January 9, 2018
In Brazil, professional seed treatment has become increasingly important. Not long ago, around 5% of soy seeds underwent professional treatment. In recent years, that figure has risen to more than 30%.
The seed treatment company Sementes Goiás has been a SeedGrowth partner from the very beginning. It was one of the first seed treaters getting machinery support from Bayer in Brazil, remembers Luis Eduardo Salomão from Sementes Goiás: “At the beginning, we had difficulties operating and adjusting the machines.”
The seed company did a good job but was striving for perfection. With the establishment of the Brazilian SeedGrowth Center in Paulína in 2011, the situation changed for the better. “From the first day, the presence of Bayer experts has helped us and given us the confidence that we are doing the right thing,” says Luis Eduardo Salomão. “Our goal is to deliver the best seed with the best treatment, and Bayer is our partner.”
SeedGrowth services were able to optimize on-site operations in two steps. First, they inspected all the treatment equipment and set up the machines. Then, they implemented a successful operator training initiative. Now, Sementes Goiás has a better understanding of how to produce seeds of an even higher quality – and they pay more attention to operator safety. The services team also helps Sementes Goiás maintain and improve treatment quality. With their state-of-the-art laboratory, SeedGrowth services experts are able to determine the exact quality of the seed in terms of dust emission, flowability, and plantability.
Hotline for high-quality support
Bayer’s job is not finished once everything has been set up properly – they stay in close contact with their customers throughout the year. Sementes Goiás can always call the Bayer services hotline free of charge. Since there is a remote access system set up to provide support to treaters in Brazil, Bayer can solve 80% of the issues on the phone in less than an hour. The remote access tool, ServiceMAXX, and highly efficient. “It’s a simple tool that helps us with any problems we face,” says Luis Eduardo Salomão. “The SeedGrowth services engineers can check the machines, suggest adjustments, and improve the performance of the equipment.”
This service gives the customer peace of mind. “We worried that the machines might break down in the middle of the seed treatment period,” remembers the seed expert. “Today we no longer have this concern. Bayer is always there for us – even on holidays and weekends.” The numbers speak for themselves: in recent years, downtime for the seed treatment equipment in Brazil has been less than 1%.
The SeedGrowth Center team in Brazil, supported by several agronomists who are focused on professional seed treatment and stewardship, got great feedback on their work. Sementes Goiás understands the equipment, the overall treatment quality has been improved, and most importantly, they learned more about quality, health, safety, and environmental (QHSE) standards. That’s a true win-win situation for everyone involved.