How Traction Helps Me Run My Farm Smarter

Zach Kampwerth | Farmer | Traction Ag Customer Since 2024
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I farm with my dad down in Clinton County, Illinois. We run about 500 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat, and we also have a farrow-to-finish hog operation with around 125 sows. On top of that, I help my grandpa on his 650-acre row crop farm, so there’s always a lot going on.

When I came back to the farm after college, one of my goals was to get our records and financials out of notebooks and spreadsheets, and into something that made more sense. I knew there had to be a better way to track expenses, and to see what is making us money.

Finding a Better Way to Track Everything

At first, I used a big spreadsheet to track my fields and expenses. That didn’t last long. It got cluttered fast, and I spent more time trying to fix formulas than actually learning anything from the numbers.

Then I tried QuickBooks. It worked better, but it’s not made for farming, so I had to do all sorts of workarounds just to get it to make sense. That’s when I started searching around and came across Traction after hearing about it on the Farm4Profit podcast. I gave the free trial a shot, and it didn’t take long to see that this was what I was looking for.

Traction isn’t just another accounting tool. It’s a full system. I’ve got field records, financials, and inventory in one place. It’s the first thing I open when I sit down at the computer.

The FS Integration Changed the Game

We work pretty much exclusively with Gateway FS out of Breese, IL. I used to spend hours punching in bills line by line into the computer and probably 70 percent of my time was spent on that alone. When Traction added the FS integration, it was a no-brainer.

Now, my FS bills show up automatically in Traction’s import queue. I get an email from FS, and the next day it’s already in my system. I check it over, click approve, and I’m done. It even handles prepaid items cleanly, which used to be a big headache. I no longer have to retype every line or worry about typos throwing things off a month down the road.

Reports That Mean Business

One of the best parts of Traction is how easy it is to run reports. I used to try to track field-by-field profit in a spreadsheet, but that only gave me part of the picture. Now, I can look at real field profitability, including fixed costs. I can hit a button and pull up an income statement or a balance sheet in seconds.

That’s been huge when I talk to our CPA or Farm Credit regarding our business. I don’t have to wait on someone else to pull together numbers or hunt through files. It’s just there, ready to go.

I use it to check things like chemical costs for the year to see how much I’ve spent, or I look at income month by month. It’s helped me become more of a business manager, instead of just someone entering data.

Inventory and Grain Tracking That Works

Inventory tracking is another spot where Traction does a good job. Whether it’s keeping tabs on my grain bins or managing inputs, it’s just a lot easier to see what I’ve got and where it is.

For grain, it’s especially helpful. When I sell out of a bin, I can go into my computer and see what’s left, instead of throwing rocks at the side of the bin trying to figure out what rung it’s on. The system updates automatically after harvest and sales. It’s not just clean and simple, it’s accurate.

A Real Future for Digital Farming

Right now, I still use a few spreadsheets outside of Traction for things like crop planning, grain contracts, and cash flow budgets. But I’ve shared those with the Traction team because they’re working on adding those features. And based on how they’ve built everything else so far, I think they’ll do a great job.

I’m part of their grower advisory group now, so I get to test early features and provide feedback to the Traction team. They’re always improving the software and listening to what farmers need. That’s one of the reasons I like working with them so much.

Being Independent Means Something

Another thing that matters to me is that Traction is independent. In agriculture, you see smaller companies get bought up all the time. It’s nice to know Traction isn’t owned by some big equipment company or ag giant. They can move faster and build the things that truly matter without waiting on corporate approval.

As someone who farms independently, I see value in that. It’s the same way we run our hog operation. We aren’t under contract. We make our own decisions and build things our way.

Looking Ahead

In the next ten years, I’d like to be running all our family’s acres under one operation. I want to further streamline our equipment, grow the hog herd a bit, and keep finding ways to make our business more efficient and easier to manage.

Having software like Traction makes that goal feel realistic. It helps me make decisions based on numbers, not just gut feelings.

If you're still buried in spreadsheets or wrestling with QuickBooks to make it do something it wasn’t built for, I’d say give Traction a look. It saves time, gives you clarity, and helps you focus on the parts of farming that matter most.

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