b'Virtually every business seems to have which is 330,000 units of corn, and an exit plan, right? he says. If youre ana percent in soybeans, which is about independent business owner, depending880,000 units.on the stage of life youre in, you mightTo achieve that percent at first, the have a succession plan internally with acompany focused on organic growthson or daughter whos willing to take overRobinson built the business up to about the business. But eventually, at some point130,000 units of corn and 175,000 units youve got to think about Whats the nextof soybeans through organic growth. chapter for my business? Unfortunately, organic growth can Networking and being in contact withonly get you so far in business. The other companies to find an exit partnernext viable option to grow and maintain for the business as it goes forward isgrowth to the desired market share in another way of succession planning. DLFboth corn and soybeans seemed to be brought that strategy and new life for Lathrough acquisitions.Crosse. Weve been hot on the trail of acquir-We see it all around agriculture anding companies, Robinson says. The other industriesthere is an advantagetiming has been good because theres a of being vertically integrated and stream- margin squeeze going on in the industry,Rob Robinson serves as owner and CEO of lining the supply chains that can get quiteand its really hitting everybody. Theres aRob-See-Co.complicated, Foor says. This was reallyreal drive to become more efficient and evident during recent times with the chal- to differentiate so that you have a place in lenges experienced globally during thethe market.pandemic. Having a line of sight so toBecause of that margin squeeze, speak on the market demand and beingRobinson says plenty of companies have able to communicate and coordinatebeen looking around and asking: What those needs efficiently helped us takeam I going to do to deal with this? The care of our customers the best we could. answer for him at least seemed simple: One of the biggest benefits has beenstart looking for new ways to innovate the ability to let his team continue to growand collaborate with other organizations professionally. to continue growth despite a margin Weve had several colleagues take onsqueeze. exciting new challenges and will play aSince those acquisitions, Robinson bigger role in moving our part of the seedsays that theyre getting closer to their industry forward, he adds.market sharesRob-See-Co is up to Foors company isnt the only inde- 300,000 units of corn and 450,000 unitsDan Foor is senior vice president of pendent company finding benefitsof soybeans. Distribution at DLF North America.through mergers and acquisitions.We dont really want to stop there, Another company thats been throughbut thats the threshold we want to meet, some extensive acquisitions since 2021he adds. is Rob-See-Co, an independent corn,For Colin Steen and Legacy Agripartners, soybean and forage company based inthe same is trueto make it in todays Nebraska. Since February 2021, Rob- marketplace, Steen believes the answer is See-Co has undergone six acquisitions tocollaboration through partnership.help expand and grow the business.The reality of the market is that The ultimate goal when starting Rob- today, a little more size helps you weather See-Co in 2013 was that the companythe storm, Steen, CEO of Legacy needed a percent market share in bothAgripartners, says. A little diversity helps corn and soybeans to be relevant, accord- you weather the storm. Say when the ing to Rob Robinson, owner and CEO ofalfalfa markets are down a little bit, corn the company.and soybeans are doing better.We wanted to make sure that we hadThat diversity that Legacy the size and scale to be able to sit at theAgripartners has gained by acquiring dif-table with germplasm and trait suppliersferent brands with different products and and have a meaningful presence in theskill sets has allowed more opportunity industry, Robinson says. We thoughtthan if it was just the original brand Colin Steen serves as CEO of Legacy that would be about a percent in cornLegacy Seedson its own.Agripartners.12/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2023'