Verdesian NUEs, December 2021

A word from Kenny

STRATEGY AND EXECUTION. As we close out the calendar year, we continue to track toward record growth. With the revenue line and our change in fiscal year, we are starting the 2022 year off on a very strong note.

Several years ago, we set in place our strategic principals of People, Products and Execution. We have continued to invest and execute against these principals, and I truly believe that execution is what has delivered our results thus far. Of course, most (if not all) companies in agriculture are enjoying growth, but we continue to outpace the industry – that is the result of your commitment, endurance and perseverance. After all, a Strategy without Execution is just a dream. So, what’s next? We are going to continue to focus on the strategic pillars that have gotten us here while investing more in new products and new and innovative ways to work with our customers.

In my upcoming Christmas message I am going to focus on Hope. There have been over 2,000 articles written about Hope and its impact on human psyche. Hope in our terms is a belief in an expected outcome. For Hope to endure, you have to have a pathway to achieve the outcome and a commitment to achieve. Hope is not a fanciful wish – it requires exactly what you exhibit each day: a Hope that we can make a difference around the globe and a commitment to achieve it.

Finally, while a lot has changed, some things, unfortunately, have not. COVID and its variants still exist around the world, and we will continue to deal with the unfortunate outcomes of this for the months and years to come. Having seen the impacts firsthand, I encourage each of our employees globally to get vaccinated. Your health and safety are our utmost concern, and so I encourage you to stay safe and take care of yourself and your families.

We have one month left to finish the calendar year strong. Stay focused. Stay safe. Maximum effort leads to maximum returns. Thank you.

–Kenny Avery

North America Commercial Update: A combination of People, Process, and Products.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES. IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES. Is it just me that feels like the past six months of the ag market seem to mimic the famous first lines of Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities? On any given day, I am sitting in meetings talking about 47-percent growth year over year and record expansion of Verdesian’s business. In the next meeting, I hear about raw material costs increasing by 193 percent on some product ingredients. The third meeting is about record demand for some newly launched product, with caveats about our ability to supply the product to meet the unprecedented demand. Truly, there has never been a more dynamic time at Verdesian.

I want to share with you why I believe Verdesian is built for just this type of marketplace and why – although it will not be easy – we will ultimately thrive through these turbulent times. It really comes down to three things Kenny has mentioned multiple times: People, Process, and Products.

I will start with process. Of the three ag companies I have worked at (John Deere, Bayer, and Verdesian) we are the furthest behind as it relates to mature and efficient processes. This is not surprising given that John Deere has been around 184 years and Bayer is 158 years old. Verdesian is a mere infant at seven years old. I see process improvement as a significant opportunity for Verdesian in the coming five years. With a down ag market, we have been in survival mode until the past year. We have the opportunity to improve our processes and create additional upside for our business.

Next is products. Under Kuide Qin’s leadership and with the addition of Cytozyme, we have dramatically improved our product portfolio. The response from the market has been unequivocal, with Trident being our most successful product launch in company history. We have additional, potentially game-changing products in our product pipeline that will further separate Verdesian as the global leader in Nutrient Use Efficiency.

Lastly, and most importantly, I believe Verdesian will thrive in this dynamic ag market because of our people. As AEA was evaluating our company a year ago, they kept coming back to the caliber of our people. We have assembled a team at Verdesian that I would put up against any team in agriculture. We have smart, creative, hard-working people across all departments at Verdesian. In a dynamic market environment, it is so complex because of the rapid rate of change. Companies that perform best in these environments are the ones with engaged and empowered people who know when to press forward with resilience and discipline and when to adjust, re-think, and try something new. This is why I am so confident in Vedesian’s future. We have the people to succeed not in spite of these turbulent times, but because of these turbulent times.

-Paul Beck

Marketing Update: Amazing kudos all around!

BIG SHOUT-OUT TO THE COMMERCIAL AND OPERATIONAL TEAMS for an amazing fall, both domestically and internationally, and to the operational and customer support teams that make it all happen once its booked!

The marketing team has been busy continuing to drive brand awareness for Verdesian and key launch products across the globe. More than 75,000 unique visitors have visited the site in just the past few months alone. Customers, both online and offline, continue to be excited about Nutrient Use Efficiency technologies like Trident, MicroSync, SEED+ GRAPHITE and others.

Verdesian attended and presented at the BioStimulants World Congress in Florida recently, and there is considerable excitement about the portfolio that we continue to expand. Collaborations with groups like Truterra are reinforcing the Nutrient Use Efficiency message as more and more attention it headed to this space.

We are prepping our spring campaigns for both row and specialty crops, across the globe. Best days are ahead!

–Brady Eilers

Past issues of Verdesian NUEs can be found here:
August 2021