The Knowledge Paradox
Understanding why farmers don't always act on good advice
Introduction
Welcome to the first session of From Knowing to Doing.
This course isn't about learning new agronomy or pest management techniques—you already know plenty. It's about something harder: understanding why the farmers you advise don't always act on what you recommend, even when they know it's good advice.
If you've ever driven away from a farm visit frustrated, wondering why your perfectly sound recommendation won't get implemented, this course is for you.
Over the next eight weeks, we'll explore the hidden dynamics of trust, the real work of a farm visit, and practical tools to help you turn knowledge into action. Not through better presentations or more data—but through understanding what farmers are actually deciding when they listen to you.
The Core Insight
The Knowledge Paradox
Here's something you've probably experienced:
You visit a farm. You diagnose a problem correctly. You recommend a proven solution—backed by research, tested on similar farms, economically sound. The farmer nods. They ask good questions. They seem to understand. You leave feeling confident.
Three months later: nothing has changed.
It's not that the farmer didn't understand. Your explanation was clear. It's not that your advice was wrong—you've seen it work dozens of times. Something else is missing.
The Core Insight: Knowledge alone doesn't change behavior. Trust does.
Think about that fertilizer guy who shows up every year. The one who talks fast, has all the answers, and is gone before the farmer can think it through. Does the farmer implement everything that guy recommends?
Probably not. And it's not because the advice is bad. It's because the farmer feels like "just one of 50 stops today."
Now think about the advisor the farmer calls when something goes wrong. The one whose number is saved in their phone. The one they text photos to. That advisor's recommendations? They get implemented.
The difference isn't knowledge. It's trust.
The Two Jobs of an Agricultural Advisor
Here's what they don't teach in agronomy school:
As an agricultural advisor, you actually have two jobs:
Job #1: Expert
- Diagnose problems
- Recommend solutions
- Share knowledge
- Interpret data
- Stay current on research
Job #2: Trusted Partner
- Earn credibility
- Demonstrate care
- Show up consistently
- Remember what matters
- Follow through on commitments
Most training focuses exclusively on Job #1. You know the science. You understand the systems. You can read a soil test, identify pest pressure, calculate application rates.
But here's the hard truth: Job #1 gets you in the door. Job #2 determines whether your advice gets acted on.
And Job #2? Nobody teaches you that.
Why Farmers Don't Act on Good Advice
When a farmer doesn't implement your recommendation, it's rarely because they didn't understand it. More often, it's because:
They don't trust the advice enough to risk their livelihood on it
- Farming has catastrophic downside risk
- "Try this" sounds different when your farm is collateral
They don't trust YOU enough yet
- Are you here for them, or for a sale?
- Will you remember this conversation next time?
- Have you earned the right to recommend change?
They have competing priorities you don't see
- Cash flow timing
- Labor constraints
- Family dynamics
- Previous bad experiences
The recommendation requires behavior change, not just knowledge
- Knowing ≠ doing (you know this—think about your own six-pack)
- Change is hard even when you know it's right
- Implementation takes effort
The mistake most advisors make: assuming that better explanation will solve the problem. More data. Clearer charts. Simpler language.
But that's not the barrier. The barrier is trust.
Why This Matters to You
The Cost of the Knowledge Paradox
When farmers don't act on good advice, everyone loses:
Farmers lose:
- Miss opportunities to improve yields
- Continue inefficient practices
- Carry unnecessary risk
- Leave money on the table
You lose:
- Feel frustrated and ineffective
- Question your value and impact
- Burn out from repeated "failed" visits
- Miss the satisfaction of seeing change happen
Your organization loses:
- Struggles to demonstrate ROI on advisory services
- Loses credibility with farming communities
- Fails to drive adoption of better practices
- Watches competitors build stronger farmer relationships
Communities lose:
- Slower adoption of sustainable practices
- Continued environmental pressure
- Missed economic development opportunities
- Weaker agricultural sectors
But here's the good news: trust isn't mysterious.
It's not about personality. It's not about charisma. It's not something you either have or don't have.
Trust is built through specific, learnable, improvable behaviors.
And those behaviors? That's what this course teaches.
