ASK THE AGRONOMIST BLOG

Selecting the right genetics for the right field is a big piece of the puzzle for growers each year, but it’s only part of the solution. Success in the field goes beyond putting the best seed in the ground. A successful season is contingent upon many variables. That’s where Stine’s agronomy team comes into the equation.

“Our goal is to deliver value to the growers, not only through high-yielding genetics but also by providing service through knowledgeable people who can answer the tough agronomic questions,” says Tom Larson, Stine’s director of agronomy.

At Stine, we have two branches of agronomy: technical agronomists and field agronomists. While both are comprised of knowledgeable advisors who are available to provide expertise and support in all things agronomy, they are different in a few ways.

Technical agronomists are tenured leaders in their field. They handle a larger territory than field agronomists and spend much of their time reviewing the data from our plot programs and comparing the agronomics of each product to determine the best placement of that seed. They also look at our experimental products and review whether they should be advanced to market. Technical agronomists also provide technical training for our sales reps in our Product Development Plots (PDP) so they can get a firsthand look at how the products perform in their region.

For example, Tyler DuBay, our soybean technical agronomist, has a background in soybean research, so he evaluates our soybean research plots. He then takes that data and turns it into training resources for our independent sales representatives (ISRs) and regional sales agronomists (RSAs) to share with their grower customers.  

“My No. 1 goal as a soybean technical agronomist is to bring awareness and knowledge internally and externally as to why and how Stine has and will continue to have the best soybean genetics in the industry,” says DuBay.

Our technical agronomists include Tyler DuBay (national), Tony Lenz (north-central and western Corn Belt), Kayla Noble (central and northern Corn Belt), Mark Johnson (south-central U.S.) and Bill Kessinger (eastern Corn Belt to East Coast).

Fields agronomists, on the other hand, are our more localized, boots-on-the-ground team. They provide direct support to our ISRs and RSAs to help troubleshoot any challenges our grower customers may face throughout the season. They are also responsible for helping set up our PDP plots in their territories and scouting the plots throughout the season.

Our field agronomists include Ben Shepherd (North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota), Daniel Greblunas (Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa), Faith Hedrick (Illinois and Wisconsin), Ian Matzenbacher (Illinois, Ohio and Indiana) and Jacob Foote (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania).

“My primary goal [as a field agronomist] is to learn more about the challenges that Stine seed can face throughout the year,” says Greblunas. “I also use my knowledge of farming and agronomy to promote the Stine brand.”

While field and technical agronomists have some differentiators, they also overlap in many ways. Both are available to our sales team and customers to assist with agronomic questions and insights. They both work with plot cooperators to establish our PDP plots throughout their territories and collect data from those plots to train our sales reps. A few of our agronomists have even spent time as RSAs, so they’re well-versed in our sales programs in addition to our products.

“The knowledge base of our agronomists is vast and impressive,” says Larson. “They have decades of experience in the industry, and their No. 1 goal is and always will be to provide the best agronomic insights to give our genetics the best chance at maximizing yield to deliver profitability to the grower.”

Learn more about our agronomy team. To find an agronomist near you, connect with your local sales rep to get started.

Stine^® Seed Company prides itself on providing value to farmers. This value encompasses everything from our high-yielding, elite genetics to our unique grower programs and dedicated employees and salesforce. Ultimately, we recognize that our talented and knowledgeable Stine team members help farmers reach their profitability goals by helping them maximize yield with the industry’s best corn and soybean genetics.

“We’re privileged to work with the very best in the industry,” says Myron Stine, company president. “No other company has a more dedicated and skilled employee base or sales team. Everyone is committed to helping farmers achieve their profitability goals.”

To demonstrate our appreciation for our dedicated sales team each year, Stine leadership selects the top-performing independent sales representatives (ISRs) to participate in the Stine Directors Council. These individuals exhibit an incredible commitment to the Stine brand, our grower customers and to the growth of our sales program.

As part of the Directors Council, selected ISRs attend a three-day destination meeting, where they hear important company updates from Stine leadership. The Directors Council members then provide the leadership team with valuable insights from the regions they represent, including how products and programs preform for their grower customers and the resources they need to place the right products on the right fields. Their feedback helps determine what programs to keep, what processes to change and how Stine can improve the value we bring to farmers.

This year’s Directors Council was held Feb. 20–22 in Orlando, Florida. The theme of this year’s meeting focused on delivering value. Specific topics discussed included customer programs, new and existing products, short-stature corn, customer service and marketing the Stine story.

Congratulations to the 2024 Stine Directors Council members invited to attend. We thank them for their commitment to our brand and carrying the STINE HAS YIELD promise directly to our grower customers.

