Starting from scratch, an Ontario seed grower continues to build his business and pay it forward.
_x000D_
Three decades ago, Dave Baute made the decision to change his career and his life. There was illness in his family, his children were small and he was travelling a great deal for his full-time job. To achieve “work-life balance” at a time when the term was not used regularly, Baute and his wife, Brenda, founded a unique seed company near the small town of Tilbury in the southwestern corner of Ontario. The result is Maizex Seeds — a company built on hard work, trust and respect._x000D_
_x000D_
Baute grew up in a family where hard work was valued, and no job was too small or insignificant. His father worked full time off the farm and, as soon as he was old enough, Baute filled in the gaps. After two years of college and one year of university, he joined King Grain, first in sales and eventually moving to the head office. Baute credits Paul King of King Grain with setting him on the right path in terms of business and as a manager of human resources._x000D_
_x000D_
“Paul King taught me patience and trust,” Baute says of his earliest mentor. “Trust has always paid off for me in business.” He is a strong supporter of his staff, believing that once given a job, they need to be trusted to do it. The conviction has resulted in long-term employees who are loyal to Maizex Seeds and its operating environment._x000D_
_x000D_
The Maizex business model is unique to the industry, according to Baute. “We have a basic breeding program, a product development cycle, a production cycle and a sales and marketing strategy,” he explains. “Distribution is accomplished through farmer-dealers or direct sales. This business model along with the fact we empower our staff to do what needs to be done has proven to be very successful.”_x000D_
_x000D_
Supporting Maizex is Soiex Farms, a 2,000-acre seed farm that provides Maizex products. In keeping with the company’s business model, however, Maizex does not rely solely on the family farm, but contracts production of Maizex brand seed to a group of very committed and competent seed growers._x000D_
“We are a group of farm organizations, but we are not the best communicators. We need to get our stakeholder groups speaking with one kinder, softer, consistent voice when addressing the public.”_x000D_
— Dave Baute
_x000D_
Industry Minded
_x000D_
Despite the growing success of Maizex, Baute is not coasting; he is giving back to the industry. He became involved in the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA) at the beginning of his career and has continued to support it for three decades. Baute has moved up the leadership ranks in the organization, culminating in his current role as president. He is also a long-time member of the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association and is chair of the Agri-food Foundation, based at the University of Guelph’s in Ridgetown._x000D_
_x000D_
As president of CSTA, Baute sees tremendous opportunities, but also some major challenges facing the seed industry and the entire Canadian agri-food industry.
_x000D_
_x000D_
He comments: “There is so much going on within the seed industry, such as, Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act, which will be positive for farmers because it will help reduce regulatory burdens and its intellectual property protection provisions will give breeders more confidence to invest.” He says the passage of the Act will open Canadian agriculture to better technology that will keep the industry competitive worldwide._x000D_
_x000D_
“As an industry we have lost touch with so many Canadians.” Baute says of, possibly, the biggest challenge facing agriculture — the public’s lack of understanding of the food system. “Most don’t understand where their abundant, safe food supply comes from, which makes them a great audience for organizations that thrive on the creation of fear and suspicion.”_x000D_
_x000D_
As the industry charged with feeding the nation and with being good stewards of the land and the environment, Baute believes ag groups have done a poor job of reassuring the public._x000D_
_x000D_
“We are doing a good job, and we will continue to do a good job,” he says. “Recently, 80 per cent of our efforts have been preaching to the converted and in meetings talking to each other. We are a group of farm organizations, but we are not the best communicators. We need to get our stakeholder groups speaking with one kinder, softer, consistent voice when addressing the public. The issues are huge, from animal health to GMOs. We need to get in front of these, and we all need to be on the same page.”_x000D_
“Dave is a business innovator who can see a market and drive it forward in a logical and innovative fashion.”_x000D_
— Francis Glenn
_x000D_
Sharing Success
_x000D_
Someone who believes Baute can be the person to create the unified dialogue is Francis Glenn, a plant breeder, who Baute considers a mentor. “Dave is a business innovator who can see a market and drive it forward in a logical and innovative fashion,” Glenn says. “He has initiated many innovations, from how seed is harvested, dried and handled, that are now copied by other companies. Within the seed trade, he has put time into regulations, including the bee issue. If he ever retires, the seed industry will lose a dedicated guy who understands how everything connects.”
_x000D_
_x000D_
Baute is bashful about the accolades. He believes he is where he is because of the support of people like Glenn, his former boss Paul King and Baute’s own father. However, he does understand that his success is the result of the accumulation of life lessons that allow him to see a brighter future for agriculture._x000D_
_x000D_
Baute is self-effacing, sharing the credit with Brenda and their staff at Maizex and the CSTA staff who keep him on track. However, his commitment to his business and to what can be achieved in the greater agricultural industry is truly his._x000D_
_x000D_
It was Baute’s vision 30 years ago that propelled the idea of starting a hybrid corn seed company and turned it into the fourth largest seed corn brand in the market with sales across Canada. True to his nature, he never forgets his roots or his core business, admitting “80 per cent of me eats, sleeps, breathes hybrid corn!”_x000D_
_x000D_
The idea that he could be the driver to return the Canadian food production industry to its rightful place as a trusted and understood cornerstone of the economy is not unreasonable._x000D_
_x000D_
Baute is not someone who dwells on the past other than to learn from it and he uses that knowledge to improve the future. Rosalie Tennison
