Seed Sales Holds Steady for CropLife 100 Retailers in 2024
December 23, 2024 
For the seed category among CropLife 100 ag retailers, 2024 could be considered a triumph — at least compared with the rest of the crop inputs/services categories. According to the 2024 CropLife 100 survey, overall sales for the category remained flat vs. the 2023 revenues — coming in at just over $5.8 billion each year. And since every other category recorded a sales decline during 2024 among the nation’s top ag retailers, the seed category did manage to increase its overall market share among all other crop inputs/services. In 2024, according to the survey results, this rose from 12% in 2023 to 13% this year.
According to market watchers, the seed category benefitted from not experiencing the same supply chain disruptions/wild market price swings that have consistently dogged categories such as crop protection products and fertilizer since the end of COVID pandemic lockdowns. This kept prices and demand steady throughout each of the past few growing seasons for ag retailers.
Furthermore, overall, ag retailers say their seed revenues over the past decade have remained fairly consistent. According to data from the 2024 CropLife 100 survey, 51% of the nation’s top ag retailers that sell seed say their sales have grown “steadily” or “somewhat” since 2014. Another 33% indicated that the seed category revenues for their operations were relatively flat during this same time frame. Significantly, only 16% of respondents said their seed category sales declined over this time span.
What Motivates Seed Purchases?
In terms of what motivates seed purchases from CropLife 100 ag retailers, the 2024 survey results indicate that there are two factors that drive the majority of sales. According to the 2024 CropLife 100 survey, 51% of grower-customers make their seed purchases from the nation’s top ag retailers based upon the type of seed variety they need/want for their crop fields.
After variety type, a distant second reason for grower-customers to buy the seeds they do ties back to location conditions — specifically soil type. This was cited by 21% of CropLife 100 ag retailers for why their seed customers buy the seeds they do.
As for the remaining 18% of respondents, they indicated that their seed customers buy products based upon such factors as weather and “it’s the seed type they have always bought, so our company keeps that one in stock.”
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