Rob-See-Co’s Corn and Soybean Product Manager Jim Robinson says even with uncertainty in the world and in agriculture, there’s always a solution at the end of the tunnel.
Seed World (SW): What’s your favorite podcast/radio show?
Jim Robinson (JR): Twice a week, I look forward to listening to new episodes of NPR’s Planet Money podcast. It provides a fun look at various aspects of the economy and economics in general. Planet Money and its spinoff, The Indicator, enable me to keep tabs on the pulse of many aspects of the economy that I would generally ignore. It doesn’t hurt that their style of humor tends to align with my own!
SW: Favorite book genre?
JR: I used to love reading books from the “most influential books in literature” lists spanning the late 1800s through the 1900s. As my career evolved, I am much more likely to be found reading non-fiction books about whichever area of my career I would like to improve. Right now, I’m reading about financial management. When it comes to reading with my daughters, four and six years old, we read a lot of graphic novels, especially the Dog Man books by Dav Pilkey.
SW: What was the first car you ever owned?
JR: In high school, my sister and I shared a 1997 Honda Civic. Since she was two years older and a much more dominant personality, it was more her car than mine. My first solo-owned car was a 2004 Dodge Ram that I drove until moving to San Diego for grad school.
SW: How’d you get into soybeans and corn?
JR: My family used to own the JC Robinson Seed Company, the western half of Golden Harvest. As a teenager, I spent my summers on the pollinating crew in one of the corn breeding nurseries. Those experiences led to an interest in genetics which initially guided me into the lab doing basic research, and now back to manage the corn and soybean portfolios at Rob-See-Co.
SW: What’s your “most said” phrase at work?
JR: “We can figure it out.” Whether it’s uncertainty in the weather, commodity prices, supply chain, or demand plan, the overriding attitude in this business must be the confidence to “figure it out.” Everyone would love to have all the data at their fingertips to make decisions, but that isn’t always practical or possible. Operating in uncertainty was a skill I had to master while working toward my PhD in the biological sciences and I quickly learned that you have to be willing to adjust your plans based on what developments come to fruition after you’ve already started working in one direction. It’s no different in the seed business. Sometimes you end up with 200% of planned supply on a hybrid that sees a 50% reduction in demand for some reason or another. You just have to be willing to “figure it out.”
SW: What do you see as being the biggest soybean trend this upcoming season?
JR: I think the biggest soybean trend this upcoming season will be a continuation and overall heating up of the Platform War, Enlist E3 vs XtendFlex. With both platforms fully commercialized in the United States, seed companies and farmers alike will be battling over which platform is “right.” Whether it’s yield and varietal performance, volatility arguments, or herbicide supply chain challenges, we are going to see advocates from each side taking stances to convince their neighbors which way to go. Competition is great for the industry and farmers!
SW: Top 3 priorities for you in 2022?
JR:
- Provide to and educate our sales force about portfolios of corn and soybeans that deliver on our brand promises.
- Continue and build upon our efforts as a development company by creating, testing, and commercializing new and unique products to satisfy our customers’ needs.
- Reinforce Rob-See-Co’s position as a reliable supplier of high-quality, high-performing corn hybrids and soybean varieties.
