Mid-County Newsletter MC.newsletter.fall17 | Page 4

Producers Hybrids Name Change

AGRONOMY

AGRONOMY 952-466-3730
Producers Hybrids Name Change
Scott Nelson Agronomy Manager ( 952 ) 466-3733 scottn @ midcountycoop . com
As we all have seen throughout our industry , mergers and consolidations are happening at a very fast pace . Producers Hybrids is going to be consolidating as well . Starting in the fall of 2018 , Producers Hybrids is changing its name to LG Seeds .
AgReliant Genetics , the third-largest seed company in North America , plans to unite its regional brands and Producers Hybrids as one of those brands . Brands that will be transitioning include Producers Hybrids , Wensman Seed , Golden Acres Genetics and Great Lake Hybrids .
AgReliant Genetics aims to combine best practices of each brand , while maintaining
Changes in the crop protection and seed industry
There seems to be something new every day . The chart below from the USDA shows a snapshot of the activities in the industry from last April .
its current employees , facilities and relationships . At Mid-County Agronomy , we will still be working with the same people we currently work with , and our customers can expect no change in the brand ’ s great genetic seed offerings .
In a press release , AgReliant Genetics President and CEO Mark Herrmann notes that the transition is part of a long-range plan for continuous growth . The goal is to position the company to better serve farm businesses and seed dealers .
I recently was able to attend some meetings at Producers Hybrids headquarters in Battle Creek NE with the LG senior leadership team . Their vision is exciting . In the end , they want to be able to offer customers the best of the best seed , while being price competitive in the process . As many of you know , Producers Hybrids has been a very important partner with us and they will continue to be going forward .
One of the bigger issues in the merger of Monsanto and Bayer is it was expected to happen in 2017 and is now planned for early 2018 .
Thanks for attending customer appreciation day !
How does this affect us locally ? Initially we do not expect many changes . It will take a few years for new product development to hit the fields from the joint company . This means that many of the products we are using today and the company representatives we work with at Mid-County will stay the same .
We had a great time with our customers Sept . 14 during Mid-County Agronomy ’ s preharvest customer appreciation event . At right , Dan Smith with Dekalb / Asgrow shared information about seed practices for better yields . Dale Scheffler with Monsanto Chemistry spoke about XtendiMax ( a new dicamba formulation ), and what producers and the company have learned recently .
The customer appreciation event took place in our new seed warehouse , and included great food and beverages . Thanks again to all of you for making this day a success !
Introducing Barry Klann
Barry Klann joined Mid- C o u n t y ’ s a g r o n o m y maintenance staff in spring 2017 . Since then , he ’ s done everything from filling fertilizer orders , to delivering seed , to getting equipment ready for the field .
“ There ’ s no such thing as a typical day here ,” he said . “ We kind of follow the growing cycle .”
Earlier in the year , for instance , Klann spent 10 straight days using a front end loader to keep fertilizer bins full and ready for custom mixing . More recently , he ’ s been working on updating the ammonia anhydrous equipment .
Klann grew up in Rochester , and attended the University of Minnesota . Before coming to Mid-County , he had a career in e-commerce and online marketing . Klann is new to the agronomy industry , but he ’ s learning quickly . In his position , Klann enjoys a sense of “ instant gratification ” and accomplishment at the end of each day .
“ I have the satisfaction of being able to see progress right in front of me ,” he said .
Klann is excited for harvest season this fall , and is looking forward to new learning experiences ahead .
Outside of work , Klann ’ s hobbies include hunting , fishing , and hosting a weekly poker game .
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