Myron Stine is president of Iowa’s Stine Seed Company, America’s largest privately-owned seed company, and the fourth largest overall. He takes our questions.
Seed World: What are you reading now, and why?
Myron Stine: I read the Wall Street Journal for business and Men’s Health for non-business balance.
SW: What are your biggest concerns within the industry at the moment?
MS: The financial stability of the customer, and helping the customer with this.
SW: What are your top three goals for the year ahead?
MS: 1. Placing the right product on the correct acre.
2. Enabling the sales force to provide the best our company has to offer the customer.
3. Hitting the company’s unit sales goals.
SW: What do you feel your biggest accomplishment has been?
MS: Taking a company known for soybean genetics and learning where the company’s corn genetics add value for the industry, and marketing that successfully.
SW: What do you want others to know about the seed industry?
MS: That it’s the most exciting area of agriculture!
SW: What are your responsibilities at Stine Seed, and how have they changed over time?
MS: I’m responsible for the sales and marketing of Stine’s branded business. I began as an independent sales representative in the field before traits were a factor. It was almost a part-time job then. Today the seed industry is a much more professional environment and the workload is nonstop.
SW: What are you working on right now?
MS: Creating a few in-season programs for 2017 and planning for the 2018 selling season.
SW: Best advice you’ve received?
MS: There is always a new strategy to try, and you’ll never feel your job is completely done.
