Seed World Group’s president Shawn Brook sat down with IPSA president Todd Martin and IPSA executive director Cat Frans to talk frankly about the current state of the seed industry and what’s ahead.
Independent seed companies are currently divided into two camps, said Seed World President Shawn Brook: those that are thriving and expanding, and those that are losing momentum. As he put it, “I see independent seed companies broken into two categories: one category is, ‘I have no idea which way to turn and I’m trying to get out of this as fast as I can.’ The other category is, ‘I’m going for it. I see opportunity. I see growth. I’m creative, and I want to push forward and I want to grow.’”
This divide has led some companies to push aggressively for expansion. IPSA President Todd Martin pointed to Beck’s and Rob-See-Co as two examples of companies that have expanded rapidly of late. Beck’s strategy is to “acquire land, make sure that they have a good footprint to work out from… and then they start really going after farmers in an area with their unique marketing approach,” he said. Meanwhile, he pointed to Rob-See-Co as being “very active in the acquisition area”, buying companies like Federal Hybrids to broaden their footprint.
But while some independents are expanding, larger corporations seem to be facing tougher times. Is that indicative of troubled waters ahead for the Big 4? Not necessarily, said Brook. He suggested their current moves are based on caution – a caution that is warranted given their large market stake, and a caution very much in line with today’s economic realities.
“When you have a bigger pile of chips on the table… you either have to be more cautious, or you run the risk of losing a big pile of chips,” said Brook.
Layoffs including Syngenta’s fall announcement that they’d be cutting 10% of their workforce in Basel are, Brook said, “trimming the fat” rather than crisis-driven restructuring.
“I don’t think anyone would look at the Big 4 and say, ‘Wow, they’re a super lean set of organizations that couldn’t afford to lose 10% [of their team],’” he added. “So I don’t see that as a big warning signal… I think that trimming of the fat that, quite frankly, is probably good for organizations.”
Interestingly, while North American companies seem to be dealing with internal challenges and competition from a fairly isolationist perspective, the European market has taken a more collaborative approach. Brook pointed out that in Europe, “they partner with their enemies more than anywhere else that I’ve seen in the world, where they can set aside distaste or competitiveness to really come together and work.”
(… watch the Stalk Talk podcast excerpt about what’s motivating seed companies)
Stalk Talk BIG QUESTION 2: Do independent seed companies have a role in an Amazon-powered marketing reality?
Stalk Talk BIG QUESTION 3: How can an independent seed company prepare for the new reality?
Stalk Talk BIG QUESTION 4: Five years from now, who’s winning?
