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December 17, 2008
The ASTA staff wishes everyone a wonderful holiday season filled with peace and joy. The ASTA office will be closed from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2 in observance of the holiday season. We hope you enjoy this Seed E News Special Edition. Seed E News will resume after the New Year on Jan. 14, 2009. Happy Holidays!
ASTA's CSS 2008 HITS A HOMERUN CSS 2008 hit a homerun for the seed industry, bringing together representatives from the corn, sorghum and soybean sectors. A line up of educational sessions and industry initiatives, combined with networking opportunities, such as the Seed Expo, drew the highest registration in seven years. Held Dec. 9-12 in Chicago, Ill., the 63rd Corn & Sorghum Seed Research Conference and the 38th Soybean Seed Research Conference is the largest annual gathering of seed professionals in the country. The streamlined convention schedule was structured to permit time to visit the vast array of exhibitors at the Seed Expo as well as for companies to conduct business, a unique draw for attendees. President of JGL, Inc. Bryan Gerard stated, "The amount of business we are able to accomplish in one week at one location makes CSS the most important business meeting of the year." A collection of programs were featured in the Opening General Session and the Joint Corn & Sorghum and Soybean General Session. After conducting divisional business for these sectors, Tim Johnson, Illinois Foundation Seeds, Inc., SGI Field Crops Division, kicked off the Opening General Session with an in-depth overview of ASTA efforts to address the broad breath of issues facing the seed industry at the state, national and international levels. Johnson conveyed his personal experiences and how being an active member in ASTA benefits him, his company and the industry as a whole. Traditional winter weather in Chicago, famous at CSS, shook up the speaker line up at the Opening General Session; however, the show went on, and two academic studies were highlighted. Eloy Corona, Monsanto Company, presented on behalf of Dermot Hayes, Iowa State University, a short introduction to a research program on intellectual property rights in the private sector. The presentation offered a preview of the study to be peer reviewed which explores farm performance as an impact of the seed industry's investment in innovation in relation to intellectual property protection. The final results will be featured at the ASTA 126th Annual Convention in June 2009 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Preliminary results of a study conducted by Allan Gray, Purdue University, were presented by ASTA President and CEO Andy LaVigne. The study provides an analysis of the economics of the seed industry, outlining the size of the industry in terms of finances and human resources, the various production sectors within the industry and investment by the seed industry for future innovation and technology. The impact of the seed industry, captured in numbers, is even greater than first thought. For example, in 2007, about 26% of the U.S. seed sales were reinvested, totaling over $3 billion. Information such as this will aid ASTA and its members to communicate the impact of the seed industry to stakeholders, policy makers, legislators, and ultimately, consumers. The final results will be presented at the ASTA Board of Directors meeting in February 2009. The Opening General Session concluded with the unveiling of ASTA's "Beyond the Seed" intellectual property rights initiative, helping provide information on the true value of modern day seed to the customer. See the feature story below to learn more. The Joint Corn & Sorghum and Soybean General Session offered three segments of combined research conference programming as well as important updates on Market Choices® and the American Seed Research Summit. The session began with a presentation by Shawn Carlson, Chromatin Inc., on the new wave of mini-chromosomes and how this will transform the landscape of plant breeding. Patrick Schnable, Iowa State University, provided an overview of how information resulting from the maize genome sequencing project is being organized, accessed and used by plant breeders, easing their research. Andy LaVigne reviewed ASTA's decision to suspend the Market Choices® certification mark. He reviewed the reasoning behind the decision and the discussions of the seed industry on how to best support growers, grain handlers and exporters in product stewardship of grains derived from biotechnology. LaVigne also provided a synopsis of the American Seed Research Summit held in September 2008 in Chicago, Ill. Results of the study were provided along with a white paper which outlines challenges facing the seed industry and a strategy to address them. Two perspectives on trends in corn, sorghum and soybean acres in the U.S. and abroad rounded out the sessions. Ross Korves, The ProExporter Network, gave an economic view of these trends and the impact of the seed industry on such trends. Daniel Whitley, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, described the role of government in trends of agricultural production and what the seed industry can expect in the future for U.S. agricultural exports.
