While the recent weather in Brazil will bring relief to drought areas, it could cause harvest delays and issues planting the Safrinha corn crop.

“Nitrogen is a farmer's biggest investment in corn production, so we need to do everything we can to protect it,” said Dan Quinn, assistant professor of agronomy at Purdue University.

“If it doesn’t pay for itself on the farm, we can’t have it,” Jeremy Deter says. “The digital scout has proven it can pay for itself.”

The availability of livestock workers was ranked as more limited than crop workers and finding long-term help seen as more difficult than temporary help due to the seasonal nature of the ag industry.