Bayer CropScience celebrates 100 years of innovation in seed treatment

Bayer CropScience recently celebrated its anniversary marking “100 years of innovation in seed treatment” together with customers, industrial partners and other stakeholders at the ISF World Seed Congress in Beijing, China. “Today, we are celebrating one century of innovations from Bayer that have benefited the entire seed treatment value chain and changed the world of farming for the better,” said Martin Gruss, Head of SeedGrowth Products at Bayer CropScience, during his dinner speech at the “Bayer SeedGrowth Birthday Party” in the garden of the MGM Hotel on Tuesday, May 27.


"We are placing our trust above all in the four areas – products, coatings, equipment and services – that make up our fully integrated system for on-seed application under our strong Bayer SeedGrowth™ competence brand.” Bayer CropScience’s aim is to continue building on its competitive position as a world-class innovation company turning scientific knowledge into innovative products and solutions to support farmers in feeding the world in a sustainable way, Gruss said in his remarks over dinner. “Entering our second century of seed treatment, we will pave the way for more groundbreaking achievements in the future."

“Greater China is Bayer's third largest single market globally and the first in Asia-Pacific,” Rob Hulme, Country Head of Bayer CropScience Greater China, added. “And Chinese farmers increasingly see the importance to protect high-quality seeds. We are committed to further invest in this attractive market, to bring the most innovative seed treatment technologies and products to China.”

Bayer CropScience has been present at the Orient MGM International Conference and Exhibition Hotel during the ISF Seed World Congress 2014 from May 26-28. The company is serving as the main sponsor of this important event.

Positive business development in the first quarter of 2014

Thanks to the strong demand for high-quality seeds and state-of-the-art crop protection products, Bayer CropScience's SeedGrowth business achieved gratifying growth and posted record sales of EUR 921 million in 2013. The company also developed very positively in the first quarter of 2014 – sales advanced by plus 19.1 percent (currency- and portfolio-adjusted) against prior-year quarter – and is targeting further growth in the future. Bayer CropScience will continue investing in the development of new chemical and biological seed treatments as well as new film coatings and application technologies. The company is also continously investing in the stewardship programs necessary for treated seed to meet strict safety and environmental standards.

Further growth with biological seed treatments

The past 100 years have seen numerous innovations in seed treatment from Bayer. In a move aimed at further expanding its global SeedGrowth business, Bayer CropScience has acquired Biagro Group, Argentina. Biagro’s portfolio of established brands includes seed-applied inoculants, plant growth-promoting microorganisms and other products based on bacterial and fungal strains.

“Biagro’s product range is a valuable addition to our portfolio and will bring benefits to every player in the seed treatment chain,” said Martin Gruss. “We will provide soybean farmers in Argentina, Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America with biological easy-to-use solutions for on-seed and in-furrow application to meet their productivity demands.”

Bayer SeedGrowth™: a strong competence brand

Bayer CropScience supports its customers with innovative seed treatment solutions based on chemical and biological mode of action, adhesive agents, coating technologies, state-of-the-art equipment for optimized application, in-house expertise and services – a combination that is unique in the industry.