Hybrids ® - More Than A Number. ™

Post co-authored by Bob Wyffels, VP Production and Joel Francque, Field Operations.

How many of you enjoy roller coasters? Space Mountain, The Beast? Do you enjoy hair raising turns, ridiculous ups and downs, that gnawing fear of what lays beyond the next turn? If so, then seed corn production is the place to be, because the most amazing roller coasters simply can't compare to what producing seed is like.

Wyffels Hybrids, along with the seed industry, has been challenged the last couple of seasons to produce enough seed to plant into an expanding corn market. The weather challenges facing corn growers are even more challenging from a seed corn perspective. Hot weather, and warm nights in particular, are detrimental to corn yield. In seed production, these same environmental conditions can be devastating. This isn't a "manufacturing" process, but an organic, living organism that we carefully multiply.

In 2011, we planted what was expected to be our largest seed crop ever. After a good start, July and August dealt us a pretty rough hand. Windstorms topping 100 mph, coupled with record setting heat translated into a sub-par seed crop. When the dust settled, we produced about 25% less than what we set out to make.

This was an industry wide situation. In my opinion the U.S. seed crop was down about 35% from normal, contrary to what some “big guys” were admitting. It's these situations where experience and being "close to the ground" really pays off.

With multi-nationals, seed yield estimates are done by a myriad of personnel, including trainees, college kids, interns, etc. We do it differently. I own the company and I do yield estimates (35 years of experience), along with Joel Francque (20+ years). By August, I probably shucked 1,000 ears checking yields, but Joel had done 10times that. If you do this enough, your thumbs will be stained by browning silk for a couple weeks.

What does that gain for us? Knowledge. We knew the status of this year’s seed crop well before the rest of the industry. The benefit of this knowledge? Tremendous competitive advantage.

By the time September rolled around the rest of the world learned what we figured out a month earlier. Demand for seed acres in South America skyrocketed.

Fortunately, we already had our acres placed. Our long term partner in Chile ensured our seed was planted on the best fields and in the earliest window. This put us in a position to achieve normal yields in Chile while the rest of the industry will probably harvest approximately 90% of their target. Having our seed planted in a timely manner means the seed returns to us in a timely manner by ocean freight, putting us in an enviable supply situation.

The disparity in Argentina is even more glaring. Generally, all of our contra season production takes place in Chile. This year, due to the volume of seed acres we decided to place seed in Argentina to spread the risk. Again, these decisions made in August provided the best fields and the best growers. We were ahead of the pack.

But, why does this matter? Because, it quit raining in Argentina mid-November.

While seed in Argentina is all irrigated, not all irrigators are created equal. There are differences in well capacity and pump capacity; in fact many irrigation systems are only considered "supplemental" to expected rainfall. These things don't matter in a normal year, but when it doesn't rain for six consecutive weeks it certainly does. There will be seed fields in Argentina that won't be harvested due to drought stress. And, did I mention the temperature was between 90-100 degrees during most of the pollination period?

Our production in Argentina will yield about 85- 90% of target. This compares to the rest of the industry at about 70% of target and commercial corn production (largely not irrigated) at about 60-65% of normal.

Our harvest has just begun. In a few days the first seed lot will be on the ocean headed for a an all-expenses paid cruise to Philly, where it will then be transloaded (1 metric ton bags) onto van trailers for a short two day trip to our seed plant in Atkinson, IL. Within 24 hours it will be cleaned, sized, conditioned with your favorite seed applied insecticide and shipped to your farm. That process will continue daily until the first part of April, when all seed is back home in our Atkinson facility.

So, what's the point? To illustrate the differences in production and supply management between companies. While we don't have the perfect supply of every hybrid, we are sitting in a far better position than most.

Is it luck? No. It’s experience, hard work, and a passion for sweating the details. I’ve been doing this my entire life and our production department is filled with crazies who have been doing this 20+ years. We are all a little odd in that we actually enjoy this job.

When you buy your seed from Wyffels, you can trust that it was produced, conditioned, and shipped by someone who has a passion for it. Not by someone who just needs the checkmark on a fast track resume. We all have choices as customers.

You can buy your seed from a company where inventory decisions are made by people who have never been in a seed field. Or you can buy from a company where the owner is in every field on a weekly basis. We hope you can see and feel the difference when you do business with the latter.

In today’s market how does a corn grower decide where to buy seed?  Wow, what a question after the growing season we just went through.  I am from Northwest Iowa, and we had one of the most complex growing seasons that farmers have seen for a long time. 

After harvest, growers decide what hybrids they want to plant for the following year.  This decision becomes more complex every year.  Seed companies have fancy slogans, yield data, advertisements everywhere, and, of course, the price per bag is an issue as well.  So what is my point to all of this?  Well, let me tell you a little story.

