Point-of-Sale Financing
Oct 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Lynn Grooms
Financing options are growing at your local ag retailer and seed dealer
ProPartners Financial
ProPartners Financial, St. Paul, MN, owned by 10 Farm Credit Associations in the 7th Farm Credit District, offers capital and accounting services to ag retailers.
Working with the Land O'Lakes Seed Division, ProPartners Financial makes Ag Financing Solutions (AFS), a seed financing program, available to seed customers who purchase Croplan Genetics brand seed. AFS also is available through other retail channels for customers who buy W-L Alfalfa, America's Alfalfa, Forage First and Hytest Seeds.
Land O'Lakes Seed Division, Shoreview, MN, began offering seed-only financing programs through its member cooperatives in 2005. This year, it also offered financing for AgriSolutions crop protection products and other crop inputs for those who met the seed financing requirements, says Kevin Eye, sales director, Western U.S., Land O'Lakes Seed Division.
For 2008, the cooperative's customers who meet the same qualifications also can finance NutriSave forage inoculants through AFS.
To keep its financing programs as simple as possible, AFS offers four pricing options — from prime -2% down to 0% financing. With the rising costs of crop inputs as well as land rent, farmers are looking for short-term financing from sources other than their traditional lenders, says Eye, adding that this type of financing is a “win” for growers because it spreads their risks.
ProPartners Financial also works with Growmark to offer the FS Agri-Finance (FSAF) program. The FSAF program reduces financial risk to Growmark's member cooperatives and increases their cash flow, says Gary Nebergall, FS/Growmark, Bloomington, IL.
The FSAF program also ensures that the cooperative's customers are “getting the best possible discounts in their input pricing along with saving them service charges,” Nebergall says.
Howard Huebner, vice president, business development, ProPartners Financial, says the cooperatives are a reliable source for crop inputs and financing and the programs offer farmers an opportunity to work with people who know their operations. “Customer surveys have indicated a high level of satisfaction and a high percentage of repeat customers,” he says.
For more information, call 866/822-7402 (Minnesota), 800/867-6747 (North Dakota), or 800/355-6088 (Illinois), or visit www.thepropartners.com.
NK Seeds
NK Seeds, a business unit of Syngenta Seeds, Golden Valley, MN, offers financing through its retail partners as the primary option to “simplify grower requirements and steps in the process,” says Jamie Leifker, NK marketing manager with Syngenta Seeds. “This will allow the retailer to bundle offers for the grower that include more than just seed and will allow the retailer to position the full acre solution for the grower.”
Leifker notes that work is being done to offer complete seed and crop protection financing that will include both NK Seed and Syngenta Crop Protection products.
NK Seeds' financing program provides retailers the flexibility to customize their offers to growers. “Many times, one-size-fits-all financing offers only fit some growers,” Leifker says. “Managing financing through our retailers also gives the grower one place that they can go to get money versus filling out multiple financing applications.”
Among retailers offering the NK Seeds financing program is Frontier FS Cooperative, Jefferson, WI. The full-service cooperative, which also uses the FS Agri-Finance program, has 15 outlets serving 17 counties in Wisconsin.
Operations manager Bruce Barganz says customers can take advantage of the early order discount (7% this past year) and defer payment until the following December. When the cooperative can lock up sales early, it can take position early on inventory and help subsidize the customer's finance interest rate, Barganz explains.
To be eligible for the NK Seed financing program, growers must buy a minimum of $7,500 worth of seed through the cooperative.
For more information, contact NK Brand Syngenta Seeds, Box 959, Golden Valley, MN 55427, 763/593-7333, www.nk-us.com.
Monsanto FarmFlex, FlexPlus
Monsanto Company has developed FarmFlex, which encompasses cash discounts and 0% interest seed financing for seed-only purchases or FlexPlus for both seed and crop protection purchases.
For Dekalb and Asgrow seed purchases, Monsanto offers three options under the FarmFlex program umbrella. Growers can take advantage of an early cash discount (percentage discounts vary upon month of purchase), get a fixed 0% interest rate financing on their seed purchases, or finance both eligible seed and crop protection purchases with the FlexPlus option. This option offers an early commitment discount for seed and an attractive interest rate (prime -2% through January of 2008).
Growers must purchase a minimum of $7,500 worth of seed to be eligible for the 0% seed financing option or $2,500 for the FlexPlus financing option.
United Prairie LLC, a full-service ag retailer with four locations serving 15 central Illinois counties, offers its customers FarmFlex as a financing option.
Most crop input companies will need to offer an easy-to-use financing program to remain competitive, says Todd Shunk, seed specialist, United Prairie, Tolono, IL. He says the 0% seed financing program through Monsanto, for example, has been well received because of its simplicity.
For more information, contact Monsanto Company, 800 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167, 314/694-1000, www.asgrowanddekalb.com.
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