Most seed and agronomic companies operate test plots – in-field trials of products and application techniques. Often these field trials are also used to host customers on a “plot day” to share results of head-to-head corn hybrid and soybean variety comparisons. While West Central FS does extensive testing and invites its customers to see the results, their Technology and Learning Center is far beyond the average test plot.
“The Galesburg South Technology and Learning Center is much more than an ‘old-style farmer plot day’,” explains West Central FS Agronomy Sales, Marketing, & HR Manager Rich DeSchepper. “This is more than a marketing tool. It is a learning tool.”
Purchased in 2021 from former Munson Hybrids owners John and Holly Hennenfent, West Central saw the 16-acre facility as an opportunity to provide training for employees, customers, GROWMARK, and other FS member companies.
“Our goals are pretty simple,” adds West Central FS, CEO, Jim McNelly. “We want to be on the bleeding edge of technology that offers our crop specialist the most up-to-date information to share with our customers and to help the customer increase yields, have cleaner fields, and be more efficient with their time and equipment.”
Initially, the goal behind the purchase was to create spaces for educating employees. Over five years, West Central planned to grow the offerings to include not just product and application training but also operator training, aerial imagery, and biologicals. But in the two years they have owned it, West Central has maximized the space.
“We’re already where we thought we would be in five years,” says DeSchepper. “We’ve packed a lot into a little space. In fact, we need more space.”
In addition to the 400 test strips and field trials, West Central also has offices for their Precision Planting, Central Agronomy Dispatch, Energy Sales, Crop Sales, and Safety departments in addition to a site agronomist and technology specialist. The site serves as one of West Central’s seed treatment facilities, treating over 35,000 units. They have warehouse space for both Energy and Agronomy products, including bulk storage for NH3, LP, and DEF. The Structures and Grain Bin department has constructed two hoop buildings to demonstrate their capabilities. And the on-site house is used for their H-2A workers.
Of course, other organizations have seen the benefit of the facility, too. West Central has hosted Crop Specialists from neighboring FS companies as well as several GROWMARK groups and area high schools and colleges.
“We want to educate FS System employees, college ag students, and high school ag students with the latest technologies available to us so that our System employees are more informed to make better decisions field by field for our customers, which gives us a competitive advantage,” McNelly shares. “Also, bringing in interested high school and college students creates excitement for potential employment opportunities.”
Other agricultural companies want to work with West Central at the location as well.
“We have industry partners and vendors approaching us about participating, wanting to trial whatever the customer can be offered,” DeSchepper shares. “We have certain product trials that Bayer has not tested anywhere else.”
“The Technology Center has many benefits for all of our customers,” adds West Central FS Board President Harold Ray. “The trials being conducted with biologicals and fungicide applications, planting dates and rates and side-by-side comparisons of different hybrids of corn and varieties of beans will provide the knowledge needed to make better choices for use of inputs. This is a huge benefit for customers of West Central FS.”
GROWMARK Biologicals Product Manager Jeff Rieck summarizes the benefit of working with West Central at their Technology and Learning Center quite succinctly, “it offers a sneak peek of products before they’re in the tank or mini bulk.”
The opportunity for many parties to learn and grow to better serve the farmer-customer is likely the best way to summarize the biggest benefit to come from West Central’s investment.
“We have a great team, across locations and all departments, that make the technology and Learning Center possible,” according to DeSchepper. “It really demonstrates how we operate as the FS System to help our farmer-customers improve both their operations and their ROI.”