USA - Merschman Seeds selects Meristem Crop Performance

Date:11-22-2024

Merschman Seeds, of West Point, Iowa has entered into a dealer agreement with Meristem Crop Performance. In the new engagement, Merschman Seeds will now carry Meristem’s product portfolio of best-in-class biologicals, plant growth regulators, micronutrients, adjuvants, and nitrogen inhibitors to crop producers across their service territory.

″Biologicals are becoming important to farmers, but these microbes are only as good as the process used to deliver them alive to the point of impact,″ said Joe Merschman, CEO, in announcing the engagement. ″We’ve always been focused on being an innovative company, and we spent a lot of time evaluating different biological providers and it’s clear to us that Meristem is consistently providing high-quality biologicals through a seed fluency delivery system that’s effective and easy for farmers to use.″

″It’s exciting for us to work with Merschman Seeds,″ said Mitch Eviston, Meristem Founder and CEO in announcing the collaboration. ″The Merschmans have such a wonderful history, and their team has deep experience in bringing agronomic know-how to growers they serve. We’re glad to be riding with them on serving more growers and learning from them all along the way.″

Merschman Seeds started in 1954 when Bill and Bernice Merschman began to serve farmers around West Point, Iowa, first with seed, then with fertilizer and other crop inputs. This year marks their 71st year of serving farmers and their service territory now runs 400 miles in every direction from West Point: from eastern Nebraska to western Indiana and southern Wisconsin to the Mid-South.

″We’re independent and family-owned, and we pride ourselves on service,″ says Merschman. ″Your Friend in the Field^®’ is more than just a tagline for us. Meristem shares this service orientation in the technology we are seeing them bring to market to help farmers enhance yield with every pass they make through the field.″ The Merschman family has also been breeding soybeans in Iowa since 1956 and currently sells Merschman Seeds^® Soybeans, Wheat, Merschman PowerCore^® Enlist^® corn and non-GMO corn varieties.

″Our independence and our experience make us different than others,″ explains Ben Peiper, Merschman Product Manager and Certified Crop Advisor. ″Whether we’re helping farmers solve problems in their fields, educating our team and customers, or researching ways to help them stay competitive, we do it all with a focus on farmers and what is the most profitable for that specific field and farm.″ Pieper says he’s seen replicated and anecdotal data showing a solid return on investment from Meristem’s REVLINE^® HOPPER THROTTLE™ and was also impressed with GUARD X™, Meristem’s biocontrol for corn rootworm protection. ″GUARD X really helped seal the deal for us,″ he says. ″Being able to add below ground seed protection to corn through the planter box is very important to many of our growers.″

Merschman’s high standards for service and integrity make them the perfect partner in sharing the story of Meristem’s innovative biologicals how they can bring success to more farmers, says Peter Rousonelos, Meristem’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development.

″Our patented BIO-CAPSULE™ Technology keeps the beneficial microbes separate from the talc/graphite and the zinc and other micronutrients until they are deployed at planting,″ says Rousonelos, ″and keeping the microbes healthy all the way to the furrow is making a big difference in root mass, plant health, and yields.″ He says REVLINE HOPPER THROTTLE and EXCAVATOR™AMS, Meristem’s residue breakdown product, are cornerstones of Meristem’s comprehensive ″Biology Is Fertility™″ program, encouraging farmers ″break out″ of old habits to make better use of plant nutrients they’ve already paid for.

″If you are raising 200 bushel per acre corn, research shows there’s 200 pounds of plant nutrition tied up in the residue after you harvest,″ Rousonelos explains. ″The consortium of biologicals in EXCAVATOR AMS breaks that residue down quickly and makes those nutrients available for the next crop in that field. That’s another important aspect of nutrient stewardship.″