This is my story of working at Wyffels Hybrids.  I came to work for Wyffels Hybrids in the Fall of 2008.  I began working District 42 around Spencer, Iowa.  Things were going well and I was truly enjoying my role at Wyffels and so the next two years came and went.  Things in the seed business weren’t perfect, but sales, customer, and seed rep numbers were growing.  In the Fall of 2010 my phone rang, opportunity was knocking, and I decided to listen.  My wife and I decided that sometimes you need to take risks in life.  Therefore, in December 2010 I left Wyffels Hybrids for another job in the Ag industry outside of the seed business.  About four months went by in my new position and things just weren’t right.  I am not one for clichés but the old saying sometimes you don’t know what you had until it’s gone was very appropriate. 

One day I was driving down I-80 and happened to be thinking about my days at Wyffels.  About that time I met a Wyffels pick-up, a couple miles later a Wyffels Semi, and then a few more miles down the road another Wyffels pick-up.   I thought to myself, “I think someone is trying to tell me something.”  So, I decided to call Bill Wyffels and visit with him.  It took some courage and I really had to swallow my pride.  One thing led to another and here we are today, with Matt Conlon being a Wyffels DSM again.

So what is my point to all of this?  I am not going to tell you that Wyffels is the best seed company out there, that we have the best corn, or the cheapest seed corn.  My point is that Wyffels Hybrids has many good people that truly enjoy being a part of this independent family owned company.  I want to say Thank You to all of our current customers, and to anyone looking for new hybrids or another seed brand on their farm.  Why not take a look at Wyffels?  You might be surprised and pleased with what you find.

On most days I’m pretty convinced I have one of the best jobs in the Midwest.  Seems like everyone wants to work at the places everyone inside and even outside agriculture has heard of. Thing is, working for the biggest seed corn company in the Midwest isn’t important to me.  Working for the best is. And if you get to know me, you’ll know I really don’t care to mess around with stuff that doesn’t matter. You don’t have time for bullshit and bureaucracy, and neither do I.

The only reason I bring this is up is that the reason I work here is the answer to one of the toughest questions I get from farmers I work with. On the surface, nobody cares why I’m here. But almost every day I meet with skeptical corn growers who question how an independently owned company like Wyffels can compete with multinational corporations with multi-billion dollar budgets. Like most of my thoughts, it’s pretty darn simple.

1. There are 110 or so employees I work with who know more and care more than any of the seed brands I compete with. If you’re big, you can afford to lose a customer. We can’t. And most of the time that simple thought shows.

2. We have a diverse offering of the most advanced traits and genetics that larger competitors may not be in position to offer. 

3. We invest in research and test sites within Iowa and Illinois as if we were the 800 lb gorilla.  We ensure we have the opportunity to know how our hybrids will perform in more conditions in more local areas – or, where you live.

4. While most of the other seed brands our size have been gobbled up, we have remained independent – because we offer products that are just as good, and in many cases better, than our larger competitors. And then we have the people and a brand that will stand behind those products, and know how to service and grow with customers.

So, if you care about that stuff – and not how many people can recall your name as the first seed brand they remember – you’d think you have the one of the best jobs too. Like our best customers we have to be free thinkers, and most of the people I work with are never satisfied either. Like we’ve said before, we know we’ll never be the biggest. Which is why we fight like crazy to be the best.

The best way to see what I mean, is with your own two eyes and your own set of standards. Give us a shot on your farm and I think you’ll see what it means to not be the biggest, just the best.

Here at Wyffels we know that there is no second chance, no redo when it comes to a corn crop. The fact is the average farmer will have about 40 chances to do it right the first time. That is why we make providing you with the best possible hybrids in the industry a priority. Dr. Fritz Behr and his team of 6 Product Development Managers (PDM) have used their close to 150 years of experience to create one of the most extensive and progressive research programs in the seed industry.

With a significant number of research sites all across the heart of the Corn Belt, we have a research program that will rival any of our larger competitors. We do this because we know the importance of not only bringing the best hybrids to the market, but also knowing how they will perform on the varying soils and conditions that they will be subjected to. We go the extra mile to make sure that we know as much about these hybrids as possible.

Not just any hybrid can earn the privilege of having the “W” in its name. As an independent company, outside of our own breeding program, we also have the ability to access traits, technologies, and germplasms from multiple sources worldwide. This allows us to create hybrids that are truly unique and proprietary. Our PDMs along with the entire Research Team spend a lot of time in the fields to see how all of the hybrids are reacting to ups and downs we have become accustomed to here in the Corn Belt. It would not be a stretch to say they know these hybrids like the back of their hands. After multiple years of proving itself up against the leading hybrids in the industry, then and only then, will a hybrid have the opportunity to earn its “W”.

