VERNON ACHENBACH, JR. Lancaster Farming Staff LANCASTER' (Lancaster Co.) The future for die seeds man in the Northeast is going to be a lot different, according to a rep resentative of Agway Inc. who addressed the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Seedsmen’s Association, held Thursday at the Eden Resort and Convention Cen ter in Lancaster. There’s going to be less margin, more competition, more demand for knowledge and technical assis tance, and a need for more effi ciency, said Greg Wickham, with Agway Inc. Wickham has been with Agway fora number of years, with a back round more in crops, “rather than being a true seedsman,” he said. Currently, Wickham is involved in redesigning the internal man agement at Agway, to support some changes in the company’s customer services. He said his per spective of trends in the business may be of value to seedsmen. Wickham was the featured speaker during the day-long meet ing of seed dealers and related businessmen. 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Wickham said it must be considered that the North east is primarily a dairy region and that the shift in dairy fanning is changing the demands of the seed industry. Because the number of dairy farms has been decreasing, while the size of the farms has been increasing, seedsmen will probab ly be selling less seed overall, but more importantly, the customer is going to be wanting more direct sales and to take advantage of bulk purchases. Further, because of the increas ing complexity of dairy fuming and the related crop farming, there’s gonig to be an increased need for seed sales representatives to be very well informed. The trend toward using less fer tilizer. less pesticides and more conservation tillage, more concern from individual farms about spe cific needs, and the farmer wanting to have his questions answered, is going to put more of a demand on the sales representative to have the knowledge required to help a pro ducer make decisions. The general trend that is expected is for less of a demand for M.S. YEARSLEY & SONS Waat Chaatar, PA 215-696*2900 seed. According to Wickham, in 1991, Agway sold $2OB million in seed and the projection is for $l9B million in 1995 and $lBB million by 2000. The impact to the traditional seed-dealer is going to be negative, he said. While vegetable and gar den seed demand and seed demand from part-time farmers should stay consistant and perhaps grow slightly, he said there are several factors which indicate that many local seed dealers will probably be squeezed out because of better support from largo- suppliers. In attempting to analyze the future seed market, Wickham said it is necessary to define the cus tomer base. The part-time farmer is defined as anyone who is not employed full time in farming. The part-time far mer is not Agway’s primary seed customer. Wickham said full-time farmers are catagorized into three customer groups the traditional;' the businessman concerned with cost; and the businessman concerned with production. For the traditional full-time far mer, the group that is declining in number, farming is a lifestyle, he Step-up to the perfect gift with this three-position, adjustable tractor-step kit. It’s just like the ones on John Deere 60 Series Tractors and fits John Deere 30 to 55 Series Row-Crop Thictors. $235.00* (RE54131) Know, Be Certified said. They aqe also defined as those for whom maintaining a steady production is satisfactory, those who support cooperatives, and those who follow the proven prac tices. They are not risk-takers. The businessman-farmer con cerned with cost is defined as the producer who seeks to profit pri marily from reducing input costs. For these people, according to Wickham, an average yield is acceptable as long as the cost is justified. They ate more likely to put the seed order out for bid, and more likely to request free information. The businessman-farmer con cerned primarily with production, sets yield as a goal. These people are slightly more dominant in the industry than the cost-motivated producer, according to Wickham. He said this type of producer is frequently involved with projects considered to be on the leading edge, they are more willing to pay more for a product if an improve ment in the production and quality of a crop can be shown. Wickham said these producers are loyal, but that loyalty is based on value. These people also evalu- The company is setting its goal on being able to meet the needs of the customers and to provide the technical and i informational support in addition to seed varieties-. H According to Wickham, a survey of customers revealed that they value a business’s seed variety and performance, honesty and integrity of sales and service people, a Hi dependable supply, product knowledge, technical advice, professionalism, and price. He said that the last survey was done in 1990 and com pares to a survey done in 1986. Never, he said has price been the top consideration, according to the surveys. i of all i Deere lection ilay Armik 11,1993 UncMHf Farming, Saturday, Dacmbf 18,1f93-Al9 Huntingdon Holstein Club Makes Plans HUNTINGDON (Huntingdon Co.) The Hunting don County Holstein Club met recently to discuss plans for 1994. Details of some events were not finalized and are to be announced. President Jim Grove, of Petersburg, reported that the election of three new directors for the club is to be held at the annual meeting. .The Huntingdon County Holstein club annual meeting will be held at Warriors Mark Fire Hall. The evening event is to start with a dairy bar social. In other news, the club has opted to sell five-pound blocks of Cheddar cheese to raise funds. The cheese has been delivered and can be purchased for $l2 per block. Anyone who wants cheese should contact Grove. The club also approved plans to sponsor a bus tour of some Franklin County dairy farms in March. The tour is to focus on animal housing and manure handling systems. Penn State Cooperative Extension personnel are to make arrangements. There is also planned an April 30 county Holstein sale to be held at the Huntingdon County Fairgrounds. Jim McMath Jr. is organizing and coordinating the sale. The next meeting of the club is to be held during the annual banquet. Pa. Forage , Grassland Council (Continued from Pago A 18) Earl said he isn’t sure what the future of the dairy busi ness is for him or his family. There’s still a great deal of consideration and expected change within the immediate family before he makes a permanent decision. He and Marilyn have four children a daughter Kris ta who’s a medical secretary; and son Kraig who’s an elec trician; a 14-year-old son Keith; and a 9-year-old son Kevin. The career goals the children may influence the future of the dairy operation, just as the farm changed into a dairy in the first place. But the soybean business is going to stay for awhile, he said. After 28 years of milking cows, he was losing inter est, and now with the soybean business, “I really enjoy getting up in the morning and going to work.” ate success based on profit poten tial. They are interested in performance. According to Wicidiam, in defining die customer, the com pany can better identify and meet his needs. _ Wickham said that it should be considered that some operations have split-personalities when it comes to making purchases. He said that on a farm, the per-' son in charge of the animal part of the business may be conccred with production and yield and make purchases that way, while at the same time on the same farm, the person purchasing seed may better fit the cost-conscious customer and opt for something that sells for less, but will not set any produc tion records. In adapting to change to fit into the future, Wickham said that Agway is going to be concentrat ing on being more of a seed dealer with a highly training and qualified staff. The company has its own in house training program and the staff must also pass the national Certified Crop Advisor test and keep up with the continuing education.
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