b'Theres a Good PR Story to Tell About the Seed IndustryThough the seed sector wasnt Jim Schweigerts original end goal, a story inspired his return to the family business.Alex MartinWHAT KIND OFstory would move you to leave your cur- Even after the business changed in the early 1990s from rent job for another one? I think all of us would agreeita more farming-focused operation to a seed selling-focused would need to be a heck of a strong story. operation, Schweigert still participated more on the production For Jim Schweigert, that story was the developing life of theside of thingsstacking backs and driving forklifts after school seed industry. and running detasseling machines and crews during the summer.At the time in 2003, Schweigert was working for a majorThat was my view on the seed businessthe manual work PR firm in Atlanta, Ga., as a young graduate who was alwaysside of it, like I did when I was young, Schweigert says. I was looking for something new. He had never had a chance to livelooking to see what else we could do and looking for something in the South, and he was dipping his toes back into the realm ofdifferent. Little did I know how incredibly important that founda-agriculture by working with the National Peanut Board and thetional experience would be throughout my career! Learning the Unite Georgia anti-smoking campaign. Though he was workingbusiness form the ground up has proven to be invaluable.with the National Peanut Board, he didnt quite have the desireFast forward to 2003, and the seed sector looked entirely to return home to his familys business in Cuba City, Wis., Grodifferent.Alliance. I didnt understand the entire industry, and the company had After spending a year in Atlanta, the seed business backchanged a lot since I graduated high school, Schweigert says. home was going through some changesespecially with newThats when I really got to understand how important the seed growth opportunities on the horizon, Schweigert, now presi- industry is to agriculture and to society in general.dent of Gro Alliance and chair of the American Seed TradeBy the time Schweigert finished high school, GMOs were just Association (ASTA), says. My dad (Lou) called me and asked ifbeing developed, and Schweigert says he had very little expe-I wanted to come back and join the family business. We had arience with them and didnt understand the impact that they really good conversation, but at the time, I said I was enjoying thecould have.start of my PR career, and it was my chance to be outside of theAll of a sudden, now theres more traits on the market, and business. So, I stayed. you can see the impact to farmers and growers, he says. The But, Schweigerts father wasnt quite done with the conver- opportunity for seed companies, especially in what we had sation yet. After some reflection a few months down the road,been doing was really exciting. The science and innovation side Schweigert remembers a second call from his dad that started:of the industry was incredibly exciting, and I could see how our You know, I probably didnt do a good enough job explaining tocompany could enable those technologies by partnering with you what the seed industry is. seed companies and the innovators. This is what motivated us Though Schweigert grew up in the seed business, his per- to exit the branded sales side of the business and focus 100% on spective of it was formed by his experiences participating in theproviding seed supply chain solutions to seed companies and business at a young age. He hadnt yet seen the full scope of thetechnology developers.company or industry.If theres one thing that experience taught him, its that the Growing up in the family business started when Schweigertsseed industry needs to get it message out. parents took over the family farm and seed selling business inIf you tell your story, people will be genuinely impressed. 1977 from his grandpa who founded the company in 1941 inPeople will listen and theyll understand how your company Bruce, Wis. He grew up doing all the different seed farm activi- impacts food security, fuel, feed and fiber for the country and for tieslaying irrigation pipe, running tillage equipment, bailingthe world, he says, noting that its not only important to tell the hay, detasseling, sorting corn, stacking bags everything fromstory to outsiders, but to ensure employees at every level of a the beginning to the end. It was an experience mirrored by a lotbusiness understand the motivations behind the business as well.of independent family seed companies back in that time frame Even when you have employees today who are working in instead of seeing the business side of the industry, his perspec- the facility, loading trucks, delivering seed to your customers tive was more of the farming side.Theyre doing all the duties that have to be done day-by-day, DECEMBER 2022SEEDWORLD.COM /63'