While many seed companies merge and grow, they have been turning most of their focus on their corn and soybean lines and backing away from their efforts with their forage lines. Yet Renovo Seed is taking the opposite path. According to the company’s product expert Justin Fruechte, “Forage companies better understand the management of forage crops and can help producers grow larger quantities, increase quality, and select better species blends to meet their specific, regional needs. It makes sense that forage companies like Renovo Seed are stepping up to fill the void left by the departure of many large seed companies.” At the same time, with the recent consolidation in the alfalfa industry, breeding programs are exiting the space, leaving room for the emergence and expansion of brands like Renovo Seed. They take pride in making it easy for existing seed dealers to expand their offering with the Renovo lineup, which includes alfalfa. Dealers who already provide corn and soybeans, yet lack options for diversity crops, can quickly complement their existing portfolio with the Renovo line to have all the products they need to meet any of their customers’ seed needs.

Based in Brookings, SD, the Renovo Seed brand of Millborn started in October of 2023, after identifying a need to simplify seed solutions for forages, cover crops, and conservation seed. The Renovo Seed brand was established to focus on traditional farmer-dealer customers, ag retail businesses, and direct-to-consumer sales. Shannon Kubik, Brand President, explains, “With so many farmers and ranchers beginning to recognize the benefits of diverse crop systems, as well as more and more incentive programs for diversity being developed in both the public and private sector, Millborn recognized a need to make these products easier to access and understand. And there was born Renovo Seed – a seed company offering pre-built, proven-to-work seed mixes that take the guesswork out of forages, cover crops, and conservation
seed.”

Millborn, with over 1,200 products in their inventory, is the supply chain and logistics powerhouse that backs up Renovo’s offering. Renovo Seed takes those 1,200 products and simplifies them to about 80 pre-built seed mixes sold through seed dealerships, directly from retail counters, and online. While Renovo Seed locations include Brookings, Rapid City, North Sioux City, and across the U.S. border in Calgary, Alberta, dealers are located all across North America, with the heart of the business in the upper Midwestern part of the United States and across Alberta, Canada. Experienced Renovo Seed sales account managers maintain one-on-one relationships with dealers in their region.

Responding to customer needs and expectations
Most recently, Justin said that Renovo Seed increased their focus on performing its own research as customer expectations grew in conjunction with its emergence as a leader in the industry. This growth is also due to collaboration with others in the industry; as he says, “We source the best genetics and varieties from multiple breeders, market them, and put them into blends.” Renovo Seed accesses varieties from multiples places, such as South Dakota State University and their oat and wheat programs, to put new varieties into production with contract growers throughout the area. After the seed is grown and harvested, it is brought through the Millborn processing facilities to be cleaned and packaged for farmers and ranchers.

Justin says seed blends are created based on customer feedback and their employee’s experience and expertise. “We’re always listening to different scenarios our dealers and customers are problem-solving for, and if something comes up repeatedly, we’ll standardize a mix to solve the problem.” An added bonus to the research and trial efforts is the number of Renovo employees who are also farmers and ranchers. This gives them the insight to anticipate customer needs, develop mixes in advance, and be prepared with solutions to problems. Resource materials include management guides for fertility and herbicide recommendations, and performance data to show yield potential.

Realizing the potential for better education and resources in the forage industry, the brand held the first Renovo Rally in the summer of 2024. The event offers the opportunity to showcase the Renovo brand’s unique cover crop and forages plot, which not many other companies can invest their time or money into planting. Justin says, “We had cool season grains and newly started warm season annual plots at the rally. It was huge to plant those next to each other, see them grow, compare, and take notes!” The event was rounded out by educational sessions presented by expert speakers, an assortment of industry vendors featuring their services, and a lunch for all participants. Renovo is excited to be adding details for their July, 2025 rally and encourages those interested to visit https://www.renovoseed.com/plot/ for more information from the 2024 event.

Understanding the busy schedules of their customers, Renovo and Millborn are committed to meeting them where they are, which means they are available by phone, in person, online, or through dealers to help end users access their seed. In each instance, they have the resources and experts to help make customer seed choices simple. With in-depth product details, including videos demonstrating products in action, there is no shortage of Renovo resources available.

Renovo Seed Crop Categories include:
• Alfalfa & AlfaGrass
• Annual Forages
• Hay & Pasture Mixes
• Cover Crops
• Turf
• Grain
• Native Grass & Wildflowers
• Food Plot