The president and CEO of Bayer North America is always happy to visit the Farm Progress Show when it is in Iowa.
“I grew up on a farm just north of here in Hubbard, Iowa, graduate of Iowa State, and it’s always good to come home,” said Jim Blome during the traditional Bayer media luncheon on the first day of the show. “This year more than any other year, I’ve noticed one thing – corn really loves to grow in Iowa.”
During the media event, Blome talked about Bayer’s commitment to innovation in agriculture. “We’ve been around ag a long time…we know it’s a cyclical market, but we’re investing in innovation for the long term.”
Listen to Blome’s remarks to the media here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps16-bayer-blome1.mp3″ text=”Jim Blome, president and CEO Bayer North America”]
With the negotiations between Bayer and Monsanto ongoing, that topic was off the table during remarks and interviews, but Blome believes Bayer is uniquely positioned as a company to help farmers feed a growing global population. “It’s our 150 years of innovation,” he said. “We spend over a billion dollars a year in R&D and our investments have paid off. We’ve brought more innovation to the grower over the past 10 years than any of our competitors and we’re very proud of that.”
Listen to my interview with Jim here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps16-bayer-blome.mp3″ text=”Interview with Jim Blome, Bayer North America”]
2016 Farm Progress Show Photos
