Jill Carlson
Communications Manager & Media Relations Lead
309.945.8716
jcarlson@wyffels.com

GENESEO, Ill. (February 22, 2024) — In 2023, Wyffels Hybrids achieved ten years of consecutive growth, delivered more than one million paid units of seed corn, broke ground on a new Iowa site and completed a new Quality Assurance Lab at their Atkinson Production Facility.

To keep up with demand and growth, the family-owned seed company created new roles and hired 20 fulltime employees for their Geneseo, Atkinson and Ames facilities.

Quality Assurance Lab

The new Quality Assurance (QA) Lab was completed in time to process the 2023 seed production harvest for validation, comparing the results with the existing quality assurance process.

“The new lab increases germination testing capacity threefold,” says Rodney Gilbert, Wyffels QA Director. ”We’ve increased efficiency for our test sizing and physical purity processes, while maintaining the above industry-level quality standards Wyffels is known for in the seed industry.”

The lab is staffed by five team members, including four new employees.

Kelly Grief leads the team as QA Lab Manager. Grief attended Iowa State University and majored in Agriculture and Society, Seed Science. She is a Registered Seed Technologist (RST) and a Canadian Food Inspection Agency accredited seed grader. For the last six years, Grief worked for Corteva as a Seed Quality Testing Team Lead.

Kyle Wallman, Quality Assurance Specialist, is responsible for the development, documentation, and implementation of the Production Quality Management System for ensuring consistent processes across sites. Wallman attended the University of Nebraska and worked as a Research Associate, gaining experience in plant transformation and genetic testing. Prior to joining Wyffels, Wallman worked for Corteva as a Seed Quality Process Lead.

To complete the team, Jaselyn Robertson and Barb Scott will deliver germination and test sizing results as Quality Lab Technicians. Robertson interned with Wyffels Hybrids prior to graduating from Iowa State University with an ag business degree and minor in agronomy. Scott brings years of experience from the Corteva/ Pioneer Woodhull production location, where she worked in their lab as logistics coordinator.

Human Resources

“It’s our goal to lead our industry in attracting top talent. We want to hire the right people and retain those team members,” says John Wyffels, Wyffels Hybrids President.

To achieve those goals, Wyffels added two new Human Resources leadership roles.

Tom Nuss, Chief Human Resources Officer, focuses on strategies to serve the existing business, develop employees, add capabilities, scale operations and evolve culture for growth.

Stacy Speidel-Holke works closely with Nuss as Manager of Talent. Speidel-Holke will focus on talent acquisition, talent development and organizational planning capabilities. Prior to Wyffels, she served in leadership positions with UnityPoint Health for ten years.

Production/Iowa Site

Wyffels Hybrids will open their new Iowa Site in Ames, Iowa, in late spring 2024.

Ryan Kunze, Warehouse and Distribution Manager, is currently working in the Atkinson Production Facility to make a seamless transition to the new Wyffels Hybrids Iowa site. Prior to joining Wyffels, Kunze managed warehousing and distribution for Caseys and Atlantic Bottling. He reports to the new Iowa Site Manager, Steve Woodall.

Additional seed production forecasting and planning will be managed by Nate Beavers. Beavers brings years of experience to Wyffels from his previous position as Supply Planner for Syngenta and managing trucking logistics for Heartland Express.

Additional new hires at the Atkinson Production Facility include: Mike Goethals, Production Technician; Justin Taets, Jose Bermudez, Dan Stahl, Dawson Schulenberg, James Padilla, Erik Brudos and Jesse Peed, Production Associates; Todd Balensiefen and Taylor Goodwin, Service Technicians.

Sales Administration

Clay Edwards joined Wyffels in August 2023 as the Sales Strategy and Operations Manager. Edwards brings more than 15 years of experience, including Area Business Manager for Stone Seed and various roles with Cargill. Prior to joining Wyffels, Edwards was leading efforts to launch Cargill’s RegenConnectTM Program. Edwards is responsible for development and coordination of Wyffels sales strategies and effective execution of sales activities.

Customer Support

Wyffels Hybrids is proud to serve more customers than ever before throughout the Central Corn Belt. To help maintain the level of customer service their customers expect, Lisa Phillips joined Wyffels as Customer Support Associate. Prior to her role at Wyffels, Phillips held multiple positions in quality and customer service, including building an in-house distribution department, supporting a sales team, processing orders and managing accounting for a national brand.

“We’ll remember 2023 as a year of achievement and it will forever mark key milestones for our family-owned company,” says Wyffels. “Our growth wouldn’t be possible without our employees and we’re thrilled to welcome so many talented people to our organization. It’s been an incredible journey for more than 75 years and we couldn’t be more excited about the future.”

MULTI-GENERATIONAL INVESTMENT: The new Iowa site represents Wyffels Hybrids’ commitment to the future for generations to come. (Wyffels Iowa Site)

EFFICIENT AND ACCURATE: The new Quality Assurance Lab at the Atkinson Production Facility tests for germination three times faster than previous processes. Test sizing and physical purity processes are much more efficient.

About Wyffels Hybrids

In 1946, Wyffels Hybrids was established with a vision to produce seed that could help friends and neighbors be more successful. That promise has resulted in significant growth and opportunity as Wyffels continues to build a team of employees who share that vision for the seed business, and passion for serving customers.

Wyffels Hybrids, headquartered in Geneseo, Ill., is the fastest growing seed corn company in the nation. Focusing strictly on developing and marketing elite corn hybrids, the company is dedicated to providing corn growers in Illinois, Iowa, southern Wisconsin, southwest Minnesota and southeast South Dakota with exceptional products, the latest agronomic information, and unmatched customer service and product support. To learn more or request information, visit wyffels.com or call 1-800-369-7833