This is a special section from “Inside the Seed Industry.” You can find the article in Farm Journal’s 2013 Seed Guide issue.
These maps, provided by the respective companies, highlight the national and regional seed brands for the five leading seed firms.
Kent Schulze, an associate with Cornland Consulting, says companies do their best to eliminate overlap of products and provide clear differences between national and regional brands.
“In other cases, overlap is allowed in an attempt to gain additional coverage,” he says.
Additionally, companies reap benefits by having both a national and regional presence. Rod Osthus, president of the R.C. Thomas Company, a seed sales training firm, says competition is high at a regional level, as many regional brands have strong name recognition with customers.
“Managing and advertising all those brands is a lot of work. I think they will continue to fold those in, which will help reduce confusion at the customer level,” Osthus adds.
To learn more about how the top five seed companies have evolved through the years, including an updated seed family tree, visit www.FarmJournal.com/seed_family_tree
DuPont Pioneer
*These companies also continue to
sell products under their own brands.
**PROaccess Distribution Agreements
AgReliant Genetics
Monsanto Company
Dow AgroSciences
