New President takes the Reins at Michigan-based Seed Company, Outlines Goals
What consumers need and want from the products they buy increasingly shapes the crops U.S. farmers grow.
Janna Fritz understands that dynamic well, and it informs her perspective of the seed industry and marketplace as the new president of Michigan-based DF Seeds. The company markets soybeans, wheat, corn, triticale and alfalfa seed products that are tailored to meet Michigan farmers’ soils and environment.
At the same time, Fritz says DF Seeds understands the global needs its customers and other U.S. farmers are working hard to address.
“Less than 2% of the U.S is directly involved in agriculture, so farmers are a small component of the total population. And yet, everyone eats, everyone has to fuel a vehicle, and everyone has to put clothes on their back,” she says.
That understanding of consumer needs drives Fritz’s commitment to education – to continually talk with people she meets from all walks of life as she travels about the state and the U.S., championing agriculture.
“My passion is to tell as many people as possible about the value of agriculture, to help keep it productive and profitable,” she says. “We need it, and we have to keep telling people why agriculture is necessary.”
While Fritz works to accomplish that goal on the job, she also walks the walk of agriculture routinely at home on the farm with her husband, Joel and two sons. The family grows 1,500 acres of crops, including soybeans, corn, wheat and dry edible beans in Huron County, located in the Michigan thumb region.
“I want people to know I’ve had some of the same experiences farming they’ve had. We’ve had the good times and weathered storms, too, and our family farm has shaped my tenure in agriculture,” she says.
A Farmer By Choice
Fritz’s life today is far removed from where she was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs. Yet, marrying into a farming operation and working in the agriculture industry in a variety of roles – most recently as CEO of the Michigan Soybean Committee and Michigan Soybean Association – have equipped her for her new role.
“We've got great bean yields here in Michigan, but to do the things that keep farmers profitable, we have to think slightly differently rather than just growing bushel upon bushel of production,” Fritz says. “We have the ability as a company to help farmers look at alternatives – specialty seed varieties that can help them tap into a bit of a premium or a specialty market.”
“Michigan farmers need consistent, high-protein soybean varieties for production and to be a reliable supplier to overseas markets as well,” adds Colin Steen, CEO of Legacy Agripartners, the parent company of DF Seeds.
Michigan’s environment – a diverse geography surrounded by the Great Lakes – allows farmers to grow soybeans for the identity-preserved food-grade soybean market, primarily for tofu in Asia. Such markets want high-protein, clear-hilum, non-GMO soybeans, Steen says.
The soybean variety DF Seeds produces for that market offers high levels of protein of about 40% to 42%. The variety was developed in a partnership between the Michigan Agricultural Commodities, a DF Seeds dealer and IP soybean processor, and Michigan State University.
DF Seeds also offers high-yielding, feed-grade soybeans for the domestic oil and crush markets.
Along with increasing market opportunities in the U.S. and abroad for Michigan-grown soybeans, DF Seeds provides farmers with agronomic benefits, including a range of both offensive and defensive traits, Steen notes.
Global Outlook, Local Focus
Another growth area for DF Seeds is in Michigan’s dairy industry. High-production dairies there are fueled by high-quality alfalfa-based hay and forages.
Wheat is also an area of focus for DF Seeds. “With all that’s happening in Russia and Ukraine, that has magnified the wheat market and the need for high-quality wheat products for baked goods and our Michigan soft white winter wheat,” Fritz says.
While the company has a global outlook, Fritz says it remains a company that’s laser focused on what Michigan farmers need – a singular goal since the company was founded in 1969.
“We want to ensure continued growth for Michigan farmers, to help grow their business at the local level through our commodity differentiating products,” she says. “What that means for me is having the ability to share the DF Seeds brand with more farmers in Michigan, to tell our story and be a good fit and an asset to them.”
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