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.
From his analysis of the agricul-
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tural industry and how the seed
industry fits in. 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
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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
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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
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lection
ilay
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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.