What Makes This Course Different
This course takes a different approach than most agricultural training:
Peer-to-peer tone
- We respect that you're experienced professionals
- We're not here to lecture
- We're here to surface patterns you've probably already noticed
Practical focus
- Every session includes action steps you can use immediately
- No theory without application
- Real scenarios you face every week
Reflection-driven
- The best learning comes from examining your own experience
- We'll ask you to think about farmers you know
- Your insights matter more than our frameworks
Tool-integrated
- Sessions 6-7 connect to PropelMapper features that support trust-building
- Technology as enabler, not replacement, for human connection
- Practical tools that make the right behaviors easier
Designed for how you work
- Self-paced learning that fits around farm visits
- Optional team discussion for organizations
- Downloadable resources you can use in the field
Personal Reflection
Take 10-15 minutes to reflect on these questions. Write your thoughts down—research shows that writing deepens reflection and helps you spot patterns you might otherwise miss.
- What was the situation?
- What did you recommend?
- What reasons did the farmer give (if any)?
- Looking back now: what do you think was really in the way?
- What signals might have told you they wouldn't implement?
2. Now think of a farmer who almost always implements your recommendations.
- How is that relationship different?
- What did you do to build that level of trust?
- How long did it take to get there?
- What would that farmer say about why they trust your advice?
3. Self-assessment: Your professional training
- On a scale of 1-10, how much of your formal training focused on building trust versus building technical knowledge?
- Where did you learn the trust-building skills you do have?
- What trust-building skills do you wish you'd been taught?
4. Impact calculation
- Estimate: What percentage of your recommendations get implemented?
- What would change in your work if farmers acted on 80% of your advice instead of 20%?
- How would that feel different?
- What would that mean for the farmers you serve?
Space for Your Notes
Use this space to capture your reflections:
This Week's Practice
Your Challenge for the Week
This week, we're not asking you to change your behavior—just to observe it.
Before we can build trust more intentionally, we need to see what we're already doing (and what we're not doing).
The Practice: Observe 3 Farm Visits
Before Each Visit (30 seconds)
Take 30 seconds before you walk onto the farm to ask yourself:
"What would I need to do on this visit to strengthen trust with this farmer?"
Don't answer it—just ask it. Let it sit in the back of your mind during the visit.
During Each Visit (just notice)
As you conduct the visit normally, observe:
Time allocation
- How much time do you spend diagnosing vs. building relationship?
- When do you start giving advice?
- How much time do you spend listening vs. speaking?
Trust signals from the farmer
- When do they seem most engaged?
- When do they seem skeptical?
- What questions do they ask?
- What DON'T they say out loud?
Your own behavior
- What did you do that might build trust?
- What might have eroded it?
- What commitments did you make?
- What did you capture/document?
After Each Visit (5 minutes)
Record 2-3 observations while they're fresh. Use whatever method works for you:
- Voice memo
- Notes app
- Text to yourself
- Farm Visit Observation Template (download below)
Focus on specific observations, not judgments:
- GOOD: "Farmer interrupted me twice to ask about weather—seemed worried about timing"
- NOT: "Visit went well, farmer seemed interested"
Why This Matters
You can't improve what you don't see. This week is about developing awareness of patterns you might be running on autopilot.
Next week, we'll dig into how farmers calculate trust. But first, notice what trust looks like (and doesn't look like) in your actual work.
A simple one-page template to guide your observations during this week's practice.
[Download Template →]
What it includes:
- Pre-visit intention prompt
- During-visit observation checklist
- Post-visit reflection space
- Pattern tracking across multiple visits
Key Takeaways
Remember This
Two Jobs, Not One: You're both an expert and a trusted partner. Most training only teaches you half the job—the easier half.
Trust Is Learnable: Building trust isn't about personality or charisma. It's a set of specific behaviors you can observe, practice, and improve.
Observation Before Action: Before changing how you work, notice what you're already doing. Awareness is the first step to improvement.
The Fertilizer Guy Problem: Feeling like "one of 50" erodes trust. Feeling like "they remember me" builds it. Which one are you?
What You're Taking Away
By the end of this session, you should be able to:
- Explain why knowledge alone doesn't lead to behavior change
- Recognize the difference between your "expert" role and "trusted partner" role
- Identify at least one trust-building behavior you already do well
- Observe trust signals during farm visits this week
- Begin tracking patterns in your own advisory work
Coming Up Next
In Session 2: How Farmers Calculate Trust, we'll dive into the mental math farmers do (often unconsciously) when deciding whether to act on your advice.
You'll learn:
- Why farmer skepticism is rational (not personal)
- The difference between "thin trust" and "thick trust"
- What farmers are testing when they talk to you
- Why stakes matter more than you think
Before Next Session
Complete your 3-visit observation practice. Bring those observations to Session 2—they'll help you understand the frameworks we introduce.
The more specific your observations, the more valuable next session will be.