A couple of years ago, Larry Woolliams of Woolliams Farms would not put a generic chemical on his land. Too new, too much money in the ground, too much risk. Today he is a Paradigm Inputs distributor: he sprays Certified Premium Generics on his own operation, runs field trials on his own acres, and consolidates orders for the farms around him.
This is his story in his own words: why he was skeptical, what changed his mind, and why he decided to build a business around it. If parts of it sound familiar, the independent broker opportunity is built for people like him.
Transcript
Lightly edited for clarity.
A couple of years ago, Mark stopped by and gave me an introduction to what they were doing and what they were selling. It piqued my interest, but I was still skeptical of generic chemicals. They're still really new in the industry here in Canada, and I've got a lot of money out. I've got a lot of risk.
We talked a few times. He was so knowledgeable, and I started gaining that confidence that there's a generic product here that is worth looking at.
As I started using it on my own farm, Mark, Mitch and Cassandra approached me about whether I would be willing to be a distributor for it. I thought about it and said, yeah, why not? I need this product for myself, and if I can help local area guys save some money, why not? I believe in it. Why wouldn't I do this?
I'm still using brand-name product, obviously, but I'm moving more of my operation into generics, and I'm excited because now I get to do my own field trials. I want to prove this out to the neighbours: hey, look, I'm using this on my own operation. That's how confident I am.
There still is a lot of skepticism. That's why I'm excited to do this field trial. We're going to do a few of them, and we're going to have a farmers' day. We're going to have people come out so they can see it. Using my operation as the benchmark to help prove this out is going to speak volumes, and we're going to have all this data to back it up.
I'm super excited to work with Paradigm because this is another way I can control my costs and lower my input costs, and I've created another opportunity to keep money within my community and within my operation.
When I'm talking to people and comparing what I'm selling to brand-name products, I really push that Paradigm batch tests so the formulation is consistent. I have that trust, but I want to be able to deliver that trust to everybody else and get them to believe. The proof is in the pudding. It equates to my bottom line: the bushels in the bin.
I never dreamt in a million years that I would be a distributor for this chemical. It never even crossed my mind. I truly believe in what they're doing. It excites me that they're doing good things, and I want to be part of that team.
Larry Woolliams farms in Alberta and is an independent Paradigm Inputs distributor. Interested in what he built? Start with how the system works or become an independent broker.