Johnny’s Selected Seeds: Solutions tailored to small-medium growersRecently, Jeff McElroy has started with Johnny’s Selected Seeds. After collaborating for 3 years with Backyard Farms, in Maine, in the development of a research programme to obtain better-tasting tomatoes from high-end hydroponic, glasshouse Venlo structures by screening for flavour phenotypes, Jeff McElroy moved to Johnny’s Selected Seeds, taking a position as VP for Research and Development.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a company that services a broad customer base, from small-medium vegetable and flower growers to home gardeners, by sourcing and breeding crops that are relevant to their customers needs. “What makes Johnny’s special is that we test every product that we sell, so that we can offer accurate technical support to our customers. We are very committed to our customers’ success in a holistic way,” Jeff states.
Despite providing some of the same services as larger seed companies like Rijk Zwaan, Bejo & Enza Zaden, Johnny’s Selected Seeds does not focus on large, mono-crop commercial farms, but small and medium growers with mixed crops. Johnny’s lifeblood is not on variety development alone, “but on having good relationships with its supply co-operators and our ability to satisfy a very diverse customer base,” states Jeff.
The company’s operation actually does not come into direct competition with these larger companies, as according to Jeff, “there’s a spirit to help develop our businesses for mutual benefit, with Johnny's ability to reach segments of the market that larger companies would find very difficult to do.”
This model has guaranteed continued growth over the past 5 to 6 years, “and a lot of that has to do with how we operate with respect to order fulfilment and seed packaging; what we would call our ‘customer service.’ Small growers appreciate being able to receive their seeds on time and knowing that these have been tested and will perform well,” explains Jeff.
To achieve solutions for customer success, Johnny’s follows growing method trends very closely. “This gives us direction to search out the varieties, tools and supplies that we want to develop. For example, high tunnels and covered crop cultivation have become very important in northern climates, and Johnny's aims to support these local growers. We try to offer guidance to any grower interested in new growing methods.”
The biggest challenge is, Jeff believes, “our goal to select and breed really good food. Because we follow culinary trends as much as farming trends, we try to supply seeds that will provide exceptional value as great local foods, and not just average produce. It’s not a matter of yield for Johnny’s; everything we do is about ensuring high-eating quality delivered with easy to grow varieties,” concludes Jeff McElroy.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds current top 5 products are:
1. Bright Lights - Swiss chard
2. Sunshine - Scarlet Kabocha squash
3. Carmen - Pepper
4. Racer - Pumpkin
5. Toscano - Kale
For more information:
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Jeff McElroy
T: +1 207-238-5347
F: +1 207-238-5388
www.johnnyseeds.com
info@johnnyseeds.com