Meristem and ForeFront Ag Solutions announce agreement

Meristem Crop Performance Group, LLC and ForeFront Ag Solutions announced a new strategic supply agreement to serve Indiana farmers. 

Under the new relationship, the Meristem Crop Performance product line becomes a key component of ForeFront’s new crop input offering and ForeFront Ag Solutions becomes Meristem’s ally in helping farmers make the most of every dollar they spend on crop inputs. 

“Erich Eller and his family have built a solid business all about serving farmers with knowledge and insight,” says Mitch Eviston, Meristem managing director, in announcing the agreement. “We’re excited to be connected with such a quality operation.”  Eller’s wife Jennifer also works at ForeFront, along with his two teenaged children. 

As an independent crop consultant, Eller says in the past, he has avoided representing individual products to growers, providing information to make good decisions, but remaining agnostic about crop inputs and suppliers. Now he’s changing that approach after seeing an opportunity to improve the return on investment (ROI) for every client he serves. 

“I’m adding the Meristem portfolio to my operation so that I can bring high quality products to my growers in a way that will save them money,” he explains. “They can then use that money to pursue other goals they have for their farm.” 

Eller has deep experience with crop inputs, having worked in the past as a seed sales manager for Syngenta, agronomist for a local crop input retailer and specialist for a John Deere dealership. All of it is helpful in providing the best information to help growers make the best possible decisions every season. Eller’s wife Jennifer and their two teen-aged children also work in the business, keeping records, taking soil samples and organizing recommendations. He says his job as a consultant is to first help farmers envision the progress they want to make through time, then take the next steps toward that with every crop season.

“It’s my intent to help them put the puzzle together,” he says. “When you buy a puzzle, there’s a picture on the box. I’m trying to help them get a good picture of where they want to be, then we go about putting the pieces of that puzzle together,” he explains. He says Meristem Crop Performance products are an important piece of that puzzle.

“We need these good products that can cut the cost per acre and increase ROI,” he explains. “Many of the inputs growers currently use have become too expensive to even pay for themselves in higher yields,” he says. “And when that happens, you are no longer farming for yourself, you are farming for those big companies.” 

ForeFront Ag Solutions will now offer Meristem’s initial product portfolio, including seed treatments under the brand RACEREADY™, REVLINE™ plant growth regulators, TRUTRACK™ drift control, AQUADRAFT™ water conditioners and surfactants, UPSHIFT™ starter fertilizers and HOMESTRETCH™ nitrogen stabilizers, micronutrients, and foliar nutritionals. 

“We’ve set up Meristem to be the lean provider of high-quality crop input additives to help American farmers cut costs and increase yields,” says Eviston. “Now, with Erich’s help, we’ll be able to connect with more of the farmers who can benefit.”