those systems to their full potential.”
He saw how more information would help farmers use this equipment more effectively and thought there might be a business opportunity there.
“It was the end of 2009,” Landon said. “My wife was eight months pregnant with our first child and we had signed a contract on a house. I told her my idea and she said, `Yes, it could work.’ I said, `Well, I hope it does, because I quit my job today.”
