Seed Company Executives Discuss Lessons Learned From COVID-19 Pandemic
St. Louis, MO (March 4, 2021) - An Executive Roundtable panel with representatives from Syngenta, Bayer Crop Science, Corteva Agriscience, and BASF discussed Thursday during the Special Edition of Commodity Classic the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their companies and the agriculture industry.
The Commodity Classic is taking place online this week due to restrictions from the pandemic.
Justin Wolfe
Justin Wolfe, North America regional director for Syngenta Seeds, says there are lessons that the company will take forward as it keeps safety first.
“As we enter the second spring with changes in place, we’re excited to get out,” Wolfe says. “Teams have stepped up to find ways to get the job done. The measures that were put in place have been effective.”
Chris Turner
Changes have been made in the day-to-day operations throughout Bayer, says Chris Turner, U.S. country division head at Bayer Crop Science.
“When we were first thrown into the pandemic, we all had to adjust,” Turner says. “We quickly scrambled and put together safety protocols. We’re still adhering to that today.”
Some of the changes, especially in terms of technology, he says are likely to stay.
“We’ve reached more people with our training platform through virtual means,” Turner says. “It’s at their convenience. A lot of bad has happened in the pandemic, but also a lot of good. Technology is available now that 20 years ago some of this would have been tough.”
Judd O'Connor
The use of digital tools has accelerated in the past year, says Judd O’Connor, president, U.S. commercial business at Corteva Agriscience. In some cases, he says that’s happened a decade quicker than it would have otherwise and many of the newly-adopted tools being used will stick around.
“For an industry that values face-to-face relationships, we’re still reaching a lot of people,” O’Connor says. “It’s expanding their reach. The next step will be setting the new normal expectations and deciding who to bring back to work and who will continue working remotely. I don’t see a scenario to go back to the way it was.”
Scott Kay
BASF has taken an employee safety first approach across the world, says Scott Kay, vice president of U.S. crop protection at BASF. By keeping its employees and customers safe, Kay says that has enabled the company to continue fulfilling the supply needs of its customers.
“We’re looking forward to doing the same thing again in 2021,” he says.
Kay points out that R&D staff have continued to report to work throughout the pandemic, as the company’s research work is ongoing.
“Innovation is the lifeblood at BASF,” Kay says. “We amazingly got it all done.”
In addition, he says closer relationships with customers have been formed.
“In some cases, we talk to customers more as we cut out travel time,” Kay says. “We’ve seen some real benefits to come out of this.”
The panel also discussed the sustainability efforts of their companies and the agriculture industry.
Written by Chris Lusvardi, Seed Today editor