Eric Dahlager (Region 1, Minnesota)

Troy Ahrenholz (Region 2, Minnesota)

Matt Hofer (Region 3, South Dakota)

Kirk Kintz (Region 4, Iowa)

Chad Diegnau (Region 10, Minnesota)

Chuck McDonald (Region 13, Illinois)

Jake Ackley (Region 15, Michigan)

Travis Macy (Region 16, Indiana)

Brandon Burgdoerfer (Region 17, Indiana)

Trent Conroy (Region 21, North Dakota)

Trevor Hicks (Region 18, Kentucky)

Bryan Taylor (Region 19, Illinois)

Cliff Schuette (Region 13, Illinois)

Andrew Lance (Region 20, Missouri)

Trey Brix (Region 20, Iowa)

Justin Blum (Region 24, Wisconsin)

Ryan Meyer (Region 25, Ohio)

Brandon Locklear (Region 32, North Carolina)

Justin Hodges (Region 39, Wisconsin)

To find a local sales rep near you, visit our website.

Stine^® Seed Company is home to the industry’s largest private soybean breeding program and the most aggressive corn research. Our ownership in this space can be attributed to our speed and agility to move seed through our research program and into growers’ fields faster. Our program doesn’t take a season off. We rely on our winter nurseries and off-season research facilities to keep product moving in the winter months.

Rodney Pentico, Stine soybean research lead, recently discussed the details of our off-season production work in the South American countries of Argentina and Brazil on the Stine Seedcast. As soon as harvest is complete in the U.S., he and his team are tasked with getting seed to South America as quickly and efficiently as possible to ensure it reaches our operations there in time for their planting season. A great deal of planning goes into this process.

“Harry [Stine] and Bill Eby both expect us to be very, very efficient and on a timely manner to be able to plant a winter nursery, get it harvested, get it back here [the U.S.] so we can get it planted on time and work two different locations in one given year,” says Pentico.

Full circle for soybean production

The soybean planting season in South America begins around mid-November, just as the U.S. harvest wraps up. Depending on the maturity of each product, the harvest season in Brazil and Argentina can start around Feb. 20 for Group 0s and go through April for later maturity groups (up to Group 6). The earliest maturity products are then shipped back to the U.S. in March, with the latest maturity groups arriving in April, just in time for the U.S. planting season. 

Essentially, what we’re doing in South America, we’re mirroring in the U.S. The programs are just six months apart.  Every process we do in the U.S., we do in South America. The crosses for U.S. seed and our South American brand come around full circle, and it all comes down to one thing — yield. 

Timing and logistics

Because there is little to no downtime between seasons in the U.S. and South America, timing and details are of the essence. This is referred to as contra-season production as it’s a quick-turn process.

“It’s a rapid return. You have to start making selections right away. You have to be ready to ship, have your logistics in place. Once you get into the first week or so of November, you’ve got to have seed moving. You’ve got to have it planted,” notes Pentico. “Our goal is to have the majority of everything planted by Dec. 1. That’s a timely date just so we can make sure we have the harvest started at the end of February and have it here ready for us the first of April.”

Items Pentico and his team plan for to accommodate the short turnaround include what seed is being transported, the mode of transportation, the fields and row configurations the seed will go on and be planted to, and the completion of the phytosanitary certificate —official documentation that the seed has been inspected and meets the current regulations of the importing country — among other items.

“We ship the seed on Thursdays, it flies over the weekend, and then heads to the farm on Monday or Tuesday of that next week … They plan ahead, so when it arrives at their facility, they already know what’s there and where it’s going to be planted,” says Pentico on the process to ship seed from the U.S. to South America.

On the way back to the U.S., seed sometimes ships twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and flies to Miami, where it is then trucked back to our facilities for planting.

Farming in South America

Pentico notes that the climate of South America during the planting season is much like that of Tennessee and the southern U.S.

“We’re very impressed with the quality of soil we have to work with. It’s good, black soil; it yields very high,” he says.

What is unique, however, is that they can grow all maturity groups in one area in Argentina — Group 0s through Group 6s. Pentico and his team have been impressed with the high yields across the board, especially with the earlier maturity material.

This year, in particular, Pentico predicts a great season.

“This year, I was very impressed with all the fields and all the research that I looked at. We had very good stand, great emergence. Things were growing very well. We had some rain while I was there, and in the last three weeks, we’ve received some more timely rains, so we’re set up to have a great crop,” says Pentico.

Program growth

Since Stine first started contra-season production in 1996 in Argentina with a company called Don Mario, we have continued to send more seed and equipment down to the region each year. In 2020, we purchased our own production facilities and began hiring employees to run our program. Now, we’ve trained 30+ people with our entity in Argentina alone to keep up with the growth of our operation, including the products we produce for the Stine brand in the U.S. and South America.

“Recently, we had our first soybean product show up in the U.S. catalog that began at our South America project. We truly have two programs complementing each other,” says Pentico.

Each year, we continue to grow the program. The more seed we send to our off-season production facilities, the more varieties we can introduce into the marketplace both in South America and the U.S.

“The volume of material that we handle every year is amazing,” says Pentico. “It’s amazing that we’re able to do the volumes we have in the program and successfully bring many new varieties to the market every year. We challenge ourselves every year to make sure we continue to be the genetic leader in the marketplace.”

Learn more about our off-season production in South America on this episode of the Stine Seedcast. If you’re interested in learning more about our research of products, contact your local Stine sales rep for more information.