b'JIM SCHWEIGERTEarth FirstPRESIDENT, GRO ALLIANCE @jim_schweigert jim.schweigert@groalliance.com EARTH FIRST,well convey the rest of the GroAlliance.com planets later. Back in 2007, I found myself spending a lot of time at a job site in Illinois. I stayed in the same town and hotels as a bunch of pipeline workers. Achieving Differentiation You know, the guys that bury large pipes into the ground. Every night, the truck tailgates in the parking lot were down, the beer coolers were in the Seed Industry open, and the smell of BBQ was in the air. The hard-working pipeline guys and this seed plant guy with office hands had some commonalities. I IVE STAYED CONNECTEDwithmore impactful message they couldthink we were in the same pond, but in different Iowa State University since earningbring to the forefront? boats. One evening I noticed a bumper sticker my masters degree in seed technol- Its choices and options. Mostthat read, Earth First, Well Pipe The Rest of the ogy and business in 2012. Duringindependent companies now offerPlanets Later. We had just started manufacturing a recent discussion with the Seedmultiple brands under their home- our OMara Ag belt conveyors in earnest, maybe a Science Center team, I mentionedtown umbrella. Some use the addi- year or so before. Since that time, I have remem-that it felt like independent seedtional brand(s) as a way to accessbered that bumper sticker and held its fun conno-companies were becoming moreunique germplasm or traits, whiletation close. What does it really mean? I couldnt comfortable selling multiple brandsothers use it to position some of thewait to use the saying somehow myself, so here it and how that was quite a shift from alineup at a different price point. is today.few years ago. Adding another brandThis is something the multina- The where, why or how of your application, seemed like a big step. tionals dont seem to be replicat- conveyors are important to us: be it shelled corn, The folks at Iowa State wereing. All the major companies havesoybeans, sunflowers, popcorn or ear corn that intrigued. They asked me to putacquired regional seed companyyou need to convey; be it horizontal, inclined, some thoughts together for anbrands since 2004. The retaineddeclined, shuttling, tripper conveying; be it high upcoming seed business shortbrands are targeted to regional orprofile, low profile, pan idler, tri-roller, bi-roller, course. I analyzed the differencesstate-specific markets and empha- slider bed, round bottom, sorting table, treated between how independent compa- size the local aspect of that historicseed drying, bag handling, bag slitting, screw con-nies and multinationals presentedbrand. In all cases, however, thatveying, or bucket elevating, CONVEYING makes their brands on their websites andregional brand has a base lineupup a large part of our business every single day.in their ad copy. similar to the flagship brand. These conveyors fit the realities of our market. The brand sites of the multina- Independent seed companiesThey are better by design, heavy-duty is standard tionals showed that the flagshipcan capitalize on this by maintain- design and seedsmanship is considered through-brands touted performance anding a local message while layer- out the design. The equipment is installer-friendly, yield as the key attributes. Theing in the choices and optionsuser-friendly, service-friendly, and pocketbook-regional brands owned by thosemessage through multiple brands.friendly. same companies emphasized theThese options highlight the inde- If you are still with me, thank you for reading local focus. pendent companies real strengththis far. We look forward to helping you with your My visit to independent seedand point to true differentiation: theconveying needs on this company websites found a similarability to offer germplasm and traitsplanet and on to the next local message. These companiesfrom multiple providers. planet when you are ready.were leaning on the fact that theirI see the path forward for inde-brand should be the preferredpendent companies to serve as a choice because they know thetrusted, local advisor. There is the areas soils and conditions andrisk of diluting the main company could recommend the best prod- name. If positioned correctly, I thinkROBIN OMARAuct. Their family lives there, so thisindependent seed companies can PRESIDENT,positioning makes sense. leverage their position as localOMARA AG SERVICESBut are those same companiesexperts and ensure the farmer getsromara60@msn.commissing a chance at real differentia- the best seed choice, no matteromara-ag.comtion? Could a deeper dive reveal awhere it originates.30/ SEEDWORLD.COMINTERNATIONAL EDITION 2021'