At FBN, we believe that farmers deserve more transparency around data, pricing and genetic/parental lineage of seed, so you can manage risk at whatever level fits your farm best. That’s because transparency helps you make better-informed decisions, which ultimately can help you to increase your farm’s overall profitability.
With the launch of F2F Genetics Network seed, you don’t have to rely on the product development process of a multinational seed company. Instead, farmers like you have the opportunity to work directly with a network of breeders who are developing the next generation of top-performing hybrids and varieties. You can now help breeders to identify the right combination of genetics and traits for your farm.
When farmers and breeders are working more closely together, farmers can actually help drive new seed development. This means breeders then have access to anonymized, aggregated, real-world performance data they can use to develop new seed with a thorough understanding of micro-environments and agronomics.
“Today, it seems like seed has a lot of hands touching it, which just means we pay a higher price. Buying from FBN is a low-frills deal, but that's all right. I'm buying seed—I'm not buying trips and hats and coats.
Knowing where my seed comes from is important. You can look at plots all day, and some products will come in one- or two-tenths of a bushel off of each other and their similar maturities, which each company measures a little differently anyway. Being closer to the breeder gives me more confidence that I know what I’m getting, and that it’s not just some relabelled product from another company.”
“So to me, being more closely connected to the breeder is definitely an advantage. It gives you a direct connection to communicate better about what you need. And you’ll get a real answer as to whether that’s something they can work on or not. I think it’s valuable to have access to as much info as you can about the seeds you’re looking to plant, so that you can make the best choices for your operation. I like knowing I have it when I need it.
I don’t trust all the yield data I get from seed companies. I don’t really trust anything that doesn’t come from my farm, because at least I know how it was managed and how it does on my ground. That’s part of what I like about FBN’s data—I don’t know exactly which farmers it came from, but I can search by region, soil type and other management options, and know that my data is coming from real-world farmers.”