Dairyland Seed

Dairyland Seed Company

Case Analysis

Situation Analysis:

Dairyland is a seed company that has three major product lines- alfalfa, corn and soybean seeds and it also does proprietary research on these seeds supported by R&D. Dairyland has positioned itself as a high performing product company that values quality and produces high yield genetics rather than specific traits. The pricing of the seeds is greater than the industry average to reflect the high quality. It has increased sales of soybeans for the past five years and currently the sales. The major soybean seeds that Dairyland produces are tolerant of DuPont’s STS herbicide and Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.

Major soy bean seed companies that are direct competitors of Dairyland have been purchased by DuPont and Monsanto. Asgrow (Monsanto) has an estimated national market share of 16% while Pioneer (DuPont) has 14% and Dairyland has less than 2% national market share. The farmers (customers) behavior is changing and they are becoming more economically focused and less brand loyal.

Strengths: | Weakness: |

* Competitive edge because of huge R&D and cutting edge biotechnologies in seed industry. * Proprietary research in alfalfa, corn and soybeans * World’s largest Alfalfa breeding program. | * No definitive, strong relationship with either biotechnology company. * Uncertainty about the customer base. |

Opportunities: | Threats: |

* Monsanto & DuPont intensified competition can lead to some price advantages for Dairyland. | * Competition is intense in all three product categories. * Customers are changing and are less brand loyal. |

Problem Statement:

Dairyland is dealing with two companies that compete with each other, and as owners of seed companies, now also compete directly with Dairyland. How can Dairyland continue to provide the best value to its customers and profitably compete in a changing and intensely competitive seed industry?

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