Catherine White described the partnership between the WinField United facility in River Falls and UWRF. She started with her academic and work history: Catherine holds a BS in agronomy from Virginia Tech and a Master’s from the University of Illinois. She has been at Winfield since 2009. She has had 3 different roles in product development at Winfield, and she also works at UWRF as an adjunct Professor at UWRF in Soil Science. Catherine noted that lately she has become more of a plant physiologist focused on interaction between plants and soil they grow in.
WinField is part of Land O’ Lakes, which is much more than the butter we love. WinField sells a huge variety of agricultural products, both on the seed/supplements/treatment side and on the herbicide/fungicide/insecticide segment, both of which contribute to the success of farmers (by growing stuff and killing stuff, respectively). WinField has a strong relationship with the Mann Valley Lab Farm. Catherine also noted that WinField has a food sustainability focus. [Continued]
Added to US work, Land O' Lakes has a project focused on developing countries. Another area being explored is alternative crops, with the goal of expanding beyond corns and soybeans.
Customers for the farmer-owned Land O’ Lakes include 1959 dairy producers, 886 agricultural producers, and 1118 retail owners.
WinField really values the relationship between the Sterling Ponds location and UWRF. Catherine said that it is sometimes difficult for higher level management to understand the importance of the relationship. She did note that, as evidence of the WinField commitment, they built a field facility across from Mann Valley Lab Farm. WinField routinely hire students as interns for summer positions.
WF has around 3000 employees at present in several locations. WF is 1/3 – ½ of revenue for Land O’ Lakes. Catherine said that the innovation center here is unique in WinField. She added that the center here has met corporate expectations for its contributions to the overall Land O’ Lakes corporation.
About the Speaker: Catherine White is the lead project manager for fertilizer and plant growth promoting product development at WinField United. She has worked for WinField United for 15 years, spending 11 of those years in Product Development in River Falls. Catherine is also an adjunct professor in the Plant and Earth Science Department at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls, teaching soil science courses. She has a B.S. in Agronomy from Virginia Tech and a M.S. in Soil Fertility from the University of Illinois. Catherine, her husband Eric, their daughter Virginia, and their 2 dogs live in River Falls.