Pro-Seed USA is a game changer for growers

Working as a partner with a farmer is the best recipe for success.

Pro-Seed USA, Des Moines, Iowa, shares that philosophy as the company knows every detail is important to an operation’s success, and that includes crop seed. Pro-Seed USA sells corn, soybean, sorghum and alfalfa seeds to growers in 40 states while spending valuable hours helping customers. (Sponsored content)

That philosophy was adopted in the 1980s when the family-owned business was doing land acquisitions for investors and for its own use in the Mississippi Delta, the Midwest and the West.

“It was a tough time back then with the farm crisis,” states General Manager R.W. Mitchell. “During that period, it dawned on me that several of the land deals involved tenant farmers who were growing corn, soybeans, sorghum and alfalfa. That made it natural we should be selling them their seed.”

We began by selling tenants seed corn, and over the years it has evolved into Pro-Seed USA selling seed corn, soybeans, sorghum and alfalfa direct to farmers nationwide at wholesale prices. Pro-Seed USA sells new name brand seeds to customers in 40 states. No generic brown bag stuff!

Many of our core customers are small- to medium-sized farmers, plus Pro-Seed USA sells to large operations.

Pro-Seed USA is willing to spend as much time as possible talking with customers. “We add value we can count in dollars other companies just cannot. Twenty-four hours a day we will talk to customers about anything farming they have questions about,” and the company looks for answers tirelessly.

Questions often revolve around variety selection, agronomy, equipment and financing. Pro-Seed USA asks customers their soil types, farming practices and many other questions that are important to growing a successful crop.

“When we do our job, our customer is satisfied.” “We have a 98%+ retention rate.” Other companies don’t even come close to that, the company said.

Pro-Seed USA starts with building relationships—even with something as simple as a telephone call or text. The company keeps thousands of electronic notes about each customer’s production business.

The company’s guarantee is stated on its website proseedusa.com. “Pro-Seed USA promises to sell you name brand products, not a generic brand. And we’re more than just a seed distributor—we’re the people you can get honest answers from about any aspect of your business.”

Value added is important to Pro-Seed USA because customers understand the Pro-Seed USA philosophy, “Helping customers more profitably grow corn and other crops”.

“It’s not always about adding more fertilizer or buying the highest priced seed. It’s more important selecting the proper seed plus having us help look for your best and lowest cost agronomy solutions.

“We are big on not over applying fertilizer and chemicals,” Mitchell says. “We have grown thousands of acres of our own crops over the years, making us proven to help customers simply make more money.”

Relationship building puts trust in Pro-Seed USA, and “nothing speaks louder than when I personally help a customer cut costs and make more money so they can live a better life,” states Mitchell. This is reflected in testimonials on the website www.proseedusa.com

“Providing great extra value keeps them coming back,” Mitchell said. He shares a common goal with growers who want higher yields but also want and need more profit. “That’s the bottom line.”

One approach he shares with growers is that input costs swing up and down, but if they stay flexible, they can also position themselves to be more profitable.

“When fertilizer costs are high, we apply just the minimal need of P, K, Lime, Gypsum. We don’t need to spend extra time and money building up the soil when we need to survive. When fertilizer costs are low, we can spend some extra resources to build up the soils further.”

Historically that model has worked well because of price cycles. When grain prices are high, so are input costs such as fertilizer and fuel.

Mitchell’s advice to growers is to have a mindset that they should strive to have money in cash reserves so, when input costs are low, they can invest additional resources into the soil. Farmers and landowners understand the best way to stay profitable is to keep costs down and control the expenses that are controllable. For more information, call 515-322-7601 or visit www.proseedusa.com.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].