STONEVILLE® COTTON THROUGH THE LENS OF ASA SETH HERREN

His success is only because of the product’s success, he says.

Beyond securing customers, an agronomic solutions advisor (ASA) is an expert who specializes in crop protection, cottonseed and seed treatment products. Seth Herren, a BASF ASA out of Mississippi, particularly enjoys cultivating business relationships with distribution channels, growers and consultants as it aids them in maximizing yields and profits in their operations. According to Herren, his success as an ASA is due to the quality of the product. And for the past nine years as an ASA for BASF, Herren has been confident in recommending Stoneville^® cotton because it has a longstanding reputation of producing the best harvest.

“WE HAVE INNOVATIONS COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE THAT WILL MAKE OUR GROWERS VERY HAPPY AND SHOULD EARN US ANOTHER 100 YEARS.” – SETH HERREN

 

RECOMMENDING STONEVILLE COTTON TO GROWERS
In his experience, Herren has observed his success in sales stems from the results of field trials – data generated through BASF, retail customers and universities. In these trials, various Stoneville varieties are planted next to one another in smaller plots to measure their performance. Herren bases his product recommendations on this data when consulting with growers and retailers. With the proof to back up his claims of Stoneville cotton’s effectiveness, Herren is confident in customer exchanges. He could recount a plethora of success stories, but one of his fondest memories is from roughly six years ago when a cotton grower shared that his highest yield came from planting Stoneville ST 4946GLB2 in his field. The Stoneville seed’s triumph is likely due to the science, hard work and research behind its manufacturing. “You can almost ride by fields and tell which ones are Stoneville cotton and which ones aren’t by their vigor,” Herren said. Herren encourages growers to start small and then add more treated acres when they see how the product works. “We go from small block into conversations about getting somebody to try 50 to 250 acres,” he said. After a few growers decide to test out the seed, the BASF team monitors their harvests. If all goes well, the growers will likely continue to use the product. Herren goes on to say that relationships play a large part in consumers making a switch.

Reflecting on working in agriculture over the past 20 years, Herren said he has always had a long-term plan. He doesn’t believe in compromising integrity for sales – that isn’t who he is, and it is non-negotiable. “I won’t recommend something if I don’t believe it is the absolute best thing in grower’s interest,” he added. There was a time he transparently told a grower, “I don’t have anything for you,” after a man asked for products with nematode resistance and bacterial blight resistance. His honesty left that grower astonished since most salespeople strive to achieve sales by all means necessary. Over time, his values, in addition to Stoneville’s return on investment, have resulted in a favorable reputation amongst growers.