b'PRODUCTIONAdjust Mid-Season Like College Football TeamsJIM SCHWEIGERT President, Gro Alliancejim.schweigert@groalliance.comgroalliance.com@GroAllianceLABOR DAY SIGNALSthe end of summer and the start of myopponent just returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. two favorite things: seed corn harvest and college football. Here we go again, we say.Many of you know that my undergraduate degree is from theWellwhat does a coaching staff do when faced with chal-University of Minnesota, which apparently means I am a Gopherlenges? They switch up the plays, change the defensive align-fan for life. Being a fan of that teamor any teamis both anment and respond to how the other team is playing. incredible blessing and a constant curse! I think anyone in theWe get that same opportunity! In a seed context, this could be seed industry can relate, since every season includes at least onechanging your sales incentives to encourage more profitable sales, incredible win and at least one head-scratching loss. exiting geographies that are too expensive to serve or swapping Each year we football fans follow our favorite teams off- out expensive products for those that offer a higher margin. season recruiting and preparation. The holes in last years lineupThe Gophers 2019 season began with high hopes but shaky get filled; new players arrive via the transfer portal; exciting highstarts, narrowly winning against South Dakota State, Fresno school players join the team. The optimism rises.Its all possibleState, and Georgia Southern. These early games didnt inspire for this years team! confidence.Then comes the first game. Maybe the team looks sluggish orThe staff reworked plays, adjusted defense, and led the team they lose to a lesser team. The fan in us gets down and starts toto an 11-2 season, capped by an Outback Bowl win over No. 12 write off the season. Guess this isnt going to be our year, we say. Auburn, finishing 10th in the nation.I feel like many in the seed business are already experiencingSo, no matter how this season has started for your company, the post-game blues of an early-season loss. The bad plays arethere is A LOT of game left. There are endless opportunities to low commodity prices, disappointing SAF news, possible cornmake your halftime or post-game adjustments now to end the and soybean acreage reductions and higher royalties. Its like theseason on a high note.BUSINESS GROWTHHow Would you Rate Your Digital Strategy on a Scale of 1-10?SHAWN BROOK President, Seed World Groupsbrook@seedworldgroup.comseedworldgroup.com@SeedWorldGroupDIGITAL IS THEbackbone of everything now. But while itsAs a digital-first organization, we understand the importance critical to embrace digital, its equally important to understandof digital. But theres something unique about those who are that truly upping your digital game involves having the rightdigital nativesthey approach things differently. And thats a people and knowledge on your side to make it happen. Onlyperspective everyone in business needs to harness, especially then can you develop a comprehensive strategy that helpsgiven the diverse audience we serve. achieve your desired business goals.Whether youre a seasoned industry veteran or part of the Two years ago, we hired a young woman named Rebecca.younger generation, you must deliver a digital product that reso-She arrived at Seed World Group with bright eyes, a fresh per- nates with everyone while continuously pushing the envelope.spective, substantial digital knowledge and a relentless drive toHowever, doing so involves more than just posting stuff on tackle whatever challenges came her way.social media. Posting content isnt a strategy, its just noise. Its From the start, she delivered on multiple fronts. Internally, shebut a single ingredient in the whole digital dish. The ingredients played a pivotal role in supporting our editorial team and shap- are important, but you also need a talented chef. Thats some-ing our digital content strategy. Thanks to her efforts, our teamone who knows how to help you draw up a map to ensure youre saw significant growth in awareness, engagement, and all the keyheaded in the right direction. Without that, youre likely to end up metrics that define success in the digital space. But at that point,serving your audience the equivalent of a bad meal.her work was primarily behind the scenes, supporting our internalCompelling content, the expertise to connect that content initiatives. to the right platforms, and the strategy to ensure youre moving Recently, we made a strategic decision to move Rebecca intotoward your goals is the recipe for success. With the right people a client-facing role. Our thinking was simple: we needed to giveand the right strategy, you can be confident in navigating the dig-her more responsibility and more airspace to innovate and chal- ital landscape, cutting through the noise, reaching your audience lenge our thinking.and growing your business.28/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2024'