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says. We look at technical success and market success. A product wont reach the end of the pipeline unless we have the assurance and can make clear claims to the market that the product is reliable works and is safe. Gathering Grower Input Both Martin and Veenhuizen indicate that obtaining grower insight and feedback is vital to new product development. Companies generate potential product ideas through the discovery phase and then rely heavily on growers to sort the good from the bad. Ultimately theyre looking for ideas that will result in the highest level of farmer acceptance after commercialization. There are many information sources companies use to help make strategic decisions regarding what products to develop or what innovation to pursue according to Veenhuizen. For example companies conduct focus groups with farmers to determine what drives their efficiency and profitability. They also reach out to academic and industry insti- tutions that work in the areas of insects weeds nutrition animal health plant diseases and weather. Crop associations also provide valuable insight regarding what is needed in the marketplace. We are very active in the Farm Progress Show Veenhuizen says. We try to be transparent by using demon- strations. We want the farmers to come to our booth to discuss these new ideas and give us their feedback. We take that very seriously. Mark McCaslin vice president of research at Forage Genetics International explains that its relatively easy to get a forum of hay producers together by using state and national forage associations. We do a lot of homework upfront that helps us establish what the value proposition for growers is McCaslin says. There are a lot of opportunities to inter- face with growers and theyre generally not shy in terms of sharing the kind of stuff theyre interested in. If its an idea theyre not interested in theyre not shy about not talking about that either. Continually Evaluate Success With farmer feedback that a new Companies understand the risks and responsibilities that come with delivering new products to the marketplace. Megan Townsend Launching the Traits of Tomorrow D EVELOP SOMETHING NEW unlike anything farmers use today. Make sure it delivers value and meets the worlds food and agricultural needs. And remember it has to comply with domestic and international regulations while also yielding a substantial return on investment. Thats the complex challenge seed companies accept when trying to launch a new technology. Its risky expensive and takes an entire organization from scientists to financial advisers to accomplish but commercializing new seed traits keeps U.S. agriculture moving forward increasing crop yields and quality year-after-year. Duane Martin product lead for commercial traits at Syngenta estimates that it takes about 150 million and at least 10 years of research development and regulatory work to launch a new trait. Its a very big decision for companies to make Martin says. There are lots of opportunity costs there if you make the wrong decision. So it really is all based on what that new trait adds to a growers farming enterprise. If it adds something different or better than what is in the market today then its worth the mas- sive amount of resources and considerable amount of time. Martin says the driving factor behind launching new tech- nologies for companies shouldnt come as a surprise to anyone its all about adding value for the grower. Its really that simple with a whole lot of other factors rolled into that decision he says. Jeff Veenhuizen operations lead for Monsanto Technology describes it as a multipronged approach that starts by deter- mining what the marketplace needs. We dont even start product development until we figure out that its going to do something that growers need so that alleviates a lot of concerns right from the beginning Veenhuizen 42 SEEDWORLD.COM JUNE 2015