AgriGold, the company known for producing seed corn since 1936, announced it is expanding its offerings to soybeans. The announcement was made at the National Farm Machinery Show.

Why soybeans, why now? Andy Montgomery, national sales manager with AgriGold, says it is something customers have been asking for.

“For us, it came down to three key drivers,” Montgomery says. “It was the customer experience, the product, and the demand. We put all of that together and realized the timing was right.”

“Being in corn only, and as we have expanded across the entire corn belt, customers were saying, we want to buy soybeans from you, too,” Montgomery continues. “We really only serviced half the farm. Now it gives us the opportunity to service the entire farm the AgriGold way.”

AgriGold is a company that prides itself on having a direct relationship with customers. Typically its seed is sold direct to the farm through its corn specialists and field advisors.

“Growers like that experience,” he says. “So we wanted to couple that with a really strong corn offering and select soybean offering, all delivered with unmatched customer service.”

“For us, it is more than just seed,” he says. “Anybody can deliver a high quality soybean."

Entering the soybean business

When asked about its germplasm, Montgomery says they will access germplasm across the entire industry from all the major players, starting with AgReliant Genetics, its parent company.

The company will have access to the same seed technology available to the industry. Montgomery  says the explosion in soybean seed technology in recent years is another reason the timing was right to get into soybeans.

 “Now there is an equal amount of technology and innovation on the soybean side as there has been on corn side for the last 15 or 16 years, especially with the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans, and the Enlist soybeans coming down the pipeline.”

Launch timing

AgriGold plans a limited release for 2017 with a more extensive offering in 2018.

When asked about the sales goals its first year out, Montgomery says while the growth will be important, they key measure will be the customer experience.

“We want to go out there this first year and dip our toe into market and make sure we do it right,” he says. “In year one, we want our customers to have the exact same experience with soybean seed as they have with corn for years. That is how we will gauge success.  If the customers like it and see the same customer service they have had with corn, I think we will have success.”

For more information, visit agrigold.com.