Bayer: Professional seed treatment is becoming more and more important in Brazil

In Brazil, professional seed treatment is becoming more and more important. Six years ago, around 5% of soy seeds underwent professional treatment. Now, that figure has risen to approximately 30%.

In Brazil, many customers such as Sementes Goiás benefit from the competence of the Bayer SeedGrowth Services team.

The seed treatment company Sementes Goiás has been a player from the very beginning. “We had one of the first machines from Bayer in Brazil,” remembers Luis Eduardo Salomão from Sementes Goiás. “At the beginning, we had difficulties operating and adjusting them.”

The seed company did a good job but struggled with perfection. With the establishment of the Brazilian SeedGrowth Center in Paulína in 2011, the situation changed for the better. “From the very first day, the presence of Bayer experts has helped us and given us the confidence that we are doing the right thing,” says Luis Eduardo Salomão. “Our goal is to deliver the best seed with the best treatment, and Bayer is our partner.”

Bayer SeedGrowth™ Services addressed the issues on site in two steps. First, they inspected all the treatment equipment and set up the machines. Afterwards, they implemented a successful operator training initiative. Now, Sementes Goiás has a better understanding of how to produce superior seeds of an even higher quality – and they pay more attention to operator safety issues. The Services team also helps Sementes Goiás maintain and improve treatment quality. With their state-of-the-art laboratory, Bayer SeedGrowth Services is able to determine the exact quality of the seed in terms of dust emission, flowability, and plantability.

Hotline to ensure high-quality support

Bayer’s job is not finished once everything has been set up properly – they stay in close contact with their customers throughout the year. Sementes Goiás can always call the Bayer Services hotline free of charge. Since there is a remote access system set up for providing support to treaters in Brazil, Bayer can solve 80 % of the issues on the phone in less than an hour. “It’s a simple tool which helps us with any problems we face,” says Luis Eduardo Salomão. “The Bayer SeedGrowth Services engineers can check the machines, suggest adjustments, and improve the performance of the equipment.”

This around-the-clock service gives the customer peace of mind. “We worried that the machines could break down in the middle of the seed treatment period,” remembers the seed expert. “Today we no longer have this concern. Bayer is always there for us – even on holidays and weekends.” The numbers speak for themselves: in 2015 and 2016, downtime for Bayer equipment in Brazil was less than 1 %.

The Bayer SeedGrowth Center team Brazil, which is also supported by seven agronomists who are focused on professional seed treatment and stewardship, got great feedback on their work. Sementes Goiás understands the equipment, the overall treatment quality has been improved, and, most importantly, they learned more about quality, health, safety, and environmental (QHSE) standards. That’s a true win-win situation for everyone involved.