I’ve been connected to farming my whole life. I grew up on a farm; my brother and many of my closest friends are farmers; I’ve built a career in agriculture. Though I’m not a farmer myself, I spend every working hour thinking about how I can help make farming easier, lower stress and more productive for the men and women who keep our country and our world fed, clothed and functional.
Farming is a tough row to hoe, pun intended. From unpredictable weather and challenging timing to high land costs and rollercoaster commodity prices, to equipment failures, input shortages, inflation and so much more, farmers are up against countless challenges. Most are outside their control. As I’ve seen literally every year of my life, farming is inherently stressful, especially at higher pressure times like planting and harvest.
I know that no company, no matter how fantastic their offerings, can eliminate farming’s many pressures. I can’t wave a magic wand and grant a grower a well-earned weekend off when the planter needs to keep rolling; I can’t speed up parts delivery when the combine fails; I can’t make it rain when crops are parched. What we at Bayer can do, however, is support a farm’s profitability by ensuring the growing season starts right with quality, treated seed. And, because we understand how many competing priorities and pressures exist at seeding, we can make seed protection simple.
All Bayer corn seeds come pre-treated, with Acceleron Seed Treatments seamlessly integrated into every bag. Our seed-applied treatment packages include what we call FINB – fungicides, insecticides, nematicides and biologicals – in a variety of combinations, giving growers a flexible, simple way to meet the unique challenges of their field. Once a grower makes the decision on which yield-promoting package to select, they can rest assured that their earliest season disease and pest pressures are looked after for them. Too, they’ll know their seedlings will benefit from our industry-leading bio-enhancers, giving the crop the boost it needs to start the season strong.
To me, ‘effective and easy’ are the biggest hallmarks of what we offer. With all the decisions farmers must tackle, especially in early season, our products make early crop management easy and support a healthier crop all season long. If we can reduce stress through products that work, delivered in a way that alleviates pressure and reduces thinking time for producers, that’s a win. And if that helps growers sleep just a bit better at night, we’ve done our job.
Todd Hansen is the SeedGrowth Portfolio Manager at Bayer Crop Science.
