b'For the first six to eight years, Meints sold seed as a dealerto do what you say youre going to do, and as a business we expect for a number of seed companies, but he saw a need for offeringthe same from farmers. Its a business relationship and it cant just both seeds and chemicals to his customer base. be good for one side.Volume discounts were common practice for the seed sector,Meints says that within the business they talk a lot on this but not at all for the crop protection sector. These are the begin- principle and it even guides the company. Titan PROs core values nings of Meints career in the agricultural industry. are: Do what we say we are going to do; treat people fairly; followAs biotech got introduced with Roundup Ready soybeans, wethrough on promises made; expect the same in return.decided to introduce our own seed brand, eventually leading to theI believe people want to do business with people who tell it like forming of Titan PRO in 2009. it is, people who are upfront and honest, Meints says. They dont During the transition to Titan PRO, Meints says he only lost fivesugar coat it, and they dont exaggerate it. dealers. Everyone else was willing to give him a shot.When the time came, I had a meeting with all the dealers laying out the situation as much as I could, Meints shares. I was very transparent and open. I shared my vision for Titan PRO, how we were going to operate and that we would do everything in our power to do as we committed.Weve built on that and continually work to keep our businessYouve got to be able to do what you say youre going model as simple as possible. to do, and as a business we expect the same from Today, Titan PRO works with 200 independent dealers and employs about 60 employees, including agronomists, sales manag- farmers. ers, truck drivers and office staff. The Titan PRO territory primarilyJeff Meintstargets Iowa and Minnesota and serves surrounding states, includ-ing North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Nebraska.One of the big things we bring to the table is inhouse exper-tise, making it easy for dealers to sell both seed and crop protec-tion, Meints says, explaining without the dual product offering, farmers would have to go to a second dealer for their crop protection needs. Depending on what he needed to sell, he mayHes also able to draw on that farm background as he still farms un-sell your sale.with his son, Derek.We have staff on hand to teach and train on helping farmersI enjoy the true farmer hat I get to put on, Meints says. I have find the best input solutions, he says.to make the same business decisions Im asking customers to make. With this business model, all the products offered through theIt keeps me grounded in knowing what my customers face. Do I dealer network first come to the Titan PRO headquarters in Cleargrow more corn? Do I grow more soybeans? What are the margins? Lake where they get disbursed. Meints recently added satelliteWhat is the trait landscape? What are the advantages and disad-warehouses for distribution in Geneseo, Ill., and Breckenridge, Minn. vantages?Meints is unique in that he gets to see the business side of pro-Secrets to Success viding inputs and the farmer side.Meints credits much of Titan PROs success to the original visionAs a farmer, Id much rather have a relationship where I dont of combining seed and crop protection at the dealer level. have to jump through multiple hoops to get the best value, Meints You have to bring a unique business proposition to yourexplains, as the company doesnt have a reward systemits a customer base and show value, he says. This is what really setstraight buy. Our goal is not to be the lowest cost but to give the us apart. best value and competitive pricing. We are offering expertise and Now is the perfect time to be able to say we bring seed andsupport behind the scenes and have relationships with key suppli-crop protection because theyre so intertwined, and we have thaters for the best genetics and technology.expertise. We have a structure set up that allows dealers to sellMeints also knows that agriculture is unique in that every year, from Day 1. you get to hit a reset button. Just as farmers get another chance at Allister Phillips, a founding partner at AgbioInvestor agrees,growing a crop, dealers and sales professionals get another shot to saying that was a key driver to the recent round of mergers andsell their products and support them.acquisitions. For Meints, like many independent seed professionals, agricul-Agriculture is no longer just crop protection or just seed. Nowture is family and family is business.more than ever before, seed is dictating crop protection usage,Its relationship based and when you do things correctly, you Phillips says, pointing to Monsantos move to acquire Syngentacan make a difference, he says. I am living the American dream, which ignited the buying bids. but this wouldnt be the case if I hadnt been through all these trials Meints second secret to success is really no secret; its all aboutand tribulations. Theres nothing more rewarding as a father than to follow through. have your children a part of the business and to want to be a part of Business integrity is vital today, he says. Youve got to be ableit. This is a family business and theyve been here from Day 1.SW32/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2020'