WE DELIVER SYSTEMS THAT WORK. Our products perform year in and year out. We expect them to because of the investment that went into their development. Naturally you expect them to because you depend on them. But in today’s economic environment, it’s not enough to plant and hope. At Agricom we work to replace hope with confidence. We do this through the expertise and commitment of our people, who work with you to integrate our products into your system for maximum gain. Our people through their knowledge and expertise, ensure you optimise those tools. That sets us apart. Call us on 0800 183 358 or visit Advance Agriculture today. AGC 2216 ADVANCE AGRICULTURE Ltd SUPPLY PROUD TO Staying at the cutting edge Reflecting on the key elements that make a company successful is always an interesting exercise, and one such example is Canterbury based Agricom, a company that invests in research and development of forage options, and subsequently wholesales its products. Agricom’s roots go back to the mid-eighties when it was founded by Mid-Canterbury farmer John McKenzie, who saw an opportunity for a proprietary forage business in New Zealand. With a limited starting point, John forged enduring relationships with AgResearch and Crop & Food - now known as Plant & Food Research - seeking appropriate opportunities around germ plasm/ forage lines. While that did lead to opportunities, one real break came when DSIR exited plant breeding. DSIR had breeders, germ plasm, and research sites in Southland, Canterbury, Manawatu, Waikato, but subsequently funding was turned off . With the support of others, John was able to invest into DSIR’s channels to keep the opportunities going, and it meant people had jobs. Agricom grew from a South Island operation with just a handful of forage products to one that had national application and forages for a whole range of different farm types. Today, Agricom is part of PGG Wrighton’s Seed business, which is headed by John, and markets over 55 different forages - a very comprehensive range, with no forage category unrepresented. Lincoln remains Agricom’s Head Office. With a team of 23 the business provides a Northland to Southland reach. “We have eight territory sales managers, supported by agronomists, product development and an animal nutritionist specialist, marketing and customer personell,” says Mark Brown, National Sales and Marketing Manager. “The farming community are the end-users of our products, and we wholesale to rural retailers such as Advance Agriculture. Our relationship with Advance Agriculture goes back to when they first started twenty years ago. We support rural retailers on farm by telling the technical story, understanding the fit, demands and requirements of their clients - the farmer.” Mark says a strong partner relationship exists between Agricom and the retailers around the farming fraternity to understand what farmers are striving to achieve. “Situations such as; where are they running out of feed, what system are they trying to fulfill, what shoulder season opportunities are they trying to achieve? Once we understand what they’re trying to achieve, we will plant forages into their system, or develop systems for them. It might be a two, three, four year plan that we put in place so that the farmer has some idea about how the whole journey might look.” By invitation, Agricom accompanies the retailers on farm, particularly when there is a more complex situation or a new product to talk about, so everyone benefits from that update. Mark says forming very good relationships and joint ventures with organisations like AgResearch and Plant & Food Research, and making good business decisions at key moments in time coupled with good people and being prepared to be patient has been key to Agricom’s success. “We have employed some wonderful people over time and building relationships with retailers and the end-users is also obviously extremely important.”
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