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In the business and busy-ness of work and life, it can be easy to lose sight of what really matters. While this column usually explores seed treatment innovation and technologies, in this article we take pride in sharing with you what matters most to us as an organization: fostering a positive company culture.

Small Beginnings

When Kannar started in 2004, we spent seven years working out of an office the size of a small car. Then for two years we worked from an unfinished basement with bare 2x6s and insulation surrounding us. From our current 10,000 square foot facility, we’ve moved into a state-of-the-art 60,000 square foot facility that has offices for our work family of 16 (doubled in the last year plus several open positions), and production facilities to handle our huge ramp-up in sales (also doubled in the last year).

The Why Behind the Growth

The easy conclusion is that a company like this is definitely growing. However, our growth as a company is not measured in square feet gained, pallets shipped, or increased manhours. For us at Kannar, those indicators are simply results of growth, but not what matters most. Indeed, what matters most in our company is that we achieve higher fulfillment, purpose, and joy in life. These traits foster a positive company culture.

positive company culture with a team selfie — Kannar team celebrates moving into new facility

We firmly believe Kannar grows, really grows, when our work — both what we do and how we do it — improves the quality of life for all of our stakeholders, be it our work family, our customers, and our suppliers. And it makes logical sense: the more positive impact Kannar has on those we are lucky enough to align with, the more everyone will invest and engage with us. When we measure growth in terms of finding higher fulfillment and better life, we’re much better equipped to persevere through life’s inevitable bumpy patches.

A New Idea

This is a big idea! How does one achieve a goal such as improving and transforming lives and, ultimately, the world? True personal fulfillment comes when strengths, passion, and purpose overlap. As a company, we can make a meaningful difference in the world one tiny step at a time by:

leveraging our team’s individual and collective strengths,
by believing passionately in our direction, and
by knowing that our role as a company is much more than just producing products for sale.

Life isn’t about completing endless to-do lists at the expense of others. It’s about making the world around us a little better. Anything else is either a distraction or an acceleration of our demise. We have only scratched the surface and there is so much more to explore. Find this article on LinkedIn and let’s continue this discussion!

If you are interested in learning more about Kannar, or being a part of our team, please contact us for more information!

Modified from publication in SeedWorld, June 2021

Searching for Corporate Soulmates

What do you stand for and value? Where do you invest yourself, in your career and in life? These are the type of questions we ask ourselves daily – both individually and corporately. We ask these questions to potential alliances as well because we seek alignment only with others who are as passionately devoted to innovation and growth as we are.

Catalysts for Change

At Kannar, our mission – in fact, our daily passion – is to promote ideal agriculture through incremental positive changes. What does that mean in real terms? We’re committed to making the world better, one crop establishment technology innovation at a time. It’s why we invested in the world’s first microplastic-free seed fluency aid; it’s why we’ve persevered in optimization and development of bio-pesticidal microbes from discovery to patents; it’s why sustainability and regeneration are part of every one of our corporate conversations.

Ultimately, our company is successful when we help make farmers more successful. We deeply believe that farming success – both today and into the future – depends on all of us pushing past the status quo towards more efficient, more effective, more earth-friendly innovations.

Our Partnerships

We are humbled whenever collaborators seek us out. Some find us attractive because of our geographic reach. We’re one of only a few seed treatment technology optimization companies not located in the heart of corn and soy production states. This means we have access to markets such as peanuts, rice, cotton, sorghum, sunflower, fruits, and vegetables in addition to corn, soy, sugar beets, and wheat. Some future partners come to us because of our proven history and appetite for innovation, our treatment expertise, and our established industry relationships. However, by far the collaborators we are most excited to work with, whether a business partner or career leader, come to us because they share our belief and commitment that we can make a meaningful difference in the world around us.

Please also watch this video to learn more about our approach to relationships. If you see yourselves as changemakers, let’s talk!

Current Kannar Earth Science Career Openings

Passion and tenacity motivate Kannar Earth Science to develop effective, spot-on solutions for customers’ seed treatment challenges

A grower can reasonably expect to have 40 growing seasons to create a legacy and contribute to the financial security of their family and community. Only the bravest of the brave, those willing to work tirelessly, can achieve their goals, says Kannar Earth Science, Ltd., CEO Sam Cloete.

With a passion for helping growers create their financial legacy, Cloete chose seed companies and seed treatment to be Kannar’s route to value creation. To build growers’ legacies, Kannar works through products and technologies backed by data and science related to yield optimization and environmental stewardship. Kannar understands that anytime human efforts produce food, fiber or fuel, production comes at the expense of something.

Maximum Results with Minimal Environmental Impact

“Our passion is to minimize the environmental impact and maximize the utilization of resources. Kannar brings tools and seed-applied technologies to growers through seed companies. We share most growers’ belief that we have a responsibility to leave our resources and our growing environment in a more wholesome condition than how we receive them. We do this by never giving up when looking for simple, effective answers,” says Cloete.

