Becoming a precision ag specialist

Like many younger siblings, Lindsey Cueva aspired to be like her older sister. When her sister introduced her to the world of precision agriculture, it didn't take long for Cueva to realize she wanted to follow in her footsteps.

Cueva, who earned a precision agriculture certificate from Aims Community College in Fort Lupton, Colorado, now has nearly 11 years of experience in precision agriculture. Versed on most brands of precision ag equipment, the competitive 28-year-old says being color blind is an asset that serves her well in her current role as an Acre+ adviser and precision ag specialist at Frenchman Valley Coop in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming.

Integrating Agronomics

Clocking about 75,000 miles each year on her pickup truck, Cueva's coverage area ranges from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Grant, Nebraska. Many of the producers in her territory grow corn and wheat, but she says they are seeing an increase in soybean acres every year.

Cueva also deals with a variety of soils. "The further west you go, the higher the pH. The further east you go, the lower the pH. The further north you go, the sandier the soil. The further south you go, there is a little more loam soil. It's kind of a hodgepodge," she says.

While Cueva works on displays and receivers and the diagnostics that go along with alleviating technical issues in the cab, she is also integrating agronomics with the precision equipment a producer has, so the operation not only runs more efficiently but is also more economical. From an agronomic standpoint, she says, a grower can't afford to put 40 pounds of phosphorus across an entire field anymore, especially if it's an area that isn't producing and doesn't have the potential to produce.

"You might still spend the same dollar amount, but you're going to strategically place that fertilizer and help increase the soil fertility levels in different parts of the field where there's a better potential to increase yield. That's where technology like variable rate comes into play," Cueva says, adding that technology has gotten dramatically strategic in the past decade, and her customers are willing to put in the effort to ensure they are ready for the change.

That effort takes time and a unique approach to ensure she understands each operation's needs and what makes every customer tick, so she doesn't step on any toes.

"I've worked hard to get to where I'm at, making connections and building rapport with my customers," she says. "I've been able to increase my customer base but also keep a large portion of my original customers throughout my career."

While interacting and understanding how producers across different geographies run their operations is a favorite part of her job, Cueva gets the most satisfaction from solving a customer's issue quickly. She also knows when to reach out to those with more experience for advice. Taking that initiative and showing a willingness to develop and grow in her role is a mark of good things to come for Cueva as well as her customers.

"I thoroughly enjoy making sure my customers are taken care of," she says. "I work hard to utilize my resources to ensure an issue or question is resolved in one call, two, at the most."

However, Cueva admits there are instances it doesn't always work that way. At night, she'll occasionally run through an issue she thought she could have solved faster if she had used one diagnostic procedure as opposed to another. "If I miss something, that's hard for me," she says.

"That's also the beauty of technology in agriculture — it's ever evolving," Cueva adds. "It's exciting to be a part of helping farmers take advantage of and benefit from all that precision agriculture has to offer, so they can improve the efficiency of their operations."