Our Women in Ag Tech ambassadors are worth their weight in gold. From the start, they’ve been a source of inspiration, ideas, and encouragement.
We started 2025 with a few new faces, which we are profiling over the next few months.
Kelly Miller, Director of AgTech at Compeer Financial, is one of our newest ambassadors. She was in Des Moines last year for the in-person Women in Ag Tech meeting, which was co-located with our Tech Hub LIVE event.
In January, I attended Compeer’s inaugural Ag Tech Forum, where I learned more about the company’s culture and growth strategy, including opportunities in fintech, farm credit, and how building partnerships in the industry was a key component of their strategy.
During a follow-up call with Miller, we talked about Compeer’s digital journey and the insights she has gleaned along the way.
The conventional assumption is that there is a digital divide that separates young people from older people, acknowledged Kelly.
When Compeer embarked on its digital journey, the company expected to find that the 40-years-old and younger set would primarily conduct business online while customers older than 40 would prefer to come into the office or have a company representative come to their farm.
Much to the company’s surprise, there was lots of variation, including an 82-year-old customer among those who was conducting business online.
It wasn’t so much the age of the customers that determined their use of an online platform, but whether they were digitally inclined or not. Even then, some customers did a bit of both.
For instance, some preferred doing some business online, but would rather meet in person with Compeer for a real estate loan “because it’s more personal and it represents a much longer commitment,” explained Miller.
“This is where offering an omnichannel experience is important,” she emphasized.
While a customer may start a process online, they may want to take the next step in person or talk with a Compeer representative on the phone.
“You have to do both [online and in-person] really well,” Kelly said.
The digital experience is likewise influenced by the consumer expectations we all share, considering most of us today are familiar with online shopping, Kelly explained.
Mostly, the online experience needs to be dependable and frictionless, whether it’s from the consumer perspective or the farmer perspective.
Data privacy and security is another aspect that is very important to farmers and customers, noted Miller.
The combination of Compeer’s “human element” combined with a focus on building strong relationships and a reputable, trustworthy brand is critical, she said.
At the same time, Compeer continues to build relationships with industry partners to expand options and offerings for agricultural retailers and farmers.
In March, Compeer Financial, Growers Edge, and Evergreen Bank Group announced a partnership to provide agricultural retailers and manufacturers with in-house financing programs to “increase wallet share and better serve their grower customers,” according to a press release.
“In-house input financing helps retailers and manufacturers retain sales opportunities and valuable data, unlike other lines of credit (like local operating loans), which can be used elsewhere.”
In addition, “By empowering agricultural retailers and manufacturers to provide growers with instant financing decisions at competitive rates, the partnership helps growers manage risk and defer payment on new, innovative crop inputs,” stated the release.
Miller also expects that ag tech developments will usher in new jobs.
“I think we’ll be creating jobs that don’t even exist today. Our team at Compeer didn’t even exist five years ago.”
As a WiAT ambassador, Miller wants to bring attention to the role that mentors—both men and women—play over the course of someone’s career.
According to feedback from the WiAT community, many are interested in mentorships.
We’re looking forward to having Miller’s help in making progress on this front.
