Workforce Management as the Critical Path in Agricultural ERP: A Methodological Framework for U.S. Mid-Market Agritech Modernization

This research output accompanies the working paper "Workforce Management as the Critical Path in Agricultural Enterprise Resource Planning: A Methodological Framework for U.S. Mid-Market Agritech Modernization, with Evidence from a Multi-Site Brazilian Fertilizer Deployment" (SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6632039).
The paper proposes a five-phase implementation framework for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) deployment in U.S. mid-market agricultural enterprises, with workforce management modules repositioned as the critical path. The framework is grounded in a single in-depth case study of a multi-site deployment at the Galvani / Yara Brasil Fertilizantes joint venture (2015–2018) serving approximately 2,000 employees across four Brazilian states.
Key empirical data referenced in the paper draws on publicly available U.S. government sources: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Farm Labor report (November 2024) for quarterly hired-worker counts; USDA NASS Farm Production Expenditures Highlights (2025) for sector-wide expenditure categorization; and the Congressional Research Service Insight IN11978 (2022) for Inflation Reduction Act agricultural conservation appropriations. Case-study evidence is documented through a Letter of Recognition issued by Galvani / Yara Brasil Fertilizantes (January 13, 2025), an Experience Letter issued by Yara Brasil Fertilizantes (January 13, 2025), and an independent vendor press release published by Senior Sistemas (May 9, 2016) that corroborates the 60% productivity gain reported for the time-card / point-management module deployment.
The methodology follows Yin's (2018) single-case study design with explicit positionality disclosure and source triangulation.