Combining local knowledge with industry-leading technology

Increasing profits through growing margins

When Kyle Kayser looks out across the fields of Southeast South Dakota, he doesn't just see crops, he sees decisions. Every square yard of a field contains a different story: a soil profile, yield history and drainage pattern. And to Kyle, helping growers read that story and act on it is what agronomy is all about. “I started Decision Ag in 2016 because I knew local growers were ready for a different kind of agronomic support,” says Kyle. “They had all this yield data coming in, but no real way to action it. We saw an opportunity to be that independent voice; someone who could help them make decisions rooted in agronomy, not product sales.” Decision Ag offers a full suite of services including soil sampling on two-and-a-half-acre grids, fertility and seeding recommendations, and variable-rate custom fertilizer application. The business serves a wide geography, from west of Mitchell all the way to the Iowa and Nebraska borders, managed by Kyle and three full-time staff. Kyle also continues to farm his family's farming operation along with his two brothers, maintaining deep roots in the local ag community.

Kyle's journey into independent consulting was shaped by years of experience across the ag value chain, from retail agronomy to precision ag leadership at Helena and Corteva. But when legacy platform AgStudio ceased to exist, he and a group of fellow Certified Services Agents (CSAs) through Corteva's Pioneer brand began evaluating new options.

“We demoed five different software platforms,” Kyle explains. “It had to be easy to use, integrate smoothly with labs and equipment, and help us scale. Agworld, together with PCT, checked all those boxes.” Streamlining every step: from bag to script

During soil sampling season, Kyle's team uses Agworld to plan and log sampling activities, then sends samples to Waypoint Analytical Lab with barcoded or sequentially numbered bags. Results flow back into Agworld and then into PCT automatically with no manual uploads required. “The Waypoint team loves the sequential numbering system,” Kyle says. “It reduces errors, saves time, and ensures clean data all the way through.”

From there, Decision Ag creates customized variable-rate recommendations using PCT. Each field is analyzed through grid and zone lenses; grid data determines phosphorus, potassium, and pH corrections, whereas zone data, built from at least five years of yield, drives seeding rates and nitrogen needs. Scripts are created at three different levels: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. “We never short a crop,” Kyle explains. “But in a tight year, we'll stretch the build period over four years instead of two. It's about tailoring the spend to the ROI potential of every acre.”

Reporting That Speaks the Grower's Language

One of the standout features of Agworld for Kyle has been its reporting and communication tools. Scouting notes, observations, and photos are compiled into clean, field-specific PDFs that can be emailed or texted directly to growers. “Most of our clients aren't sitting at a desk,” Kyle says. “So, we text them their reports. If they see something interesting or need clarity, they'll call us up and we talk it through.”

This immediate, field-ready format has become a differentiator for their business. Kyle recalls when his team transitioned away from the legacy systems: “Growers didn't like getting multiple files for every field. Now with Agworld, everything's in one clean report: photos, notes, and recommendations. It's more professional, more useful, and they've definitely noticed.”

Because Agworld integrates with platforms like John Deere's Operations Center, growers can also overlay Decision Ag's recommendations directly onto their own yield or application maps. That collaboration has real-time benefits. “One client pulls up our potassium map on his Ops Center to decide where to spread manure,” Kyle says. “That's not something we even needed to script; it's a farmer using data to solve problems on the fly.”

Built for growth, grounded in agronomy

Internally, Agworld has helped Decision Ag operate more efficiently and grow without losing quality. Every team member has their own login, and their iPads are synced with Agworld in the field. Fertility scripts, sample locations, and scouting logs are available at the tap of a button. Kyle oversees quality control and signs off on scripts before they're passed on to the application team.

“When you're soil sampling 64 bags per quarter section in South Dakota winters, you don't want to be scanning barcodes in the cold,” Kyle says. “We pre-label everything and go. Agworld helps us move fast without cutting corners.”

With strong processes in place, Decision Ag has built a reputation as a trusted advisor across the region, offering not just software-generated prescriptions, but field-tested solutions backed by agronomic reasoning. “The biggest value Agworld provides isn't just tech, it's trust,” Kyle reflects. “When a grower sees what we're doing and why we're doing it, when they can open that report and say, 'I get it', that's when you know you're making a difference.”