AgriGold

AgriGold Hosts Annual Specialty Crops Conference

July 9, 2010

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a rapidly changing seed industry, the general manager of one company believes there is three “pillars” that make his product stand out among others. John Kermicle, AgriGold Hybrids general manager, offered his insight into the company at its tenth annual specialty crops conference. Referring to the company’s current campaign themed, “In the Land of Giants, AgriGold Stands Out,” he said, “We do have giant hybrids, but it is also a play on words about where AgriGold really stands in this seed industry with the giant companies out there. Kermicle referred to the pillars of genetic diversity, the company being an agronomic authority, “and having proven results that growers recognize.” AgriGold and its parent company, AgReliant Genetics “has unique germplasm,” he said. “We also take concepts all the way from research to the grower and the end user. In today’s world, as complex as that’s getting can sometimes be quite a bit of a challenge,” he said. “As the seed industry continues to consolidate, it is even at a more rapid pace today than it was a few years ago. You can hardly pick up any farm publication without reading about some consolidation going on in the industry. “So it’s really not surprising this has accelerated because the battle is really over that germplasm base. I believe this consolidation has really limited the choices growers have and has made it more difficult in some cases to access different germplasm background.” This scenario provides a unique choice for growers, and Kermicle believes this will be critical going into the future. “AgReliant develops over 100,000 unique hybrids every year, and when I think about that, it’s just overwhelming,” he said. “Really the key that we have to do is sift through all of those and make sure that we’re selecting the very best through our testing systems. “The key is to select the most elite out those 100,000, so it takes a lot of testing and a lot of work to do that. The other things besides having these unique products, these 100,000 hybrids, is because or our growth and because of our size we have unique relationships with our partners. “I think that’s why you’re seeing a lot of consolidation in the seed industry as people try align themselves and get a better position. That is a key to what’s going on in the seed industry. “For example, Pioneer would not have access to Monsanto germplasm or traits. PROaccess brands have now aligned with Pioneer and do not have access to the newest Monsanto trait and products. Monsanto does not have access to Syngenta traits and products. “So as these alignments happen, certain people are cut out. No matter what the arrangements are, somebody ends up not being able to access something. “In a lot of those cases, because of our independence, we’re able to continue to work with these different players, which I think is very critical.” Kermicle reiterated the company’s focus on specialty products and AgriGold’s efforts to keep its team keep its team moving in the right direction in the ever-changing seed world. Meetings recently were held with AgReliant’s research, production, sales and marketing staff to “make sure that we were all of the same page about this market,” he said. “We want to make sure we understand the size of the market, the needs of each market, what the future of that market may be,” he said. “These markets are changing so rapidly, so communication is always key with us.” Kermicle also maintained that it is critical to take those concepts developed through research to the grower and end user. “I’m not only talking about products, but concepts like twin-row production,” he said, referring to not only regular hybrid yield trials but also other agronomic practices the company tests. “Sometimes growers want to let somebody else take a little of the risk and learn the ins and outs of a new idea. I think that’s a critical role that seed companies play today.” The third pillar – agronomic authority – is a result of AgriGold’s total commitment as the corn specialist, according to Kermicle. “If you hang around with us very much, we basically talk about corn, sports and our kids. But we talk a lot about corn because we’re the corn specialists,” he said. We’re focused a lot on agronomy research. “Another thing we’re really committed to is grower education — not just education about AgriGold necessarily, but just education in general about how to grow a better corn crop. “As corn is expanding even into areas of the south, we’re running into unique situations where sometimes growers aren’t even that familiar with corn. So we’ve had to work a lot in that area, too.” Kermicle often is asked if the company will ever add soybeans to its offerings, and his answer always is no. “Corn is so complex today, and it’s really the focus and the passion that we work on every day,” he said. “We’re focused on agronomic research, and the key here is making those products achieve their maximum level with our growers. “We want to make sure our corn specialists, our trusted advisor to the grower, is helping them increase the yield on their farming and helping them make more profit. In the proven results, the ‘giants’ are a result of our efforts. I think the proof is in the pudding. “AgriGold and AgReliant continue to grow in an industry where a lot of companies have not been growing. We’re committed to our customers and our partners.” The first three ‘giants’ were introduced in January of 2009, and another two added this past January. “A ‘giant’ is a hybrid that averages six bushels better than all competitors, it wins 67 percent or more of all comparisons, and is compared more than 1,000 times,” Kermicle said. “Those are really hard numbers to achieve. I’ve been doing this a lot of years, and if you have one hybrid in your lineup that can do that, that’s really good. “The idea of this, getting back to the complexity of the seed business, growers are comforted in knowing that they can focus in on one product that they’re pretty confident in on their farm to be the lead product that they can put maybe one-third or maybe even up to half their acres in, and be comfortable they’re going to have good results with that and build around that product. “I think this program has really helped a lot of our growers focus on that. The ‘giants’ mean more income for growers. That’s what it’s all about. At the end of the day, our growers have to be profitable, and these products mean more profit.”

Categories: General, Company