b'Trade-Off or Trade Up? BRIAN BURNEYPRESIDENT/CEO,JUST ABOUT ANYONEwho has spent his or her life around a farm can tellOLIVER MANUFACTURINGyou the changes in the seed industry have been astonishing and theres muchBrian.Burney@olivermanufacturing.comFour Global Businessmore on the horizon. As a breeder, Ive had the opportunity to work firsthandolivermanufacturing.comwith many of those advances including Roundup Ready and LibertyLink soy-Lessons Learned beans. And, since the launch of commercial soybean varieties with herbicide tolerance traits in the mid-nineties, the impact has been indisputable. My Oliver StoryAt the same time, the focus has been almost exclusively on yield with little or no focus on other soybean output attributes such as protein or oil content. For good reasonyield has been king, and the breeding efforts of the entire industry have largely centered on input and agronomic trait packages thatIM NOT SURE IFits harder to start a overcame challenges to yield optimization.company from ground zero or to follow in the Ironically, while the contribution of this innovation has been significant,footsteps of your father and great grandfather. the narrow focus on yield suppressed broader crop innovation and the qual- No doubt, each is challenging but in different ity of other grain or ingredient outputs. Layer on factors beyond the growersways. Some might say I got lucky, and the truth control, such as weather and fluctuating commodity markets, and you couldof the matter is I did. I had the luxury of literally certainly argue the grain commodity business may be losing luster to delivergrowing up in the industry and have worked farm profitability. through each area of the company.Demand for protein is growing globally with a greater focus on health andMy dad and I shared not just a love for metal, sustainability than ever before. Consumer demands for plant-based proteinsspeed and cars but for the Oliver company. and greater sustainability in animal production create new market opportuni- Oliver is my home. Just as I grew from a young ties for soybeans with greater nutrient density, feed efficiency and other qual- boy to fearless teenager and then into adult-ity attributes.hood, Oliver, too, has evolvedwith the technol-Fortunately, over the past 10-15 years, there have been pockets of researchogy, with its customers and with the economy. I and breeding activity working to continually narrow the gap between yield,was at the ground level and Im thankful to have protein and oil content. This work has been quietly making headway raisingthat history and that perspective.protein levels and removing anti-nutritional sugars (low raffinose and stachy- But with luck comes a lot of blood, sweat ose) while delivering yields increasing closer to par with mainstream products.and tears. Times havent always been easy. This is all beginning to accelerate, and the gap between yield and other qualityIn fact, they can be like a punch to the gut outputs is beginning to narrow more rapidly. In other words, the trade-offs aremaking you keel over gasping for air. Through starting to trend toward trade-ups.the years, weve dealt with a fire, a long down Combining data, science and proprietary processes, companies like Bensonmarket, tariffs on steel and the loss of key Hill have developed new, innovative approaches to predictive breeding andemployees. The list goes onno different from gene editing to accelerate crop innovation while reducing costs. Advancedany other company. data analysis and measurement are also enabling a more complete look atThere are times when Im unsure what our what is being harvested with equipment and capability to better calibratenext step should be. What Ive learned is youve results.got to keep your head up and your eyes on the The dynamics are stacking up: better, faster and less expensive crop innova- horizon, looking for that next opportunity. And tion and marketplace demands for high-quality soybeansall balanced againstif you focus on the customer, the rest will fall the cost and continually increasing the com- into place.plexity of current row cropping. The timeOliver is my familyliterally, but also the is right for breeders to renew their focuscustomers, the employees and all those in the on diverse innovations and for growerssupply chain. Some of these long-standing to take a closer look at the nutritionalrelationships go back decades and were premiums and other benefits alterna- established by my dad or my great grandfa-tive soybean markets can yield. ther. These are our relationships and our sense of pride. We aim to not only meet but exceed expectations, no matter the need. Thats my commitment and one I fully intend to keep.We will deliver quality, not just something thats going to do the job, but equipment that is BILL RHODES efficient, durable and that will stand the test of SOYBEAN BREEDER, BENSON HILLtimejust like Oliver and like my great grand-wrhodes@bensonhill.com father and father did before me.bensonhill.com DECEMBER 2019SEEDWORLD.COM /53'