Erro is a successful Uruguayan company with many years of experience in seed processing and treatment. Its recipe for success: developing products that farmers really need and relying on Bayer SeedGrowth equipment. Erro is on the right track: Only four years ago, all seeds sold by the company were untreated, while now sales of treated seeds have risen to 45%.
If you think Dolores is a vivacious Latin lady, think again. At first glance, this provincial town with the picturesque name has nothing extraordinary to offer: a central square, the Plaza de la Constitución next to the church (Catholic of course), a public school, a police station, a fire station, a couple of supermarkets and some bars. Everything is built in the Spanish Colonial style. All in all, it is very Uruguayan.
For its 21,000 inhabitants, Dolores is home. For anybody else, the city is synonymous with grains. “Bienvenidos a Dolores – El Granero del País,” says the oversized sign at the entrance to the town. “Welcome to Dolores – the Country’s Granary.” Here, the storage, transport and export of grains have a long tradition. That is no coincidence, since Dolores is located on the banks of the San Salvador River – a broad stream that forms the vital artery for this tri-border region between Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
Change and innovation
Erro has its headquarters in Dolores. Founded in 1947, Erro is the second largest exporter of soybean from Uruguay. The seed processing facility was commissioned in 2011, and since then the company has concentrated all its seed processing and treatment activities there. The cooperation with Bayer started in 2014, when Erro implemented the CBT 200 batch treating system, which allows the treatment of various types of seeds with a high level of accuracy.
In an air-conditioned meeting room with glass walls, the Bayer SeedGrowth team meets Marcelo Ferreira, Sergio Pieroni and German Bremermann, who all work for Erro. As is typical in Uruguay, a thermos bottle filled with mate tea is not missing.
Innovation is key
“Erro’s main characteristics are change and innovation,” says Sergio. He is responsible for the research and development of new seed varieties and processes. “What motivates us is always trying to innovate and adopt advances in genetics and the ever-changing seed-treating methods.” It is crucial for Erro to be set apart from its competitors by improving both the varieties and the seed treatment package. This approach obviously meets the requirements of the market. Four years ago, all of the seeds sold by Erro were untreated; now, sales of treated seeds have risen to 45%. The remaining untreated seeds are processed by the farmers themselves before sowing. “We have to convince the farmers that our service achieves better yields and better plant growth because we have the technology and very good equipment,” says Erro’s board member German.
Talking about biologicals
Heading from the office building to the plant, visitors pass by fields of strikingly dark brown soil. According to the locals, this kind of soil is so fertile that you just need to put a plant in the ground and it starts growing. Nevertheless, Erro’s staff is permanently striving to improve the crops. After arriving at the production site, Marcelo, Sergio and German show off the seed treatment equipment. Formerly known as Gustafson, Bayer treatment machines enjoy an almost legendary reputation, and not only in Uruguay.
“We have been working a lot for the past four years on what we call the pre-inoculation process,” says production manager Marcelo. “This is a very important point because you have to bring a living organism – a rhizobium – and a chemical together.” When working with biologicals, a lot of determinants have to be analyzed, but the crucial factor is the rhizobium. “Nitrogen fixation in soybean is crucial,” Sergio says. The technology that was developed combines a fungicide, a polymer, rhizobium and equipment in an ideal manner to achieve a professional seed treatment. “With the new seed treatment machine from Bayer, it has been possible to develop the technology that enables the rhizobium to remain active on the seed for more than 30 days,” says Marcelo. Above all, a significant cost-benefit ratio is mandatory, as Sergio explains. “Farmers are choosing our seed treatment because we give them seeds with the best fungicide, the polymers and also the rhizobium.”
Doing things better
Erro treats most of the seed with fungicides or insecticides and a smaller proportion with inoculants. “Discovering and developing new products is key because it enables us to say that what we are offering growers is of greater value than the seed they treat on their own.” In Uruguay, the growers used to treat the seed by themselves, but they increasingly appreciate buying ready-to-plant seed. “The soybean prices in Chicago may differ – and there is nothing you can do about that. What we can do, as a company in the seed treatment business, is provide better technologies to farmers and help them increase their yields,” Sergio says. Perhaps that is why the demand for professionally treated seed is an unstoppable trend in Latin America.
Click here to learn more about Bayer SeedGrowth: http://www.seedgrowth.bayer.com/
