Garst tagline reflects focus. (View From The Top).Editor's Note Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : David Witherspoon became president of Garst Seed Company in 2000. Witherspoon first began his career with Garst in July 1989 as a corn breeder/research station manager. He was promoted to field business manager in June of 1994 and managed Garst's sales force in the South. In 1996 he became field business manager for Iowa; in August 1997 he was promoted to director of marketing; and in September 1999 he was promoted to vice president of Garst Seed Company. Witherspoon graduated from The Citadel with a B.S. in biology, from Clemson University Clemson University, at Clemson, S.C.; coeducational; land-grant; state supported; opened in 1893 as a college, gained university status in 1964. The university includes programs in textile and computer research, wildlife biology, and aquaculture and maintains with a M.S. in agronomy agronomy (əgrŏn`əmē), branch of agriculture dealing with various physical and biological factors—including soil management, tillage, crop rotation, breeding, weed control, and climate—related to crop production. and from North Carolina State University History
AM: Garst recently announced a new tagline. What initiated this change in image? DW: Our new tagline does not represent an image change for Garst Seed Company; but emphasizes our focus. The commitment, performance and technology tagline really describes what Garst is all about. Commitment--the dedication of Garst employees and ProSellers to our customers, to U.S. agriculture and to the seed industry. Performance--solid, dependable product performance through our proprietary breeding programs along with the dedicated performance of our employees in serving our customers. Technology--providing our customers with the most up-to-date seed technologies without yield or in-field performance penalties. AM: Garst has experienced considerable success recently. What are some of the factors attributed to this success? DW: There are several factors that have lead to Garst's consistent sales growth since 1995. The focus of our people at Garst, including our dealers, is on serving our customers' needs. These services include product recommendations, agronomic a·gron·o·my n. Application of the various soil and plant sciences to soil management and crop production; scientific agriculture. ag support, technology information, distribution, and customer service though our four service centers. The other factor is consistent product performance. Many companies have sacrificed agronomics while attempting to improve yield. Our breeders are focused on both yield and agronomics. As farmers cover more acres, they cannot afford for their corn to fall down. Our breeders have also combined the latest trait technologies with our leading hybrids without yield loss. AM: How is Garst Seed Company building and maintaining good relationships with its customers? DW: Customer relationships are the lifeblood of sales. Professional sales teams of district sales managers, agronomists and seed dealers work very hard to build and grow these relationships. We work very hard to train our sales teams on new products, technologies and agronomic issues. Garst must continue to be the "voice in field" that farmers have confidence in and can trust. Our company also offers programs that assist farmers with their many needs: Garst Gold Plan (finance plan), bulk corn and soybeans, just to name a few. I believe the consistent growth in our corn, soybean soybean, soya bean, or soy pea, leguminous plant (Glycine max, G. soja, or Soja max) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Asia, where it has been , alfalfa alfalfa (ălfăl`fə) or lucern (l  sûn`), perennial leguminous plant (Medicago sativa and sorghum sorghum, tall, coarse annual (Sorghum vulgare) of the family Gramineae (grass family), somewhat similar in appearance to corn (but having the grain in a panicle rather than an ear) and used for much the same purposes. sales since 1995 is proof of a company that knows how to build long-term relationships with growers and customers--providing them with the seed products, agronomic information and financing tools they need to be successful. AM: What new things are you doing in the areas of marketing and communications? DW: One very successful marketing program is the Garst Gold Plan, which offers growers zero interest and no payments until Nov. 15, 2003. We have stepped up our promotion of this program because it offers farmers cash management flexibility. As far as communication, we are in the process of redesigning our Web site, and we continue to utilize radio and print for our national advertising campaigns. Overall we continue to focus on building Garst brand awareness through print, radio, direct mail public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most and key farm shows and events. Our advertising messages are designed to support and define our tagline: Commitment ... Performance ... Technology. |
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