Act, Align, Adapt: Tips for Planning a Successful 2023 Crop Protection Program

Going into 2023, retailers can benefit from Atticus’ proactive engagement, decisive action and broad portfolio to ensure a relevant, reliable product supply for the next growing season and beyond.

As a leader in branded-generic pesticides, Atticus believes acting decisively requires not only adapting to change but also deliberately creating it for the betterment of the whole industry. Following two of the global crop protection industry’s most challenging years, Atticus leaders are facing adversity head on—and encouraging ag retailers to do the same.

“Today, we’re operating in a global market where manufacturers, retailers and growers are competing for inputs on an international scale,” said Mike Henderson, vice president of ag markets, Atticus. “To stay relevant, reliable and accessible, we’re strategically approaching our business differently to secure herbicides, fungicides and insecticides that benefit retail distribution.

“We’re acting now to introduce new active ingredients with post-patent alternatives to the marketplace. We’re aligning with diversified product sources to expand our offering. And we’re remaining agile to deal with changing market conditions while continuing to deliver unrivalled customer service for ag retail distribution. Coincidentally, we think this nimble business approach is one that can directly benefit ag retailers,” Henderson added.

Atticus’ decidedly different, battle-ready approach is based on a cultural framework that allows the team to minimize future challenges to best help customers reach their business and agronomic goals. For success in 2023, ag retailers can consider these three steps to access the products needed to maximize crop quality and yield.

Act now: Plan ahead, order early

Gone are the days of “on demand” or “just in time” purchases. Global competition and logistical factors have lengthened demand planning in the crop protection industry, with many manufacturers looking out 18 to 24 months to ensure they have raw materials, manufacturing production time, packaging and logistics in place to put product into your hands.

As soon as growers communicate their product needs, retailers must swiftly relay these requests to manufacturers. There will still be rough spots in the supply chain in 2023 but prioritizing early communications will allow us all to manage and ensure an adequate supply of necessary crop protection products.

Align strategically: Find manufacturers you can count on

Seek, find and engage with manufacturers who can help broaden your expertise and view of product options available for your customer’s needs. The breadth of Atticus’ portfolio combined with the team’s commitment to introducing new, post-patent alternatives means the company will deliver deeper transparency to the marketplace with more active ingredients that influence every major crop across the U.S.

Adapt: Have a plan B

The number and availability of post-patent products in the crop protection marketplace is increasing. Familiarize yourself with active ingredients, then investigate and consider alternate options to branded pesticides.

“There are many post-patent herbicides, insecticides and fungicides available with the active ingredients and technology retailers and farmers have had confidence in for years, at a more reasonable cost, “Henderson said.

“And even though availability of raw ingredients has improved, we’ve intentionally researched and sourced alternative ingredients for products we’ll be bringing to market in the future. Having a secondary source of high-quality ingredients ensures we will be able to manufacture and deliver effective, quality products to our customers,” he concluded.