Beware the Lure of “Cheap Seed”

Pssst! Hey, Buddy….wanna buy a bag of soybeans…cheap?

It’s the time of year that bargain bags are showing up, with companies trying to move low-value soybean seed out of their inventory. So they put together amazingly “good” deals to try to move lower quality products out of their warehouse before it’s too late. Some even offer free bags just to try to keep your acres in their product or placate customers when products don’t perform well.

We know you’ve heard it a million times, but we’re here to say it again: With seed – as with everything in life – you get what you pay for.

While discount seed may sound like a good deal on first blush, when you look more deeply, you’ll find the difference between low-yielding cheap beans and high-yielding Stine soybean products makes a significant impact in your profitability potential.

For example: If your 500-acre farm produces an average of 45 bushels per acre with $20 per bag seed, rather than the very achievable 55 bushels per acre with $28 per unit seed, you could leave behind as much as $55 worth of value for every acre you plant. Multiply that by your 500 acres and that amounts to $27,500 you’re losing out on because of one decision—making your seed purchase based on per bag cost.

So, in the end, that few dollars per bag that you might have saved on “bargain” seed was no bargain at all. At Stine, we feel as strongly about the value of our genetics as you do about your farm…when you put the best in, you get the best out. And when it comes to real value, you’ve got it with Stine.