Selsmeyer & Co
Agricultural Advisory

I've been on both sides of the table.

On one side, the company selling agricultural technology. On the other, the farmer deciding whether to sign.

Nine years building the business cases and training the dealers who present them — then paid to sit on the other side of that table and tell a grower what the vendor's proposal had left out.

Which side are you on?
For agtech companies

Will they actually adopt it?

You're bringing a product into a new country, or you're already here and adoption is slower than the plan said. The tech works. The question is whether growers will reach for it — and whether it can be sold and serviced where you're selling it.

Reality Check →
For growers

Something's landed on my desk.

A carbon agreement, a renewables offer, a technology quote. There's a deadline on it, the modelling is opaque, and almost all the advice on offer comes from the people selling it to you.

The Proposal Review →
Who I've worked with

Broadacre, horticulture, viticulture — and the technology sold into all three.

Machinery, spray technology, sustainability, carbon and crop nutrition — across the United States and Australia. Five corners of the same industry, which is why I can tell you how a decision actually travels from a boardroom to a paddock.

I keep my clients' names out of it on purpose. If you were sending me your numbers, you'd want the same.

Where the expertise was built

  • A global full-line machinery manufacturer Nine years in broadacre, across the United States and Australia. Product marketing for high-horsepower tractors and sprayers — a $310M portfolio across 49 dealers.
  • A European application-technology specialist Horticulture and viticulture. Product marketing and territory management in spray technology.
  • An Australian harvest weed-seed-control manufacturer Start-up stage. A sustainability play in weed control, taken to growers and dealers across several continents.
  • A venture-backed carbon and land-management platform Head of Growth — sales, marketing and partnerships.
  • A listed plant-nutrition technology company Business development across South Australia.

Who has engaged Selsmeyer & Co

  • Large-scale farming operations Capital decisions on technology and carbon projects, reviewed from the buyer’s side.
  • Investment firms Diligence on agricultural technology and land-based projects.
  • A state agricultural body Strategy and programme work. I also sit on its board.
Proof of concept

He didn't proceed.

A grower in Western Australia was about to commit capital to a biochar system. He had the vendor's quote and the business case in hand.

I went through it from his side of the table — what the modelling assumed, what it left out, and what it meant for his carbon position.

The numbers didn't work over the payback period, and the reasons were sitting in what the vendor hadn't concluded.

That's the job. Not talking someone into a decision, and not talking them out of one — finding out whether it stacks up, and saying so.

Engaged by two businesses. $11,000.

What your options are

You have five options. I'm one of them.

You're already comparing me to the alternatives. Here they are, honestly, including where I'm the wrong answer.

OptionRoughly what it costsHow longThe catch
Hire a country managerA full packageMonths to hire, longer to rampYou're committing to the market before you know it wants you
A large consultancySignificantTwo to three monthsGood process, strong decks, no paddock
Ask your distributorFreeImmediateThey're paid to tell you it'll sell
Ask your investorsFreeImmediateThey don't know either — and now they know you don't
Launch and find outA year of runwayYou'll know in 18 monthsThe most expensive option, usually chosen by default
Selsmeyer & CoA fixed fee, agreed up frontWeeksBoutique by design — senior attention on your decision, not a bench of juniors. A check on the plan, not a team to hand delivery to.

And no agenda. I don’t sell equipment, take commissions, or have a product waiting at the end of the review. The only thing I’m selling is the answer — which is why it’s sometimes “don’t.”

Cost and timing vary by market and stage — these are shapes, not quotes.

Our founder

Selsmeyer & Co exists because of a gap Alyx spent a career watching from the wrong side of it.

Nine years at a global machinery manufacturer running product marketing for high-horsepower tractors and sprayers — a $310 million portfolio across 49 dealers. Then spray technology across horticulture and viticulture, harvest weed-seed control taken global from start-up stage, a venture-backed carbon platform, and plant nutrition.

A trained engineer, so the technical claims get read as carefully as the commercial ones. A state board member of the Agricultural Bureau of South Australia — which is why the grower view here is current rather than remembered.

“I’ve built the business cases. I’ve trained the dealers who present them. I know which assumptions get chosen because they’re true, and which get chosen because they’re flattering.” Alyx Selsmeyer
Alyx Selsmeyer, founder of Selsmeyer & Co

Alyx Selsmeyer
Founder · Australia & USA

Why we do this

Every agricultural technology decision has two sides of a table. Almost everyone advising on it is paid by one of them.

Selsmeyer & Co takes no commissions, sells no equipment, and has no product waiting at the end of a review. We are engaged by the person making the decision, and we answer to them.

That’s the whole premise — and it’s why the answer is sometimes “don’t.”

We work with a deliberately small number of clients at a time. You get senior attention on your decision, not a bench of juniors learning on it.

See if it's a fit

Tell me what you're looking at.

A few lines is plenty. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help — and if I can't, I'll usually know who can.

I read everything myself. You’ll hear back within two business days.