Limited Seed Workspace

Seed treatments are an effective vehicle for delivering crop protection technologies to a grower’s field. A limitation is the amount of space on each seed. The challenge is to optimize that space when considering technologies that help with crop establishment, early-season pathogen protection, and yield enhancement. Kannar must overcome the chemical, physical and biological limitations, not to mention the limits to the actual amount of chemistry that can be applied to the seed.

“And we work with limitations to seed safety also,” Cloete says. “We know that some products, which can be applied foliar or in-furrow, may not be safely applied as a seed treatment without reformulation. Another limitation is illustrated by micronutrients. We cannot apply enough micronutrient material to the seed to satisfy that crop’s micronutrient demand throughout the growing cycle and still be within the physical planting limitations of getting seed placed in the soil.”

“We find ways to bring multiple solutions to the seed. It may take thousands of attempts over several years until we find an answer, but we resonate with the end-user by finding real solutions to their real problems.”

A successful solution for Kannar is one that allows everyone to sleep well at night. That can only happen when the answer is backed by sound research, thorough data, and extensive testing. It goes beyond just offering a relationship and a product in a keg or tote. It means Kannar goes on-site, multiple times as needed, to observe the application of chemistries. The team then verifies that full-scale production produces the same results as indicated from smaller scale lab experiences.

“We try not to be limited by existing beliefs or others’ experiences. Tenacity and perseverance mean willingness to make minor adjustments with the product until we determine the solution is spot on. It means we often compete against ourselves; especially when we believe that we already have a great product. But we pause and ask ourselves, ‘How can we make it even better?’ “Ultimately,” says Cloete, “our goal is to provide an environment where the seed can achieve its genetic potential and help our growers create their legacy and financial security.”

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Modified from publication in SeedWorld, January 2021

Advanta Seed and UPL develop new seed treatments to elevate the profitability and image of sorghum for U.S. growers. Kannar Earth Science provides lab analytics and blend management.

In 2006, when UPL, a manufacturer of agricultural chemicals, acquired Advanta Seeds, its U.S. team wanted seed research data verification and product innovation to all take place on U.S. soil. It took time and patience to develop new seed treatment chemistry that met the company’s high standards for U.S. growers.

Advanta had been using Syngenta’s seed treatments including Concep, a seed safener, on its sorghum seed. For many years, Syngenta’s Concep was the only acceptable product on the market that would allow growers to make a preplant, preemerge application of Group 15 herbicides. Post-emerge herbicide options for sorghum are limited. When growers were on the fence about whether to plant sorghum or another crop, weed pressures and limited herbicide options often pushed them to go another route and avoid sorghum.

When Advanta developed igrowth, the first herbicide-resistant sorghum, they included a high-performance treatment for the seed. UPL’s seed treatment team constructed a new, comprehensive premium seed treatment blend, Vertix Premier, for Advanta which includes MESH, a superior alternative to Concep for safening Group 15 herbicides. The blend also contains RANCONA, which is known for its premium systemic and contact control of a broad spectrum of seed and soil-borne pathogens. The blend is rounded with time-proven solutions of STartUP IMIDA and METXL to complete the insecticide and disease protection.

“We are bringing new Vertix Premier brand seed treatment to improve growers’ all-around experience with sorghum seed,” says Advanta Sales and Marketing Manager Tanner Antonick. “Advanta has worked with UPL to put the product through several years of testing to confirm its safety on the seed. It has subsequently become a very positive product with a high level of seed safety. Even when treated seed is stored for several months before planting, the seed remains in exceptional condition.”

“We have created a new liquid formulation of MESH that is more versatile and flexible,” says Andy Hurst, UPL Seed and Soil Health Business Manager. “MESH safener in sorghum is actually not a new active. With their unique research focus, UPL took this superior safener and developed it further into a liquid formulation that can easily be used at the treater or in custom blends for sorghum.”

Tested and On Target

Kannar Earth Science aided in the transition by providing logistics and associated lab work. They verified that Advanta’s seed treatment recipes were on target and on spec. Kannar continues to make the custom seed treatment blends used to treat Advanta seeds and aid in on-site advertisement.

“Creating custom seed treatment blends requires attention to every detail to ensure it can be safely blended and combined with other seed treatments,” Hurst adds. “This testing improves the efficiency of application and simplifies the process for treating sorghum seed.”

The other part of the MESH and Vertix Premier story is that UPL has set up a new global R&D Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Hurst says their new lab is set up to conduct compatibility, stability, bio-assays and greenhouse testing as well as treating and planting characteristics of seed treatments. Its resources and scientific expertise have enabled the company to make great strides in several seed emergence technologies.

Elevating Sorghum’s Image

“When people look at Advanta, we hope they will see a company that is committed to bringing continual innovation to the sorghum industry. Our UPL alignment enables us to bring seed treatments to our growers that meet the highest standards of seed quality,” Antonick says. “This was incredibly important as we launched igrowth this past summer. We want growers to get the best value for their dollar and be able to make the best choices for their acres.”

“We know that growers appreciate having choices when they make their crop and seed decisions,” adds Hurst. “UPL is committed to offering unique solutions for growers that contribute to their bottom line.”

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Published in SeedWorld, October 2020

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