Loebsack talks ag markets, company growth during Beck’s tour

COLFAX — U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) toured the new 90,000 square-foot Beck’s Hybrids distribution center on Friday, which opened earlier this year in Colfax.

The congressman met with Beck’s Central Research Operations Managers Andrew Nickell, Sales Consultant Julie March, Practical Farm Research Lead Ben Jahnke and Warehouse Lead Scott Johnston to discuss the Indiana-based agriculture seed distributor’s growing Iowa footprint and where the Colfax facility fits into Beck’s overall business plan.

Beck’s officially opened its Colfax distribution center and sales office north of Interstate 80 in August after breaking ground in October 2015. Beck’s began marketing in Iowa in 2014, after about five years of solidifying its Illinois presence.

In a meeting before touring the Colfax facility on Friday, Nickell detailed the company’s growth in the state. In the last two years, Beck’s purchased two facilities in Iowa for research and seed production in Mt. Pleasant and Marshalltown before building in Colfax.

The company has gone from zero to 72 employees in the state within two years, 18 workers in Mt. Pleasant and 18 full-time staff in Marshalltown. There are 36 full-time sales staff now in Iowa. When the Colfax facility was first proposed, Beck’s told state and county officials the distribution center would host 50 jobs once it reaches capacity.

Beck’s does not export product, but models its business on hybrid seed customized by regional climate, soil type and topography. Nickell told Loebsack Beck’s can do this because they have contracts with other big hybrid producers like DuPont-Pioneer and Monsanto to access their seed germplasams on top of Beck’s own research.

“We have that pallet of opportunity to offer our farmers. We also base our business on regional performance,” Nickell said. “We identify those germplasams, those Hybrids and those line varieties that work best in a particular region and market it in that region.”

Beck’s sells primarily corn, soybean and wheat seed, but a small percentage of their business in cover crops. Loebsack asked Nickell if Beck’s experts are forecasting cover crops — products planted during non-growing seasons to protect fields from runoff and to maintain soil nutrients — to be an expanding percentage of the market.

Nickell said part of what could drive some of that growth will be the next farm bill, legislation that some rural lawmakers would like to see contain financial incentives for farmers who use cover crops to trap soil runoff to help water quality.

After seeing the warehouse, PFR bays and the conference center, Loebsack and the Beck’s officials stopped to talk ag policy.

Low prices of corn and soybeans in U.S. markets of the last several years is a concern for dealers and the farmers who buy their seed. The day of Loebsack’s visit to Beck’s, corn prices were just above $3 per bushel and soybeans dipped below $9 per bushel before rebounding slightly.

Nickell said keeping export markets going, such as China, which has a growing middle class and is buying a lot of U.S. grain, is key for their business.

Loebsack said the uncertainty of U.S./China relations under a President-elect Donald Trump’s administration makes it difficult to predict how Chinese markets will react after inauguration day. But the democratic representative said he’s rooting for Iowa governor and Trump pick for U.S. ambassador Terry Branstad to China to succeed.

“There are tremendous opportunities. I just hope ultimately this administration takes a productive one,” Loebsack said. “Quite honestly, I wish the governor all the luck in the world. It’s going to be a tough job.”

But another key component for Iowa grain farmers and seed retailers is farm to market routes. Loebsack’s congressional district includes a stretch of the Mississippi River from Clinton to Keokuk which has an extensive network of locks and dams.

Loebsack told the Beck’s representatives he wants to see a robust infrastructure spending bill on top of the partially funded five-year U.S. transpiration bill. The congressman said any infrastructure legislation should include locks and dam repairs which are integral to getting U.S. grain to world markets.

But Loebsack is concerned if public-private partnerships are used to help pay or any new infrastructure projects as some lawmakers have proposed, those jobs will go to big cities and not rural Iowa.

“My concern about that approach is that if we do a public private partnership to fund a lot of this stuff, these companies are not going to come to rural Iowa. They’re not going to come to any rural areas because they’re not going to find it profitable,” he said.

As part of the tour, Beck’s staff told Loebsack they use a direct fiber optic connection to communicate with their Atlanta, Ind. headquarters and increase internet speed. The congressman said that rural high-speed broadband would be a central focus of his next term in Washington.

I’m going to be pushing rural broadband big time as part of this infrastructure bill,” Loebsack said. “I want you folks to be able to take to the rest of the world why you’re sitting here.”

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com