It doesn’t stop there. As you all know, there are a lot of choices out there. As we are working to develop leading hybrids, we are also evaluating the multiple options available to protect it. Now, we aren’t in the business of pushing traits or seed treatments; we are in the business of giving corn growers the best possible product on the market today. We conduct unbiased evaluations of seed traits and treatments available to make sure that we deliver. We are also continually looking at new products and evaluating whether we should bring them into our lineup. If there is a product out there that can make corn growers more money, we want it to be a part of what we offer.

So, why do we do this? The answer is quite simple, really. We are in business to give corn growers the best return for their seed investment. When our customers are successful, we are successful. We don’t have to answer to investors, shareholders, or quarterly balance sheets. We answer to YOU, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

The first time I heard it, I was sold on it. It exemplified what I stand for in this business. At my core, I always try to be “just me” on a sales call. Wyffels customers in southern Illinois know I’m an advocate of great hybrids and when you ask me a question, you get my honest feelings on the subject. Sometimes those answers go against what the competition is saying. Heck, sometimes it goes against what Wyffels is saying. When I hear More Than A Number it strikes at the very core of who I am.

More Than A Number is simply a tag line, but it means much more. As a company only selling corn, More Than A Number, means we aren’t a company that is built around just one hybrid. In my seven years with Wyffels Hybrids, I’ve never been more proud of our lineup. Even today, late December, I have a hard time settling on just a couple of hybrids for many orders. We are a company of numbers —hybrids, to be specific, and we’ve got one hell of an arsenal of them. More Than A Number? You bet. We’ve got the deepest lineup in the industry of big yielding numbers.

No one ever said, “Hey! I love buying corn from a giant faceless corporation.” I love that Wyffels ad. It leads to another meaning of More Than A Number. When you call Wyffels you talk with a person who takes pride in their work. You don’t just get a recorder asking you to choose from a long list of options and with no choices. You’ll always get someone to talk to who knows you are More Than A Number.

As you get to know Wyffels Hybrids, you’ll notice the difference. Yes, I work for Wyffels Hybrids, but when you work for Bill and Bob Wyffels, you get to provide input and shape the direction of the company. I’ve routinely been asked what I think and we’ve had some colorful conversations over ideas- it’s brutally honest truth. So as another of our ads states, “Come see what we’re building, right here in the Corn Belt.” Experience what it’s like to be More Than A Number.

I have great news.  We are now offering all our seed corn with a new blog.  No extra charge.
 
I know this is a big deal and holds value for corn growers because, well, our young hot shot Digital Media Manager told me so.  She said we needed to do it because we’re different.  Which just about got this little idea killed before the first word was ever considered.  There are tons of great blogs all over our industry.  I even follow a few.  Do we really need another?

So I’m a little cynical because, well, that’s what marketing people are.  Or should be.  Most of us have seen so many “we have to do this” ideas that the smell of an “everyone is doing it” or “this is can't-miss” rationale makes us cringe like we’ve just seen a limit down corn market text.   

But when push came to shove, she won.  She eventually came up with something that stopped my serial dismissals.  We would write this blog each week because this company is filled with people who have unique passion and perspective which have no good outlet today.  And that passion and those perspectives have value. 

Now, I’m not sure what value this particular post provides, but the job today is more or less just to introduce the thing to you.  Regardless, she has a point. 

This place, Wyffels Hybrids, is filled to the hilt with a group of people that care more about the people they serve than I have ever seen.  And there is incredible knowledge, light years of experience and perspectives as straight and true as mile long corn rows inside this place.  It is unique.  It does have value.  And we take it so much for granted that we usually don’t think to share it.  It’s just the way we work.  We ain’t all that flashy. 
But there is substance sunk far deeper into the ground than you’ll find just about anywhere else you can do business in this industry.

I’ll be the first to admit, you can’t buy a doughnut with all that talk.  It doesn’t necessarily mean we have better hybrids than anyone else, or that we’ll make you more money.  But it’s the backbone of our effort to do both.  And given the choice, aren’t these the kind of people you’d rather work with anyway? 

So, I figure our young hot shot might be on to something.  And to make sure you get candid thoughts that are worth something, we assembled a cast of employees not likely to be scared of many topics.  Which may make all this a little bit more fun than our chipper Digital Media Manager bargained for.  But don’t worry.  If it all goes south, we’ll still be having a little bit of fun with those stodgy old print ads. 

Welcome to The Dirt.  We’ll tell you what we think.  And you can tell us what you think.  Just send us your comments.  If they’re intelligent, well written and add to the discussion, we may even post them.  If not, well, we can do that by ourselves.