b'DEFINING INDEPENDENTWhat does it mean to be an independent seed company? Alex Martin amartin@issuesink.comYOU DONT HAVEto look too far in your state to find anindependent as having the decisions made without outside independently owned seed companytheyre alive, wellsources. and flourishing as growers look to add more variety and choiceOne of the benefits of being independent is we can be into their seed selection. But what does it mean to be an inde- nimble, DeMasi says. Were responsible for what we do, and pendent seed company? were very aware of that.Risa DeMasi, co-founder and director of marketing ofBecause of this awareness, DeMasi says its important for Grassland Oregon, and Sonny Beck, CEO of Becks, both thinkindependent seed companies to be clear about who they are, theyve nailed down what it takes to be an independent seedwhat they do and what they want to accomplish.company.Because we dont have those distracting influences, nimble-Both veterans in the seed industry, Seed World sat down andness is an advantage, she says. If things arent working, we can asked what it means to their companies to be independent, andquickly change course.what theyve done to reach success. What Makes an Independent? No matter what industry youre in, theres always room Independent for me is independently owned, DeMasi says. You know exactly where the bucks stops. You know who theat the top for the best. Dont worry about whether or owners are, you know their vision and what to expect. Therenot you can compete, just work at being the best. arent external factors like stockholders it really lands in our lap of what we are and what we do.Sonny BeckBeck agrees. I think that independent just means that the person running the company doesnt have to listen to anyone outside the com- DeMasi says its important to remain focused, and utilize that pany to make the decisions, he says.nimbleness to stay ahead of the game. If you think about itin a corporate company, there areBeck agrees that quick decision making is an essential char-many people you need to work throughjust to get to the finalacteristic for independents. decision maker. There are layers of upper management through- A key element for independent companies is the ability to out the company. But independent seed companies can bemake fast decisions he says. You can rely on outside sources quicker when it comes to making decisions as there arent asfor information, but you dont have to take orders from anyone many layers of management to sift through. on the outside.How many people are up the chain from you? Beck asks.DeMasi says that another characteristic independent com-You can be a large company, and maybe you wouldnt havepanies need to find for success is the ability to stay on top of to climb up many layers to talk to the boss, so we would defineeverything new coming into the industry.68/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2020'