Belief drives Beck’s Hybrids

ATLANTA, Ind. — Belief is fundamental to success, said Corey Beck, license lead at Beck’s Hybrids, at Becknology Days.

“You can believe in God, you can believe in your family or friends, a mission or a purpose,” he said. “You can even believe in yourself. But belief is the only truly sustainable success strategy.

“And it’s our core beliefs that has allowed our businesses to grow, thrive and develop from decade to decade, generation to generation.”

Beck’s has seen tremendous growth over the last two decades. In 2022, the company saw more than 10 million acres worth of Beck’s seed being sold — a record number.

Beck’s is opening a new corn location in Coon Rapids, Iowa, and expanding its reach in Nebraska and Kansas.

Beck’s also is introducing three new Escalate fungicides and two new biostimulants that are part of the seed treatment package for corn in 2023.

“Just as our expansion efforts have to be fueled by sales growth, there has to be something to fuel the sales activity,” Beck said. “That brings me back to beliefs. Things like honoring God, serving others, our mission of helping farmers succeed.

“A team that shows up every day with a positive attitude and a strong work ethic. Those are the things that have allowed our business to thrive in our first 85 years.

“I think those are the things that must stay the same as we look to the future and remain a family-owned, family-run business for the next 85 years.”

When the Beck family farm started, equipment included a horse and two row planter. The crops were harvested by hand.

A lot has changed since then. Scott Beck, president of Beck’s, remembers when his dad taught him to plant straight rows of corn.

It was his goal to pass that knowledge to his children. But with the creation of auto-steer, it’s not as crucial as it once was.

“My passion for planting straight rows was no longer a necessary skill to teach my kids,” Scott Beck said.

“Technology can help them do that. Change is inevitable. My dad told our employees back in 2011, if you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevancy a lot less. We have to change.

“But the more we change, the more we must stay the same.

“Those things are fundamentally true in our desire to honor God in our business, helping others and how we go about helping farmers succeed.”