DEDICATED SERVICE – IDEAL PRODUCTS And how does that work in practice? During peak season, Csaba keeps in touch with his customers on a weekly basis, making sure the seed treatment process is running cor- rectly. Having been with Bayer as a seed treatment expert for more than 20 years now, he has become an experienced partner and advisor to his customers. Speaking about the benefit of this partnership with Bayer, Krisztina says, “I have very good experiences with Bayer and our relationship is really very good.“ But what is Csaba’s input on a product level? Mezőseed follows his recommendation to use seed- applied products as well as a variety of auxiliary materials, such as Bayer SeedGrowth coatings. The reason for this is that dust abrasion can become an issue during the seed treatment process – and therefore another challenge for Krisztina and her team. “We want to avoid dust exposure whenever possible. That’s why we use coatings,” she says. According to tests, coated seeds contain a lot less dust than seeds without film coatings. Emissions can be reduced by up to 95 per- cent, so everyone involved in seed treatment is better protected, and the active ingredients stay on the seed. Mezőseed even goes the extra mile: the company provides farmers with information about sowing treated seeds safely to reduce dust emissions in the field. “Farmers are not always familiar with the rules that should be followed when sowing treated seeds,” says Krisztina. “So we attach an information booklet, published by the European Seed Association (ESA), to each sack of treated seeds. These we receive from Bayer.” PROVIDING LONGER-TERM FLEXIBILITY “I have been active in the seed busi- ness since 1994 and have always been in contact with Bayer,” explains Katrin Potz, plant manager at Bóly Seed Company, another Hungarian Bayer customer. “If we have a ques- tion or a problem that has to be resolved on site, then a Bayer col- league is always right there.” An absolute necessity in a time-sen- sitive business such as seed treat- ment. During peak season, around 200 people work at the plant, which is spread across 6.5 hectares. Up to 240 tons of seeds get treated there per day. Katrin’s biggest fear is downtime, especially during peak season, which can compromise the treatment result and become very expensive for the company. “We have tomeetthe growing demands to sup- ply high-quality seeds,” Katrin says. “Another challenge is also to be flexible in production so that we have the right quantities on hand at the right time.” Why is flexibility so important? “Orders are no longer placed in advance,” she explains. “In- stead, we have to respond to specific orders in a more flexible way and treat smaller quantities of seeds in a shorter time.” But one thing she is sure of: “It’s important for both Bayer and us to constantly tackle new chal- lenges and work on them together.” ABOUT BÓLY SEED COMPANY AND BONAFARM Nearly sixty years of success: in 1958, Bóly Seed was founded in Bóly, 200 kilometers south of Budapest. As a successful member of the Bonafarm Group (consisting of agricul- tural enterprises and food processing enterprises), the company has between 80 and 200 employees, treating 8,000 tons of hybrid corn, 4,000 tons of cereals, and 1,500 tons of soy beans per year. Using film coatings to avoid dust exposure. Finding the perfect seed treatment recipe for every crop: Krisztina Németh and Balázs Mátés of Mezőseed Ltd.