Building a successful seed company requires a myriad of conditions including the right products, the right timing and the right leadership. By integrating a well-know brand into that mix, Golden Acres has made the challenge easier.
In 1999, veteran Texas seedsman Bernard Selensky and a relative newcomer to the seed business, Lou Buice, combined their skills and experience to organize Golden Acres Genetics, Ltd. Their new company centered on the rebirth of the Golden Acres® brand, a regional Southern name that had been discontinued six years earlier.
In 1993, Mycogen Corporation, owner of Golden Acres® and two other regional brands (see Historic Timeline), consolidated their products into one brand. They then discontinued use of the regional brands.
A New Beginning
The rebirth of Golden Acres® began in 1999 when Selensky, area sales director for Mycogen Seeds, learned that Dow AgroSciences, which had become Mycogen’s sole owner in 1998, intended to divest its southern corn and sorghum business.
Dow AgroSciences officials had decided that Mycogen’s sorghum products did not fit their strategic direction. With no sorghum to sell, Dow AgroSciences could not justify maintaining Mycogen’s existing sales force to market corn in Texas and surrounding states.
After learning of the Dow AgroSciences decision, Selensky and Buice, Mycogen’s area business development manager, discussed the matter informally. That conversation gave rise to an interesting idea: Could Mycogen’s southern division be reborn in a new company via an employee buyout, led by Selensky and Buice?
Although risky, owning a company also promised rewards. “For me, it was the challenge to see if we could do on our own what we had done for other companies,” says Selensky.
After the two spent hours drafting a proposal, Buice pitched their plan to Dow AgroSciences officials who initially rejected the proposal. A month later Dow AgroSciences officials offered to resume talks.
“That was a gut-wrenching time for us,” says Selensky, “But we decided to pursue Dow’s renewed interest in our proposal and as a result, we signed a final agreement on August 11, 1999.”
Rebirth of the Brand
Bernard Selensky (left) and Lou Buice established Golden Acres Genetics, Ltd. in 1999 and revived Golden Acres®, a well-known Southern regional seed brand.
After extensive consideration, Buice and Selensky resurrected the Golden Acres® brand name for the new company. First used in 1952, the Golden Acres seed line was widely popular in the southern United States and had been used by different parent companies through the years.
“We knew from our personal experience that the Golden Acres names still had a lot of brand equity with our customers,” Buice recalls, “Back when Agrigenetics owned the Growers, Oro and Golden Acres brands, the Golden Acres brand was found to have the highest product performance rating and credibility of all the southern brands.”
Brand in hand, Buice and Selensky had to convince the existing sales representatives, dealers, and distributors that they were long-term players. “There was a misconception that we might just sell off the carry-over inventory and fold,” says Buice. “The recent history of transitions was something we had to overcome.”
Buice and Selensky decided to commit to growing inventory before they knew if their first year would be successful. This helped convince former Mycogen employees that Golden Acres was a long-term player.
All the former Mycogen marketing network joined with Golden Acres Genetics to continue serving their existing customers with the revived Golden Acres brand.
A move that further reinforced Golden Acres’ credibility while doubling their seed line was the acquisition of the southern marketing rights to Cargill brand corn and sorghum products from Dow AgroSciences.
“There wasn’t a lot of overlap between our products and the Cargill products, but the move filled holes in each line,” Buice says. “As a result, our customers were the winners because we developed a larger product portfolio and lowered our cost of doing business in the marketplace.”
In 2011 Golden Acres expanded into Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska with the purchase of Syngenta’s sorghum business. The takeover allowed Golden Acres to add standout hybrids from Garst and Golden Harvest to an already impressive product lineup as another way of pursuing the mission to “professionally serve farmers with custom seed solutions that cultivate independence and success.”
Faith and Values
Golden Acres Genetics was built on the moral principles that reflect the founders’ beliefs and values. For example, agriculturally-related scripture references are printed on the seed bags.
According to Buice, customers have responded favorably. “Feedback has been great,” he says. “Unequivocally, customers expressed their support.”
“We are an independent, southern-focused seed supplier delivering the highest quality products with the most value to the customer,” says Buice. “It’s a continuous challenge, but we are making it a reality.”
No one can say folks the ag industry aren’t up for a good fight.
