🌿 Get to know a Groundworker: Rick Knifley, US Sales 🌿
Rick brings his valuable perspective to Groundwork BioAg, combining his decades of ag sales experience with a deep understanding of farm life. He'll be at the following Farm Journal Crop Tours: 👨🌾
Bloomfield, IL on 8/20
Iowa City, IA on 8/21
Q. What led you to Groundwork BioAg?
A. After thirty years in ag sales, working with plant nutrition and soil health products, I became interested in biologicals. While working for another company struggling to find the right mycorrhizal inoculant, I discovered Groundwork BioAg and Rootella. I then met Andrew Duff (US General Manager), and here I am.
Q. How does your farming background influence the way you approach ag sales?
A. Growing up on a family farm raising livestock and managing my grandfather’s alfalfa hay business gave me a “farmer first” mentality. I still farm with some buddies and help them out in the spring and fall. I will always put grower needs over sales quotas. I start by understanding the soil and plant health situation, and then I recommend solutions. I sometimes call myself “the worst ag salesman” because finding the right solution, even if not from Groundwork BioAg, while building trust and long-term relationships, are my top priorities.
Q. Tell me more about how you prioritize your relationships with growers?
A. My approach is to listen to the grower, understand what he or she needs, and find the best solution without pushing any product, philosophy or program that they’re not comfortable implementing. It might not even be with me or with Groundwork BioAg. But I’m building trust – and the grower will remember and come back later. I focus on strengthening industry connections because I know it all comes full circle.
Q. What is unique about selling Rootella Carbon, the world’s first mycorrhizal carbon program?
A. Rootella Carbon is not the first #carbon program in my career I’ve been involved with, but it’s by far the easiest. #Rootella Carbon’s qualifications are simpler and we’re comfortable to work with. The main frustration today among growers today is not with the program, but with evolving policies that make it difficult for them to commit.
Q. What’s your message for growers about mycorrhizal inoculants?
A. Education on #mycorrhiza is improving. After years of working with biologicals, I now see “mycorrhizal fungi” becoming a familiar term. The biological space is starting to take off and within it, Rootella is a unique product with the highest concentration of mycorrhiza on the market. As growers begin to understand the minimal cost and significant ROI in terms of plant nutrition and soil health, they realize that we’re bringing a major shift to agriculture.
Catch Rick at the Farm Journal Crop Tours in Bloomfield, IL on 8/20 and Iowa City, IA on 8/21
Yossi Kofman Dan Grotsky Danny Levy Hanan Dor Andrew Duff Bari Ruimy Thad England Clayton Lang Benjamin Parrott #letyourgroundwork