Minnesota Crop Production Retailers

MCPR is a trade association providing unique educational and social gatherings of the Minnesota and Upper Midwest crop input industry. Through meetings, trade shows, the MCPR website, newsletter, golf outings and numerous other programs we offer educational programs, training programs and an industry trade show. Attending MCPR gatherings are the key Minnesota crop input personnel who are the decision makers, operators, and public policy leaders of the Minnesota and upper Midwest crop input industry. MCPR membership focus is equipment, the Big Iron of all colors, specialty products, seed, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, cutting edge technology, the latest precision ag software and equipment, ag dealer staff and managers, cooperative leaders, ag industry executives, regulators, lawmakers, state and federal ag department staff and leadership, University administers, faculty and researchers, young and/or seasoned chemical applicators, Technical Service Providers (TSP’s), Certified Crop Advisers, Independent Crop Consultants.

Our Mission: “MCPR exists to promote the proper use, storage and application of crop production inputs in an environmentally safe and agronomically sound manner; and to support regulatory and legislative initiatives which benefit retailers, manufacturers, distributors and custom applicators of crop production inputs.”

MCPR Soil Fertility/Environmental Risk Assessment Tool is a web based software has been developed under the direction of our MCPR members’ Precision Ag staff experts which has addressed the current challenge in the market place for ag retailers and growers which is that the precision ag programs are proprietary so that common data collection and aggregation are not possible. We solved that problem by creating this web based software and data collection process which allows the agronomy sales person to use their proprietary system within their established trusted relationship with their growers without the agronomy staff having to do double entry into this software. Rather, the software allows the agronomy sales person to drop their geospatial field data into the assessment software tool prior to presenting it to the grower, allowing the grower to examine at the point of sale the alternative environmentally sensitive field practices to increase their environment score, and also generates a profit and loss estimate to evaluate the profitability of each practice consideration so they can estimate the ROI on each decision prior to a final determination of nutrient application. We have been working with U of MN faculty and MN Dept. of Ag regulators to develop and test precise environmental risk metrics which can serve to be evaluated on predictability, reliability and sensitivity. We then allow the agronomy sales person to request that the grower allow our system to confidentially store with the grower’s permission the data for aggregated collection of current field practices across our agricultural acres in Minnesota to track current practices and trends for improving the environmental metrics. This program has been developed to be scalable from water shed, to county, to state and nationally. The farming practices within this software are divided according to the 4R’s practices. Additionally, the metrics within this software account for each of the 4R’s as part of the reporting system.