Beck’s Hybrids, the largest independent family-owned retail seed company in the United States, hosted the NAMA Mid-America Chapter on Tuesday, November 13, 2012, at its headquarters in Atlanta, Indiana.   Scott Beck, vice president and third-generation family leader, shared how Beck’s is dedicated to remaining farmer focused across its five-state market area. He also described how the company works with multiple suppliers, such as Monsanto, Syngenta and DuPont Pioneer, to source the best products for Beck’s customers.

Ryan Parkin, marketing and communications manager, oversees the company’s in-house marketing team, which consists of 11 full-time people. He showcased their “Suspect of Success” campaign, which includes innovative direct mail pieces, print ads, billboards and other tactics that successfully integrated the use of QR codes. Parts of this impressive campaign are entered in this year’s Best of NAMA competition.

During a facilities tour led by Bruce Kettler, director of public relations, the group saw the company’s robotic bagging system in action and learned about its production and research sites located across Illinois and Indiana.

The Mid-America Chapter would like to thank everyone at Beck’s for their generosity, time and willingness to answer questions.