My approach also involves the development of information services provided by the private sector rather then the traditional public sector approach of land grant universities and extension. I have no problem with publicly provided information services. I can think of several advantages of having one information management service provider in a region that serves several producers. Everything this one provider learns can be spread across all his producer clients. Much of what is learned comes from getting to know how each operation works.
Every operation does something better than average.
The opportunity for horizontal coordination also can be facilitated through this information management person. Some folks believe we should exhaust the potential power of horizontal coordination between producers before we concede to vertical coordination. For example, several ranchers supplemental feed needs can be co-op purchased through the service provider. One of their cost saving powers is the volume purchase deals. Several producers could opt for a similar breeding program.