Washington Court House, Ohio, USA
January 11, 2011

DuPont, which owns Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (PHI), acquired Seed Consultants, Inc., Ohio’s largest independent seed company in late December. The acquisition was part of the PROaccess℠ business strategy that enables PHI to make available its seed genetics to more growers through a network of distributors. Terral Seed in Lake Providence, La., was also acquired at year end.

The seed industry has undergone major transformations since Chris Jeffries and Dan Fox started Seed Consultants in 1990. In the late 1990s, corn and soybean production was forever changed with the release of genetically modified seed. Changes have accelerated rapidly and the options for trait technology have increased dramatically.

Dan Fox (left) and Chris Jeffries

Large seed companies make a major investment to research and develop traits. The stakes are high in this high dollar game and once the major players make the huge investment in traits, they are in it to win. Disputes are inevitable, and while the legions of lawyers battle it out, SCI has been caught in the crossfire.

SCI president Chris Jeffries said that the potential for a legal decision to limit or eliminate his company’s ability to access traits was going to be too risky in the future. “The writing was on the wall, and in this business you have to pick sides.” As part of the major company’s lawsuits, SCI’s records are subpoenaed every several months. “I don’t want a federal judge determining whether or not we can deliver our seed,” Jeffries said.

“Nobody is suing us, but we could end up being collateral damage with all of the big guys fighting each other. If one of these lawsuits goes the wrong way, it could hurt our employees and our customers. Our customers trust us, and I am not taking a chance on letting my customers down.” Jeffries believes the decision will solidify SCI’s position long term and benefit SCI customers and employees.

“This change will allow us to be as big as the biggest when it comes to germplasm and technologies and yet be the same family company we have always been with respect to service, business practices and values. We anticipate no management or personnel changes, and we will continue to operate as an independent business unit,” Jeffries said.

Website: http://www.seedconsultants.com

Published: January 11, 2011