Dairyland Seed Co.

History and Background of Dairyland Seed Company

* Founded by Simon and Andrew Strachota in 1907

* On Andrew's retirement, Simon led the company, which later was taken over by his son Orville after his sudden death

* Initially began as Strachota Seeds

* Operated out of family's general store in eastern Wisconsin

* Primary product - White Dutch Clover Seed

* Production was shifted to alfalfa seed due to decline in White Dutch Clover Seed Market

* Alfalfa seed - a product would grow in demand driven by Wisconsin dairy farmers searching for better forages for their cows

* In 1963, company name was changed to Dairyland Seed Company

* Jointly managed by Orville Strachota's three sons, Steve (president), Tom (CEO) and John (vice-president)

* Private company with majority stock owned by the Strachota family

* Dairy land is the only American family owned seed company with proprietary research in alfalfa, corn and soy beans

* Company is divided into seven functional operational areas: management, finance, research, production, distribution, marketing and sales

* Employs approximately 100 people plus seasonal help

* 40% of the company's employees work in R&D, making it the largest department in the company

Marketing Mix

1. Product

* Alfalfa - Dairyland has the world's largest alfalfa breeding program

* Includes several specialty alfalfa varieties from which the farmer can choose to match their particular needs

* Resent successful innovation includes the release of patented Sequential Maturity Alfalfa

* Corn - Seed corn plays an important role in their overall strategy

* Introduced into their product line in 1961

* Currently offers over 40 corn varieties that have been bred to meet the unique seed needs of the upper Midwestern states

2. Promotion

* Uses a vied variety of promotional programs to communicate the benefits of its soybean seed to farmers

* Dairyland Soybean Management Guide provides farmers with technical and practical advice on the best soybean production methods

* Quarterly newsletter called 'The Leader' communicates variety of information to the customer

* Tours of research and production facilities

* Crop management clinics

* Field days at Dairyland test plots

* Maintenance of 'show case' quality facilities

* Advertising involves direct mail from and extensive database maintained on all dealers and customers

* The company also includes ads in state farm publications, magazines, agricultural newspapers, etc.

* Occasionally DSMs will prepare brief ads or radio announcements for local areas to promote a field day or educational program in that area

* Dealers are offered a wide range of individual and customer incentives intended to promote sales

* Traditional caps, jackets, etc as well as larger value gifts are available to dealers and their customers

* District sales managers are also offered sales incentive and bonus awards

3. Pricing

* Dairyland seed is priced slightly above market average in all product lines

* This encourages the premium quality image