The movie site from the Field of Dreams is only 45 miles from our Cuba City, WI headquarters. The pristine field, carved into a corn field in Dyersville, IA, reminds us of the famous line: “if you build it, they will come.”
Those words rang true to seed corn producers back in the late 2000s. Commercial corn acres were expected to grow to 100 million and each of the majors forecasted market share growth, along with most independents. New GMO trait launches inspired developers to build excess supply to ensure no sales were lost to a lack of inventory and that more of the new, higher cost traits made it into the market.
Seed corn production capacity exploded. New facilities were built, existing sites were expanded, and the contracts came.
“If you build it, they will come” was true. Just having capacity was enough to earn new business.
That’s not the case today. The seed corn production industry has more capacity than demand, capital costs and labor costs are higher, and margins are lower. Selling seed has changed too. It’s more competitive than ever and seed companies operate on their thinnest margins in decades. Driving out costs and operational complexity are now must-haves.
Companies need the highest quality seed possible and tailor-made solutions that eliminate inefficiency and keep their team focused on making sales.
At Gro Alliance, we’ve tweaked the famous Field of Dreams line to read: “If you come, we will build it.”
This represents our mindset of continual reinvestment and evolving our company to meet the needs of seed companies today and into the future.
In just the past five years, we’ve expanded our service offerings to include projects in canola, sunflowers, plot seed treating and distribution (corn and soy), sweet corn, germplasm licensing, aggregating and rework of seed corn returns, vegetable seed improvement, and most recently, organic soybean seed production. Each one of these new opportunities came directly from seed companies that needed a problem solved so they could focus on selling.
Our clients know three things about Gro Alliance:
1) We’re willing to try something new.
2) Our employees have the skills to execute complex projects.
3) We have the resources to invest in people, equipment, and facilities.
In short, they ask, and we answer.
So as you think about the complexities of your business, just remember that Gro Alliance will build a customized solution designed specifically for your business that lets your team focus on selling!
