As a consultant or agronomist, you are probably very familiar, and indeed, very confident in your day to day tasks. You probably have great relationships with your clients and only on the on the odd occasion think about the consequences of making a ‘bad call’ or giving an improper or incorrect recommendation. Sometimes, you may do absolutely everything right, but your client may still not be happy. You might think that the relationship with your client is strong enough that you shouldn’t get in to any serious trouble. Or, if you do get into trouble that your company or personal liability insurance will cover you. There are consultants out there however who will point out that this is can be naive point of view.
Unfortunately for you, when it comes to giving professional advice on cropping matters, there is a lot at stake. A bad judgement call can result in many thousands of dollars worth of economic loss to the producer. Or, a producer may have had unrealistic expectations about the result they would achieve by doing something you told them to do. With farming terms of trade getting tighter and tighter, a lot of producers will seek some form of compensation when this happens. The initial complaint process on its own can be a very stressful time for both parties involved, and will frequently require the involvement of chemical manufacturers also. If the problem proceeds to litigation, then the costs can escalate rapidly, and the toll on all parties, not only financially, but emotionally as well, can be huge.
To avoid these kinds of conflicts there are a few guidelines that you should always abide by. I will state from the outset that most accomplished agronomists already carry out these procedures as a matter of routine, but it is worthwhile enforcing the point again.
The boring stuff!
• Be vigilant about diary entries. I know it’s a pain, but take the time to record service calls and phone calls and keep brief notes about what was said and agreed upon. You could even use a voice recorder to record things quickly on the fly and then write them down later. It’s always the things that you don’t write down that can come back to haunt you!
• All recommendations should be written. Even if you are getting the hurry up from the farmer, take the time to do this. You can fax/email them later that day, and this absolutely clarifies what was spoken about. Again, a common practice.
• Don’t make unrealistic representations about what you expect a chemical to do. If you are not sure, say so. Many younger or inexperienced agronomists will feel pressured by a client to solve all their problems with one ‘silver bullet’ spray. I have felt this pressure at times also, but it is always a good practice to ‘under promise and over deliver’ until you know exactly what to expect. The producer will be much happier with this approach in the end also.
• Be aware of any other information that you might have to give along with the recommendation. For example, nozzle size, water rates etc to avoid spray drift.
• Always stick to the label unless you are very familiar with the legislation surrounding off-label use that affects your state. The regulations are different in each jurisdiction.
