 Jim Tobin
Director, Biotech Business Development
Monsanto Company
USA
How
does your work in the seed industry benefit from what
you learned in your earlier professional life?
My
first job after college was as a county Extension
director in Adair County, Iowa. There I learned a great
deal about volunteer leaders through working with the
various commodity groups, fair board, Extension Council
and local political and business leaders.
While
the issues have changed, the lessons about listening to
people, understanding their perspective and then finding
appropriate solutions remain very current and useful.
I
spent several years working on the development of a new
biotech derived product that enhanced dairy cow
productivity. It was a project that stirred a lot of
emotion as the dairy industry was consolidating and the
fear was that our product would drive down milk prices
and displace farmers. I spent a considerable amount of
time working with state government leaders, local media
and dairy farmers through town hall sessions, public
hearings, and many meetings sharing our knowledge about
the product, answering questions and seeking common
ground. As we later launched biotech traits in seed,
that early learning was very helpful.
As I
worked in marketing in the ag chemical area, I learned a
great deal about the value of market research as an
important tool in developing tactical and strategic
marketing plans. When I was later involved in the
development and introduction of biotech traits for
insect control and herbicide tolerance in cotton, I
worked closely with seed industry leaders and used
market research to help develop our plans.
Conversely, do you believe that other industries
could benefit from some of the things you have learned
as a seed industry executive?
My
observation is that people in the seed industry, while
being very competitive in meeting farmer needs, are very
willing to help when it comes to improving the industry.
Other
industries could be improved by having a more
collaborative approach to dealing with industry issues.
Seed
industry participants are especially close to their
farmer customers. Some of them are farmers themselves,
which provides for an especially clear understanding of
their customer’s needs and concerns. This knowledge
helps seed industry participants to avoid some or
hopefully most of the ‘big’ mistakes and to
appropriately develop and fine tune product and program
offerings that meet their customer needs.
Seed
industry participants are much more careful about
inventory and risk management as our products are
subject to significant weather and price variation and
the ultimate product has a limited shelf life. Others
could learn from the careful and thorough planning used
to manage production and inventory risk in the seed
industry.
Finally, I think people in the seed industry have more
fun. They work hard but at the end of the day really
believe that what they are doing is beneficial and makes
a difference.
Jim Tobin
can be reached at
jim.p.tobin@monsanto.com
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