Click HERE to view full document

Developing seed treatments of tomorrow
Aggressive development program offers new choices for farmers

The rise of seed treatments is more than a market opportunity in the eyes of Craig Lindholm. The marketing manager for seed treatments at BASF U.S. Crop Protection sees the opportunity to help farmers protect the yield they purchase when they invest in seed. And protecting that investment is an important part of his job.

“We started with seed treatments in 2003, and in 2005 we introduced our first two products: Charter® fungicide seed treatment and Regent® TS seed treatment,” he notes. “Those are the building blocks. In 2006, we introduced Charter® PB fungicide seed treatment which is for farmer application.”

From that first start, BASF is making great strides. The company received EPA registration and rolled out Stamina® fungicide seed treatment in February 2008 and will have 11 seed treatments in the market by 2009. Stamina, which uses the same active ingredient as Headline® fungicide, offers an efficient way to provide seedlings with protection from disease, while giving them a stronger, faster start.

More...

A building revolution
Rising value of genetics and the move to protect them fuels change

When Dr. Gary Munkvold first heard about the revolution, he thought the scientists he works with were just trying to attract attention. “They said there was a seed treatment revolution,” recalls the chairman of the Iowa State University Seed Science Center. “And I thought they were trying to make a splash, but there really is a revolution.”

He notes the dramatic move to seed-applied insecticides now used on corn, adding that for 2008
it has become a standard approach for farmers. “I
remember a time when there was one active ingredient seed treatment on corn, and no one even thought about it,” he says.

“Now four active ingredients are standard, and it’s not far from six being standard.” He notes this proliferation of seed treatment active ingredients offers plenty of opportunities for synergies with multiple products to control a wide range of pests and diseases. The goal is to protect an increasingly valuable product: the seed.

More...

Science in the seed
BASF builds a solid seed treatment from scratch

Farmers see the value of putting insect and disease control products on seed, since a majority of major row crops planted for 2008 will have at least some form of seed treatment. BASF is maximizing its efforts to enter this market with a bold strategy that leverages the company’s unique Plant Health perspective and its Verbund strategy.

At the head of the effort is an enthusiastic research scientist with a marketer’s sensibility who sees the value of a market projected to grow at 5% per year for the next half-decade. Dr. Dirk Voeste, head of BASF seed treatment business development, works out of the company’s Limburgerhof, Germany, facility. “What we have accomplished since 2003 - before 2003 BASF wasn’t a seed treatment company - is amazing,” Voeste explains.

More...

More out of every acre
Commentary: global requirements for grain and oilseeds require new approaches

The market forces at work in agriculture are causing a shift in farmers’ thinking. In the late 1980s, the focus was on cost management. Today it’s about risk management. Farmers have a rising income they can invest in yield on their operations, yet expenses continue to rise. A key part of that rise is the price of a bag of seed. In 2002, that bag might have cost $150. For this season, farmers are paying $250 for a bag of seed depending on the trait packages they buy. For 2012, that price could be $350 to $450 per bag. How do you protect that investment?

More...