Aug 26, 2025
When AgTech startups read this, some might instinctively defend their tech-first approach.
Others might get curious about what rural farmers do differently.
Both reactions are valid — but curiosity opens the door to learning.
They start thinking about all their fancy gadgets. They want to tell you about their 12 sensors, their computer programs, and their special certificates. They think new tech is always better than “old school”.
They talk about their indoor farms that grow food 365 days/year. They tell you about their water-saving systems and their special lights. They say their methods are helping save the planet.
But their bank accounts tell a different story.
They can’t see that 47 pieces of equipment making $100 each is just an easy way to lose money.
Then there's the second type of person.
When you tell them "your Agtech startup could benefit from the experience of rural farmers," you don't get mad. You get curious.
Because you know there’s a difference between being innovative and being profitable.
I much prefer interacting with the second type.
They look at what really works, not just what looks good on social media.
Here's the truth: you don't need 47 different ways to run a successful operation.
In fact, I’d argue you just need one – solve one problem, with one solution, and be the best at it.
You don't need to be everywhere, using every new method, chasing every CNBC trend, or what Agtech influencers are calling the "next big thing."
From my personal experience, and that of hundreds of other rural farmers I’ve worked alongside and talked to over the years, that’s a surefire way to run something into the ground.
You can have more success by keeping it simple.
Now, I can't give you a step-by-step plan that works for everyone – farming doesn’t work like that.
But I can share the biggest principle I’ve learned on our 4th generation family farm:
Fundamentals create wealth, not features.
Today I want to share with you five lessons from our farm that will help your Agtech and/or urban farm be more profitable and sustainable.
Let's dive in!
Lesson #1: Money coming in beats perfect every time.
Here's the assumption most CEA farmers make: outdoor farming is “broken”.
❌Weather is unpredictable
❌Pests destroy crops
❌Soil gets depleted
❌Seasons limit what you can grow
❌Traditional methods are wasteful and unreliable
So they build controlled environments to "fix" these problems.
✅Perfect climate control
✅No pests
✅Exact nutrients
✅Year-round growing
✅Maximum efficiency
But here's what they miss:
Conventional farmers already solved the cash flow problem that kills most CEA operations.
Rural farmers understand something most tech farmers don't:
You can't perfect your way to making money if you're not bringing in cash from day one.
💡They plant crops they know will sell
💡They harvest when people want to buy
💡They upgrade their equipment with money they made, not money from investors
While CEA farmers spend months making their growing systems perfect, or spend money they don’t yet have before proving people will buy their food, conventional farmers sell “okay” products to stay in business while they learn how to get better.
This doesn't mean outdoor farming methods are perfect. It means their approach to cash flow is what CEA operations need to copy.
Rural farmers have mastered three fundamentals that CEA tech should enhance, not replace:
Market timing: They know exactly when customers want specific crops, and plan their entire growing cycle around buyer demand – not optimal growing conditions.
Risk management: They diversify crops and planting times to ensure some income even when weather or pests damage part of their operation.
Customer relationships: They've built trust with buyers who will purchase imperfect crops at fair prices because they value consistent supply over perfect appearance.
The best CEA operations use technology to amplify these fundamentals, not ignore them.
Controlled environments let them hit market timing more precisely. Pest-free systems reduce risk while maintaining the diversification principle. Consistent quality strengthens customer relationships that outdoor farmers built through reliability.
Your robot seeding machine can wait until you prove you can sell what you grow by hand - using the market timing, risk management, and customer relationship fundamentals that outdoor farmers already perfected.
Bottom line: don’t try to fix what isn’t broken. Instead, study what might work in your own operation and implement.
Lesson #2: Your crops don’t care about your IT setup.
Rural farmers focus on biology first, tools second.
That's exactly why they've been in business longer, and (typically) fare better than tech-heavy operations.
I've seen indoor farms designed by brilliant IT people. Unfortunately, they understand the software more than they understand how plants grow.
They can tell you exactly what their programs do, but can't tell what nutrients a plant might need just by looking at it.
Conventional farmers spend decades learning to read what they grow—understanding how the plants mature, when they're stressed, and when to harvest all by sight.
And while this gut feeling can't be downloaded with an app, technology can help make it better.
The farms that have the most success combine deep personal experience with smart technology use.
Bottom line: Systems and processes have a place in farming. But never discount hands-on learning.
Lesson #3: Backups aren’t waste. They’re life insurance.
Every rural operator worth their weight in salt has backup plans for their backup plans. That's exactly why they survive when high-tech farms don't.
Agtech farmers specifically, design pretty systems that break completely when one part fails. Rural farmers often keep things that on the outside seem "wasteful", because they know farming is unpredictable and unforgiving.
- They know multiple suppliers.
- They keep manual controls for automatic systems.
- They have simple ways to do things when high-tech solutions break at 2 AM during harvest.
For Agtech operators, this means having a Plan B for everything.
Bottom line: Embrace technology, but know how to fix and handle things manually if/when automated systems fail.
Lesson #4: Collaboration beats competition every time.
Rural farming communities survive bad economic times, weather disasters, and market crashes by working together, not competing against one another.
- When one farmer's crop fails, others help fill orders.
- They share equipment during busy times, and pitch in when one breaks down.
- When someone finds a new pest or solution, they share information willingly.
City and indoor farmers often work alone, and might see other growers as their enemies instead of potential allies. This makes the whole system weak—when problems happen, they face them alone instead of leaning on others’ experiences.
Bottom line: Don’t gatekeep. Building friendships with operators outside (or adjacent to) your niche gives you access to knowledge, tools, and market opportunities that help everyone.
Lesson #5: Marketing is way harder than your business plan thinks.
Rural producers understand good farming is 50% growing things and 50% running a business.
Rural farmers know their customers personally, and have spent years, even decades, developing deep, meaningful connections with them. They also understand their target customer’s wants, needs and pain points better than they do.
They also have multiple ways to make money all year long. Many tech farmers focus too much on growing efficiently, then struggle with pricing, finding customers, and basic money management.
Personally, I’d argue there’s no better group out there when it comes to relationship-based sales.
They've learned that consistent quality and reliable delivery matter more than perfect products, and that keeping customers happy creates more value than high prices.
Bottom line: Know your numbers, but also know your customers.
What working together actually looks like.
The best partnerships I've seen between traditional and tech farmers follow a specific pattern:
They start by sharing knowledge and experience, not automations and digital tools.
I cannot recommend enough that urban farmers spend a little time on rural farms during different seasons, learning how decisions get made and seeing what actually works.
Next, they find what each side is good at.
Rural farmers have land, equipment, market access, and decades of experience. Tech farmers have money, technical skills, and connections to customers who care about helping the planet.
Finally, they communicate solutions that benefit both sides.
This might mean urban farmers renting land for seasonal growing, rural producers using controlled environments for specialty crops like fruits and vegetables, or joint marketing that combines traditional trust with new online methods.
The key is treating both sides with respect for what they bring to the table, instead of thinking either way is automatically better.
The most profitable farming happens when proven fundamentals meet smart innovation—and that happens through collaboration, open markets and shared opportunities.
Interested in learning more about how to reconnect with your food and the people that produce it? Sign up for my free newsletter - The Rural Writer on Substack.
Every Sunday, I open the barn doors and give you a behind-the-scenes look at what family farming is really like.
Join for free 👉 https://theruralwriter.substack.com
Until next time,
🌱 Charlie