Meristem launches seed treatment replant program geared to save soybean farmers millions

Date:11-20-2020

"It's Time to Buy Naked Beans and Customize Seed Treatment for Less…the Next Step in Our Mission to Return Big Money to the Pockets of American Farmers."

Saving American farmers up to 50 percent on high quality seed treatment while providing the peace of mind of a 100 percent replant benefit is the mission behind a new offer from Meristem Crop Performance announced Thursday.

"It's time to give farmers a way to save money at the farm gate by buying their beans naked and customizing their seed treatment for a much lower cost," explains Mitch Eviston, Meristem Founder and CEO in announcing the offer. It's the first time such a replant offer has been made, he says, and it's the next step for Meristem in disrupting an agricultural supply chain where he sees bloated margins for large corporations and national distributors becoming too commonplace. "We're on a mission to return big money to the pockets of American farmers," says Eviston.

By creating a replant reinsurance program that fits with a seed company's untreated or "naked" soybean policy, he says, Meristem is able bring savings to more growers who currently might be reluctant to try RACEREADY, Meristem's premium seed treatment product.

"Farmers are trapped into spending too much money on soybean seed treatment as a bundled expense," explains Rob McClelland, Meristem President and Chief Marketing Officer. He says prices for seed treatment are often included in the price of seed, so some companies keep fat seed treatment margins concealed inside the price, making their true value difficult to evaluate.

"You are likely to spend, on average, about $40 on the seed and $18 on the seed treatment, though it may be hidden to you in the overall price," he explains. "By buying naked beans and treating with Meristem's RACEREADYTM, the farmer can treat the same beans for a lot less and gain an immediate savings of about $15,000 on 2,000 acres of soybeans." He says Meristem has now leveraged an innovative risk management solution involving precision technology and deep experience to reduce the risk of changing practices.

John Martin, owner of Integrated Seed Solutions, Flanagan, Ill., sees entrepreneurial efforts like Meristem's as important to breaking down the barrier farmers face with bundled costs of germplasm, genetics and seed treatment. "Our stated goal is to help growers participate in the next $100 of revenue potential per acre," says Martin. "If we're to help soybean producers gain more profitability out of each acre, they need to know the individual costs of the inputs to make the best choices for their specific fields and farms."

Benefits of seed treatments are clear from research, according to The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). They report a 3.6 percent yield benefit in treated soybeans versus un-treated, or about 1.7 bushel, given the national average yield of 47.4 in 2019. But university studies show adverse planting conditions often pushing that number beyond 5-bushel/acre or more. At $10/bushel, that represents an income difference of $17,000 - $50,000 across a thousand acres.

Meristem adds savings on top of those yield benefits with quality seed treatment customized for more local field conditions, at the same time making the price transparent so producers can evaluate the yield advantage and ROI on their own.