By Brad Gage, VP Commercial Sales
What other industry relies so heavily upon the weather, other than meteorologists! Battling the uncertainties in their daily work certainly propels farmers to find the most efficient and effective production methods. They rely on industry to deliver. I know since I am a farmer, and I run an agricultural supply company in Northwest Missouri.
The acceleration of innovation and technology required to meet farmers’ demands also sparks increased competition. Farmers are fully vested in their jobs and stay up-to-date on the latest technology from farm inputs and equipment to the business management.
In our ever-changing free market, agribusiness suppliers seek a competitive advantage to meet the escalating demands for greater productivity on the farm. The large global firms are no different. In the case of the pending Bayer acquisition of Monsanto, this combination company will have the opportunity to integrate offerings for improved efficiency from the seed and inputs to on-farm production data for better decisions. They, no doubt, will be more innovative and deliver more and better products for use on the farm. But they certainly will not be alone in serving the needs of farmers. Thousands of innovative bioscience companies are striving to fill the growing need for greater productivity. The mergers and acquisitions are inevitable as innovations move from research and development into full scale commercialization.
Huge investments are needed for enhanced solutions and optimized product offerings including analytical agronomic insight supported by digital farming applications. The largest investments are no longer made by the public Universities or government entities. In today’s competitive environment, we rely on private industry and this is bittersweet. Few recognize the years and financial investment that goes into successful products. Recognizing all the innovations that have come from Monsanto also brings out the desire for competitive products.
Every basic manufacturer from FMC, Valent, BASF, Syngenta, Bayer, Dow to Monsanto and all the others work to be good providers to the American farmer. Without private industry investing in innovations and competing, we would not continue to grow more and more to reach the goal of feeding the world.
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Brad Gage is the second-generation in a family-owned business in Northwest Missouri. Started in 1988 by Steve Gage as Gage Fertilizer in Stanberry, MO, the company today is called GFG Ag Services, LLC. Brad is one of three in the Gage family to work in the business. He is in charge of the retail agronomy services including seed, chemicals and custom application.
GFG Ag Service location in Bethany, MO includes a 1-million-bushel country grain elevator with feed milling capacity.
