Building a User Research Pool from the Ground Up

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I entered the world of Ag-Tech—pun fully intended—but nothing could have prepared me for a company with one of the most niche user bases imaginable.

The Challenge

In most industries, recruiting participants for user research is as simple as a few clicks. Platforms like User Interviews or UserTesting can quickly deliver dozens of participants for a card sort or usability test. But at Bushel, a company serving the agricultural backbone of the U.S.—grain elevators and their employees—our real challenge was reaching the end users: grain farmers.

Coming from the urban sprawl of Dallas–Fort Worth, I had a steep learning curve. I started not even knowing what a grain elevator was. Yet, as I immersed myself, I quickly realized how complex and impressive this user group truly was. American farmers are not the stereotype of an old man on a tractor; they are sharp businesspeople, mechanics, brokers, horticulturalists, and economists—often juggling all of these roles at once. They are also incredibly busy and understandably slow to trust outsiders. Traditional recruitment methods weren’t going to work.

Rethinking Recruitment

When standard recruiting platforms came up empty-handed, we had to get creative. The first step was identifying internal allies. Our Customer Success team had direct relationships with grain elevator employees and, by extension, the farmers themselves. They became our bridge to building trust. We partnered closely with them to recruit research participants, ensuring full transparency by looping them into communications and even inviting them to join interviews.

We also collaborated with Farmlogs, a recently acquired branch of Bushel that already sent annual surveys to growers. Their data became a goldmine—recruiting nearly 200 farmers into our user pool and giving us unprecedented access to the people who use our products daily.

To manage outreach, we used HubSpot to track participant contact, ensuring no duplicate requests and maintaining visibility across teams. I also created short introductory videos to include in outreach emails, putting a human face to the research effort and making participation feel more personal and trustworthy.

Building Relationships, Not Just Data

Beyond recruiting, we focused on maintaining genuine relationships. I often joined customer success visits—virtually or in person—to meet users face-to-face. Industry conferences became another invaluable touchpoint, where we could conduct quick interviews and build rapport on the spot.

Timing was also crucial. Farmers’ availability fluctuated dramatically with the seasons, so we learned to adapt—running shorter, agile research sessions during planting and harvest, or planning more in-depth studies in their off-season. Every interaction had to respect their time, demonstrate empathy, and clearly communicate value.

Over time, these efforts paid off. Farmers began reaching out to us with feedback unprompted. We’d earned their trust—and with it, the ability to create better products that genuinely served their needs.

Reflection

Working at Bushel taught me more than agricultural terminology—it reminded me of UX’s most essential truth: we design for people, not personas. In an industry where users are often overlooked or misunderstood, we built bridges where none existed and discovered how deeply human-centered research can transform not just products, but relationships.