Agronomy Partners: A Farmers' Winning Edge

Redstar and Agronomy 2024 Conversation

Bio~Ryan & Kristin Mullenhoff / Owners

Ryan and Kristin were born and raised on farms near Leigh, NE, in 2004, they started a small seed corn and soybean business. They welcomed their only child, a son Jackson Charles in May of 2005. Over the next couple of years, they quickly found this "short-term" opportunity to become their forever future. 

In 2010, they added fertilizer and a list of other services prompting them to change their name to Ryan Mullenhoff Sales, LLC. Over the next couple years their fertilizer sales thrived and in 2018 they developed and branded their own line of low-salt starters called REDSTAR Fertilizer. They expanded in to other states. To better reflect their company, Ryan and Kristin officially changed their name to REDSTAR, LLC in 2020. 

After realizing the success of REDSTAR Fertilizer, Ryan and Kristin expanded their branded line to include Biologicals, Seed Treatments, Amino Acids, Adjuvants and more.In 2023 they introduced a third division of REDSTAR called REDSTAR Branded. 

 

Main Talking Points

The Early Days of REDSTAR (formally Ryan Mullenhoff Seeds)How did you initially get startedWhat were some of the biggest challengesWhat did your operation and team look like back in those daysREDSTAR FERTILIZERWhere did the idea of low-salt starter fertilizer come from? Did you solve a problem?How did adding fertilizer affect your businessWhat made you decide to build and produce your own line of branded fertilizerWhat makes your fertilizer uniqueCompany GrowthWhat kind of growth has your company seen, and what challenges or opportunities has it brought to your businessFor listeners looking to grow their farm or business what do you have for advice?Let’s Talk about the REDWhy REDSTAR, why the RED FertilizerWhat makes RED so much better and what’s behind all the REDWhat make REDSTAR Different than other Ag DealershipsWhat are some things that you do that set REDSTAR ApartRyan and KristinTell me what it's been like working together for the last 19 years?How do you handle disagreements?How do you manage work and family lifeHow have you grown in your ability to communicate effectively?What have been your biggest accomplishments since you started this companyHow have you customers attacked the rising input costs going into the 2023 growing season?What do you see being the biggest agronomic challenge facing growers this year?Weather, Disease, Insects, Fungicide availabilityWhat has the adoption rate been with your client base for using biologicals?Where do you see input prices going next year?What are some key things our listeners can do now to focus on maximizing the potential of this year’s crop?How many of your growers use cover crops?What else did we miss?

Summary and challenge

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give yourself or others at 18? 

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