A one-on-one interview with Bernd Naaf, head of U.S. Business Operations for Bayer CropScience

Tell us about your efforts to closely align your company with retailers (and other channel partners) and how you are going to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Bayer CropScience believes retailers have always provided exceptional service and value to the growers who use our products. We are dedicated to listening to retailers and helping them find answers to their unique challenges.

We are helping our strategic channel partners to increase the value of their partnership with growers and, in turn, to be rewarded for the services and the results they deliver. The reason is simple: We cannot achieve our goals without helping our customers achieve their goals. That's the underlying reason we chose the theme “Your Partner for Growth.”

Bayer CropScience sells a portfolio of products broad enough to help produce almost every crop grown in the U.S. We have made substantial investments to support those products with new ideas, expertise and integrity.

What's in the pipeline at Bayer CropScience that retailers will be excited about in the next couple of years?

I'm proud that Bayer CropScience has such a strong commitment to research and development. We plan to launch more than a dozen new products by 2005.

For example, we expect three new herbicides to be registered in 2004 for use in cereal crops. Research and on-farm trials show Olympus postemergence herbicide will help make winter wheat a more valuable crop by providing a new alternative to control cheat and downy brome and broadleaf weeds. Osprey postemergence herbicide trials have shown excellent control of annual or Italian ryegrass and wild oat in winter wheat. Bayer CropScience believes Silverado Wild Oat herbicide will offer an effective new way to control wild oat in spring wheat.

These new products follow some very valuable new technology Bayer CropScience brought to market this past season, including Equip corn herbicide and Poncho seed treatment, which is marketed by our U.S. seed treatment partner Gustafson LLC.

Equip postemergence herbicide was labeled in time for 2003 use in corn. How were first-year sales, and what's expected for the herbicide in 2004?

Equip corn herbicide had a very successful launch and was applied to more than 250,000 corn acres. Although it was registered relatively late in the season, Equip still exceeded original sales expectations by 50%.

Retailers and growers tell us they are very satisfied with the performance Equip provides, so we anticipate its use will continue to grow in 2004, particularly in the Corn Belt.

In cereals, Puma herbicide and Bronate Advanced seem to be a popular choice. What's new about these products for 2004?

We're excited about these products. In fact, Puma herbicide is applied on more wheat and barley acres than any other brand. Bronate Advanced herbicide is the leading broadleaf herbicide brand in the cereal market. Sales of both Puma and Bronate Advanced grew again in 2003, so we're convinced retailers will recommend these products with confidence in 2004.

Cereal crops represent one of our most important markets. We are in a position to provide a growing portfolio of reliable, cost-effective solutions. We are helping growers produce higher quality, high-yielding wheat with disease control products, including Stratego fungicide and Folicur fungicide.

What gets you excited as another harvest nears completion and 2004 is just around the corner?

The integration of Bayer Crop Protection and Aventis CropScience has been completed this year. I am very proud of the new Bayer CropScience team that has been put in place.

What is most exciting for me is that the people I talk to have a strong professional and personal stake in our industry. They are building the kind of lasting relationships that will ensure success in farming.

Bernd Naaf began his career with Bayer in 1978 in the crop protection business group. He most recently headed the Global Marketing Division of Bayer's Animal Health Business group.

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2007 Penton Media, Inc.