Royster-Clark, Inc.
...ave small farms to six or seven larger farmers. Even those part-time farmers that had a couple of acres of tobacco are now extinct. These farmers are more management oriented. They do not drive tractors; they manage their employees. One major product that has changed the business is Roundup Ready Soybeans. This has had a major impact in agriculture due to the ease of spraying and management of the crop in general. Joey expects this target market to change by becoming more independent, more shrinkage in the market, more direct shipping of products, more managerial, and more marketing of crops instead of driving the tractors. Customers choose Royster Clark, Inc. over competitors is because of the higher level of service, the close relationships, and a competitive price. The precision ag. services have dropped off due to the lost interest and lack of extra money. Also, the conventional bean herbicide sales have dropped, and those products have been moved to other locations. Products that have increased in selling, but none are new products. They are trends within chemical lines such as glyphosates, Valor, and Lumax. Royster Clark will be different in five years because of the increase of application equipment owned by farmers and these customers get products in bulk and cheaper prices. There are no current expansion plans; they are just trying to survive the current competitive market. The top five biggest problems this past year included the over-saturation of the market with competitors, the shrinking customer base, glyphosate prices dropping and other chemistry chemicals following, less research and development due to these falling prices, and finding good quality employees. The biggest problems Joey is forecasting for this year and next are the shrinkage of crop protection. Second, there will be less income from services provided due to the increase of sales of bulk products. Lastly, his market is shifting from services available to a price competition standpoint. Joey expects business to be better this year due to the increasing sales of anhydrous ammonia, switching from liquid nitrogen. In addition, farmers are getting better commodity prices this year than the past couple of years. The major source of competition for this store is other stores of similar business. That competition is based on prices. Royster Clark, Inc. includes such advertising activities as radio, newspaper, supporting local events, and the company logo on pickups, tender and liquid trucks, and application equipment. Joey does not feel these methods of advertising are effective. Joey would like to have motivated, eager-to-learn, dedicated employees that are very flexible with duties. It helps to have experience with trucks/equipment and general farming knowledge. The ideal employee attitude would be enthusiastic and ready to work and learn. Royster Clark, Inc. offers training in agronomy and sales, application equipment, and also has safety training with Asmark. Joey says that there is always opportunity for advancement for the right person. He very seldom holds employee meetings. I asked Joey if he could hire the ideal employee in a management trainee position and what kind of characteristics that individual would have. He simply told me to write my name down, and I have only been working there about a month and a half. That employee would be self-motivated and have the mental capacity to learn the business. Employees are given training in sales meetings and identifying customer complaints by identifying customers through their personality, buying style, and farm management style. Joey feels a college graduate should have some training in agronomic areas such as weed identification, some chemical knowledge, and basic sales knowledge. When Joey needs help with management problems, he goes to the regional manager. To get ideas on how to do things better, he has team meetings with ot...