WINDSOR, COLORADO, US — Limagrain Cereal Seeds (LCS), a cereal breeding operation and division of international agricultural cooperative Group Limagrain, has hired Jeff Widder, a 25-year veteran of the industry, as national sales and marketing manager.

Widder, who began his role with LCS in July, received a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and crop science from Fort Hayes State University and went to work for DeKalb in seed production, providing product to farmers in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa for eight years before transitioning to sales.

Following Monsanto’s purchase of DeKalb in 1998, Widder led the company’s specialty crops business, including sorghum, sunflowers, canola and alfalfa. After three years at the multinational company, he joined a startup seed company in Texas and ran all operations, from product manufacturing to sales, accounting and reporting to the board for seven years. From there, he ran the seed division of Simplot, covering corn, soybeans, cotton and cereals, before joining LCS.

“LCS is a great company with a superior lineup in cereals,” Widder said. “Plus, working in small grains takes me back to my heritage, growing up in Kansas. I’ve always been farmer-focused. I appreciate what farmers do and am a huge ag advocate.”

Founded in 1965, Group Limagrain is an international agricultural cooperative based in Saint-Beauzire, France, and specializes in field seeds, vegetable seeds and cereal products. LCS is a cereal breeding operation located in Windsor, Colorado, US, and dedicated to developing new wheat and barley varieties bred expressly for farmers’ climates, soils and growing conditions.

“Jeff’s breadth and depth of seed industry expertise has already had a huge impact on helping LCS wheat farmers succeed,” said Tatiana Henry, chief executive officer of LCS.