International forage and turf seed firm DLF is stretching its reach in the alfalfa market with a deal for Corteva Agriscience’s assets in that business.
The Danish firm announced Wednesday it had acquired Corteva’s global alfalfa germplasm and breeding program for an undisclosed sum, including its current commercial alfalfa varieties and their trademarks such as Hi-Gest, Hi-Ton, Hi-Salt and msSuntra.
The deal, which took effect Sept. 1, also includes the Alforex Seeds brand name — which was set up in 2013 as the name of Dow AgroSciences’ alfalfa business, before that company’s 2017 merger with DuPont’s ag businesses into what’s now Corteva. DuPont had sold off its own previous alfalfa seed business in 2014.
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DLF said Wednesday it will integrate the Corteva business into its own global research and development program and will also hire “select Corteva personnel supporting the alfalfa program” including research and development staff in the U.S. Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
On top of the products now sold via Alforex, DLF said it “intends to offer varieties comparable to (Corteva’s) Pioneer brand and Dairyland Seed brand alfalfa products when the business is fully transitioned after the 2024 season.”
Past that, DLF said its full commercial plans for the business “will be communicated to appropriate stakeholders in the near future.”
DLF said the deal also gives it “a robust platform of elite alfalfa genetics, an industry-leading brand portfolio and expanded market access.”
The Corteva portfolio, DLF said, offers a “diverse and proven alfalfa germplasm base and native trait pipeline with excellent yield potential, disease and pest resistance, winterhardiness and superior forage quality for both dormant and non-dormant markets.”
“We have consistently aimed to establish a strong presence in alfalfa across all our global markets, including North America,” DLF group CEO Soren Halbye said in a release. “Acquiring a renowned alfalfa research program presents a rare opportunity for DLF to significantly enhance our global position in alfalfa breeding and sales.”
Forage seed has been a relatively tiny chunk of Corteva’s global seed business, which is primarily in corn and soybeans and mainly in the North American market under the Pioneer and Brevant brands.
In the first half of 2023, Corteva’s “other” seed category — that is, forage and any other seed products besides either corn or oilseeds such as canola and soy — booked net sales of $288 million, out of $6.959 billion for the seed segment overall, down from $316 million out of $6.471 billion in first-half 2022.
DLF, whose Canadian arm is based at Lindsay, Ont., sells in the Canadian market today under the DLF and Mapleseed brand names.
It operated in the North American market under the name DLF Pickseed until last year, when it fully phased out a brand it had owned since buying Canadian firm Pickseed in 2013. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
