I have always prioritised farm visits. When I walk a farm, I collect detail that no photo, no message, and no call will ever fully replace. How a team works. What the real condition of things is, not the version that gets reported. The gap between description and reality.

That has been my position for years. It still is.

The visit with no surprises

A few weeks ago I did a first in-person visit to a new client, in a country I had not worked in before. We had been doing weekly online follow-ups for six months. I arrived expecting to find something. Some gap between what was described and what was actually there.

There was none. Everything was exactly as reported. No hidden problems, no surprises.

It made me think.

The limiting factor was never the format

Remote consulting can work. But whether it works depends almost entirely on the client side, not mine. The person managing this operation day-to-day is above average. Attention to detail. Honest about what is not working. Data that is real and timely, not data that looks good.

That last part matters more than most people admit.

I have worked with clients where every report was perfect. Every number on target. Week after week. That is not how real operations run. When everything is consistently clean, one of two things is happening: someone is reporting what they think you want to hear, or they have convinced themselves everything is fine. Either way, there is nothing to work with.

You cannot fix what no one will name

Consulting only works when there is space to say what is not working. That requires a certain culture. Sometimes it is the individual. Sometimes the team. Sometimes a company value that either exists or it does not. When it exists, trust builds quickly and corrections happen. When it does not, the best farm visit in the world will not help.

Where I still stand

In-person is better. The information I collect on-site will always be more complete than what comes through a screen. If budget, distance, or availability allow it, I will always recommend it.

But I have revised my view on remote support. It is not a fallback. In the right conditions, with the right people, it works.

The variable is never the technology.