Powering a 100-Year Legacy: How Agworld Helps Luckey Farmers Stay Ahead

A digital backbone for agronomic operations

Founded in 1919, Luckey Farmers is a member-owned cooperative that offers services across four business units: agronomy, grain, feed, and energy. Based in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, their territory spans from Plymouth, Ohio to Ida, Michigan, a 2.5-hour drive across. With such a footprint and wide-ranging customer needs, efficiency is essential. The journey with Agworld began in 2015 with precision soil sampling. By 2017, the platform became the foundation for all agronomic operations at Luckey.

“Everything from planning to billing flows through Agworld now,” says Director of IT, Andrew Gladden. “We used to be paper-based and couldn’t grow. Operators were waiting for paper work orders. Now, everything is real-time. Orders show up automatically on their iPads, and they can just keep spraying all day.”

Brad Betschman, Precision Specialist, echoes the operational leap forward. “It used to take an hour to explain a work order, a field, and where to go. Now, with Agworld, that’s five minutes. The boundaries, jobs, and maps are already there.” Agworld’s integration into Luckey’s ERP system further boosted productivity. What used to take four full-time billing staff is now managed by one. “The impact on efficiency and scalability has been huge,” says Andrew.

Empowering Agronomists in the Field

For Ashley Schulz, agronomist at Luckey Farmers, Agworld has fundamentally reshaped how she works: “I used to write up to 2,500 paper work orders every winter,” she recalls. “If conditions changed mid-season, I had to go back to the office and rewrite everything. Now, I carry my iPad through the field, make adjustments on the fly, and send them straight to the operator.”

This field-level flexibility means more accurate applications and less downtime. Orders can be dispatched directly from the field, annotated with sensitive areas or neighboring crops, and instantly available to custom applicators. Ashley also manages agronomic planning with her growers directly in Agworld. “We sit down in winter and plan the entire crop season—varieties, inputs, costs. Everything is in there before we even plant,” she says. By combining planning with real-time execution, Luckey helps growers optimise their season from both a profitability and compliance standpoint.

Compliance, Conservation, and Communication

Luckey Farmers operates within the Western Lake Erie Basin, and managing nutrients responsibly is very important for the team. Through their involvement with Ohio’s 4R program and H2Ohio, precision agriculture and accurate nutrient management are critical.

“Agworld has been phenomenal in helping us implement the 4Rs,” says Ashley. “We do 2.5 to 5-acre grids for sampling. Once the lab results come back, I get notified and the prescription comes with it. We know exactly what the crop needs; no more, no less.” This precision not only reduces environmental risk but also helps reallocate the budget from excess fertiliser to fungicides or biologicals that increase yield.

Applicators also benefit from Agworld’s tools. Each sprayer operator gets annotated maps showing sensitive areas or neighboring crops, and real-time weather data ensures proper application timing. The built-in documentation means farmers are always covered when it comes to regulatory checks. “When the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) stops and sees Agworld on a farmer’s iPad, they just drive away. They know we’re compliant,” says Ashley.

Grower Engagement and Future Growth

While Luckey Farmers’ internal teams fully embrace Agworld, the platform also plays a key role in strengthening grower relationships. Over 200 growers are connected to Agworld, some with full accounts, others with free viewers.

“About 20% of growers actively work with us in the system—planning, spraying, documenting,” says Andrew. “The other 80% just want to see: ‘Did the application get done? What was used? When?’ And that’s fine. It still builds trust.”

From a grower’s perspective, having access to spray records, harvest data, and input plans all in one place offers peace of mind. As Curtice, OH, grower Roland Sandrock puts it, “It’s just great to have a record of everything—when it was done, what was used, and how it worked. I can compare season to season and know what changes to make.”

Andrew believes Agworld gives Luckey a competitive edge in ag retail. “Anybody can sell fertiliser or glyphosate. What sets us apart is the extra support: the visibility, the real-time insights, the confidence operations are compliant. That’s what makes the difference.”

As for the future? The team sees continued adoption across growers and more internal efficiency. “Agworld isn’t going anywhere,” says Ashley. “The precision team is working hard to bring more farmers on board. It’s about creating transparency between the farmer, the agronomist, and the operator, and Agworld makes that possible.”