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Kentland, Indiana
May 15, 2003
Sweetwater Creek Seeds, of Williamston, North Carolina, has
signed an exclusive Territory Agreement with
AgVenture, Inc. Clif
Hardison and his newly formed company will market the AgVenture
brand of corn, bean and alfalfa seed over the entire state of
North Carolina. Doug Roberts, of Tarheel, North Carolina,
and David Hall, of Mt. Ulla, North Carolina, both former
associates of Hardison’s during their years with DeKalb
Genetics, will be working with Sweetwater Creek Seeds to support
sales efforts in their local geography.
"I look forward to establishing my business based on
relationships that I have built over my many years in the seed
business," stated Hardison. "My experience leads me to believe
that AgVenture’s product line will be highly competitive in our
local market area. I see this first season as a chance to build
product and brand awareness in North Carolina by placing seed
with highly respected farmers and by locating test plots in high
traffic locations so growers can see the quality of our product
line first hand."
Hardison has a B.S. and M.A. in Agronomy from North Carolina
State University. After eight years with the North Carolina
Cooperative Extension Service, he has spent the last 25 years as
a District Sales Manager for DeKalb Genetics and most recently
Monsanto. "I see this as an opportunity to make product
selection and production decisions based on the demands of the
customer rather than on corporate decisions," commented
Hardison. "My hope is that with a smaller scale business focused
on a select geography, I will be able to make decisions that
will reflect the needs of the customer. I am confident my
association with AgVenture will allow me to do that."
AgVenture Seeds, founded in 1983, is the largest network of
independently-owned seed companies in the United States.
AgVenture provides its network of thirty independent,
family-owned and managed companies with seed products that meet
exacting standards for quality combined with leading edge
genetics and technology. This unique marketing approach allows
each individual company to match the hybrids it sells to the
specific needs of the geographical area it serves. It also
enables the entrepreneurs who own the marketing companies to
maintain their own inventory, set their own pricing, and create
their own marketing programs based on customer needs that exist
in their particular part of the country. An important part of
AgVenture’s growth strategy is assigning marketing
responsibilities in the 29 territories AgVenture currently has
open.
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