64 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2018 THERE IS AN onslaught of growth enhancement products on the market today that would make any product man- ager’s head explode. Profitability should be top of the list when considering the right growth enhancement product. Your first question should be, “Does this prod- uct bring a strong return on investment (ROI) to my business and my growers?” Yield performance may take several years of testing and product evaluation, but it is the first and most important step. After identifying the products with the best potential, you may need to consider the other criteria below to help make your final decision. • Ease of application and slurry rate. Let’s take soybeans as an example. The industry standard for soybeans is typi- cally 4 to 6 ounces, maybe 7 ounces per hundredweight (cwt.). If a product has a high application rate, there will not be much room left for other products. Pushing the application rate to 10 or 12 ounces makes for very wet seed and could cause seed to clump and bridge which can cause flowability problems in your seed plant and plantability problems for the grower. Adding a dryer or a dry powder applicator may be a necessary expense that needs to be calculated into the seed treatment’s price if you want your growers to have a good experience. • Is it compatible with other seed treat- ments? • Is it supplied in package sizes suitable for your seed plant operations? • Will the product be available when you need it? Some of the growth promo- tors on the market are hard to produce Choose the Right Growth Enhancer for Maximum ROI BILL DIEMER, NUFARM AMERICAS MIDWEST SEED TREATMENT LEAD @NufarmUS • bill.diemer@nufarm.com • www.nufarm.com which would require better forecasting and inventory control. • How will you go to market? Keep your message simple but compelling. •Pricing. Some seed companies put together one standard seed treatment package and price seed treatment and seed together as one. Others use an à la carte good-better-best price structure to offer more options and then bolt on the additional products. Don’t complicate the offer. Seed treatments are meant to enhance the seed’s genetics, and bring added value not complicate your custom- ers’ purchasing decisions. There are a lot of products on the market. Do your due diligence and identify the products that hold the most promise for you and your customers. LAST DECEMBER, WE did something entirely unexpected: we refrained from exhibiting at the largest U.S. seed indus- try convention. This was neither a mis- take, nor a missed opportunity. Instead, we took those dollars that we would have spent on exhibiting and we visited our customers in their own backyards. We met people in their office, drank coffee together and talked. We walked through their conditioning towers and got some dust on our shoes. We got to know them. As they showed us their facility, we listened to their stories, heard about their successes and dreamed with them about their ambitions. These conversations were intentional and meaningful. What are we doing this year? You can expect us to be back in Chicago but with an entirely different presence, and one I’m super excited about. We are leaving our equipment at home and building out a set with small town Colorado hospitality in mind, complete with grass and refresh- ments. We want to start new conversa- tions and continue building on those that we initiated last year. We want people to come into our exhibit, relax for a bit and take a break from the go-go that is the Chicago meeting, and feel like they’re in our backyard. Have you ever noticed how coffee-pot and back-yard conversations often times lead to the best ideas. The idea of grab- bing coffee with someone is so simple but the possibilities are endless. The science behind it: these are areas where people are comfortable. They’re relaxed and don’t have their guard up. They are willingly sharing information in an honest and transparent way. Connecting this way leads to creative conversations. It’s these conversations from which new insights come and from which new inno- vations come. If you’re in Chicago for ASTA’s annual Seed Expo, we hope you’ll come connect with us “in our backyard.” We care about Connect. Conversate. Create Results DEVON INGO, OLIVER MANUFACTURING MARKETING MANAGER devon.ingo@olivermanufacturing.com • olivermanufacturing.com your business. We want to know what you like and what you don’t, and through these conversations, we can help you achieve improved results.