b'STEPHANIE DARNELL How Are You Growing SEED TREATMENT STEWARDSHIP MANAGER, BASFstephanie.darnell@basf.com with Your Company?agriculture.basf.us/crop-protection/use-areas/seed-treatment.htmlHOW DO YOUknow when itsknew it was time for me to step up Taking Responsibility intime to make a changewhetherto the plate and own the CEO title. its in business or a personalTo me, that means I needed Our Own Hands change? Well, it usually starts withto take responsibility and make a something feeling off, or stagnant,personal change in myself. Instead that youd like to improve, andof trying to offload everything those improvements branch outto someone else, I took charge A GROWER ONCEtold me, I am responsible forthrough a variety of ways.of the direction were moving in. leaving my land for the next generation. That means IIf youve ever sat down with me,While I was always the face of the need to be a good steward! you know Ill say Im an engineer.company, now my goal is to drive When we get down to it, stewardship has a deeplyI love building and getting downprogress in the industry. As the personal definition, and every organization and busi- and dirty when working and build- company ebbs and flows, I want ness will define it differently. At BASF, we believe stew- ing machines, and Ive never reallyto ensure Im the stable point for ardship means taking on responsibility.felt like I fit into the Big Bossmananyone with questions or concerns. Stewardship isnt something we take lightly. We likerole when we created VMEK. IAnd finally: Ive been learning how to think of stewardship as taking responsibility for aalways saw myself as more of ato lead. product and being its caretakers throughout its lifespan.General Manager kind of guy. InLeading was never something That means, weve been designing our seed treat- my mind, a general manager is athat came easily to meI preferred ments since the R&D phase to ensure they meet certainnon-threatening, vanilla type of job.being the person to get things standards: ensuring the treatment adheres well, minimalI felt it was easier to go to marketdone. But that doesnt work well to no dust-off and protection of the seed. Its a balanceas a general manager, instead ofwhen youre working with a team. between designing technology that performs while alsoa big, larger-than-life CEO. And, ifIve had to switch my thinking more knowing stewardship is a must. Im honest, I really liked being ableto a teamwork style than a solo Of course, it doesnt just stop in the lab, though. Allto still call myself an engineer andstyle, and thats not only made me the links in the chain are working together: manufac- have my hands all tied up with R&Dgrow as a person, but its made our turers, applicators, seed producers, treaters, retailersdevelopment.business become more productive. and growers.Within the year, though, I real- So: how are you growing per-Its important to realize there are a lot of steps inized: thats not quite what oursonally? And how does your busi-being a good steward, and sometimes, theres not acompany needed.ness mirror your personal change? lot of time. Often theres only a small window to getI tried to let VMEK run itself, but seed out into the field, but a good steward is mindfulour business wasnt quite mature during that rush. They think about where theyre load- enough to do that. While I can see ing seed, how theyre loading it, ensuring no seed spillsthe clear vision that I wanted our or cleaning up if a spill occurs, checking that no seed isbusiness to go in, it became difficult exposed to wildlife and then disposing of seed pack- to find the right people to imple-ages properly. ment the full visionAnd I realized Guaranteeing that farmers have access to the toolswhat a bad idea that was! By the and services designed to keep them safe and assistend of last year, we were under per-their everyday work is a responsibility BASF takes seri- forming, and I realized: it was time ously. We are dedicated to working with industry part- for a change. Not only for the busi-ners, such as the American Seed Trade Association,ness, but a change in myself too. I to educate and communicate stewardship of plant protection products. This ensures growers are able to grow healthy, high quality food while protecting them-selves, their families and the environment. EmphasizingKENT LOVVORNstewardship with growers shows we are helping grow-CEO AND FOUNDER, VMEKers leave their legacy for generations to come. Stewardship is everyones responsibility. We arekent@vmek.comvmek.comcommitted, are you willing to take it on too?INTERNATIONAL EDITION 2021SEEDWORLD.COM /33'