SESSIONS SHOWCASE INNOVATION FOR CORN, SORGHUM & SOYBEAN Five sessions dedicated specifically to corn, sorghum and/or soybean made up a significant part of the research programming at ASTA's CSS 2008 & Seed Expo. Well attended, the sessions offered a wide range of relevant research and new techniques in agricultural production and seed innovation. The first Soybean Session focused on seed treatment. Advances in seed treatment and the most effective way to apply these treatments were covered. Presenters, including Bruce Knoke of Precision Soya LLC, Scott Beck of Beck's Hybrids and Tom Hunsley of GROWMARK, gave an overview as to how seed treatment has impacted their business and how seed treatment has changed the soybean seed industry. Wayne Pedersen of the University of Illinois presented what seed treatments are available and which may deal best with the various challenges in raising soybeans. The second Soybean Session explored the possibility of reaching 100 bushel bean yields. Attendees first heard from Kip Cullers, a grower, on what he does to achieve the highest-known soybean yield to date. Shawn Conley, University of Wisconsin, offered a presentation on maximum yield potential in soybean production based on past experience and how new techniques in production can challenge this benchmark while looking at the economic impact these production methods may have on a grower. Brian Diers, University of Illinois, provided an overview of new genomic and genetic tools that will impact soybean variety development and how these techniques can be incorporated into soybean breeding programs. Historical perspective and past experiences can help to shed light on challenges and inform future decisions - an approach used in the Corn and Sorghum Session. Irwin Goldman, University of Wisconsin, provided a historical perspective on how heterosis has inspired breeders and geneticists throughout the 20th century, while Fed Miller, Texas A&M University, gave a historical overview on the evolution of sorghum over the last 50 years and how advances in hybrids addressed several production constraints from plant structure to disease management. David Bubeck, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a DuPont company, and Theadore Crosbie, Monsanto Company, both provided a glimpse into the future of maize production, based on past performance, ongoing research and what research is needed double yields by 2030, a combination of traditional breeding, molecular markers and biotechnology traits. The Sorghum Session offered two speakers from Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a DuPont company, looking at future advances in sorghum. Stephen Smith reviewed the past 30 years of sorghum seed development and the role of genetic resources and intellectual property protection in these advances, and how the diversity of sorghum will play a role in the future. Zuo-Yu Zhao presented how the Africa Biofortified Sorghum Consortium is working to bring better nutrition with improved sorghum, with efforts in research and policy development to support the application of biotechnology in crop cultivation as well as consumer acceptance. The Corn Session rounded out the week asking the question - can we reach 300 bushels of corn per acre? This dynamic session gave various insights into the different techniques and strategies being applied to gaining higher productivity in corn. Reiner Emrich, BASF Plant Science; Elizabeth Lee, University of Guelph; Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois; and Dev Niyogi, Purdue University presented their perspective on research that will address corn yield, including high throughput evaluation, research partnerships, sink establishment, the variable of water, nitrogen and planting techniques, and the impact of climate change.
SEED EXPO FEATURES WIDE ARRAY OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR SEED INDUSTRY Over 100 exhibitors showcased their many products and services for the seed industry. The Expo is the largest in the country and provides two full days of networking opportunity for Expo-goers and exhibitors alike. The Seed Expo opened with the Exhibitor Marketplace on Tuesday evening, offering food, drink and giveaways not to mention information and demonstrations for attendees. ASTA made available Free Day Passes to newcomers and those in production and operational roles. Exhibitors, likewise, were granted use of unlimited complimentary customer day passes broadening access to the Expo. Please contact ASTA for future exhibitor opportunities at upcoming events including the 48th Vegetable and Flower Seed Research Conference in February and the 126th Annual Convention in June.
NEW PRODUCTION & INDUSTRY WORKSHOP TACKLES RANGE OF ISSUES IN SEED PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT A new programming addition to CSS 2008 & Seed Expo, the Production and Industry Workshop covered a range of issues facing those in seed production management. Held over two days, the two 90-minute sessions feature an array of speakers. The program opened with a session entitled Sales, Strategy & Innovation Ideas that Will Build Sales and Profitability by Mark Faust Sr. of Echelon Management International. The session focused on four critical areas: customer focused selling, improved productivity (especially in sales), marketing effectiveness through position power points and creating and maintaining an effective strategy. On the second day, the session zeroed in on seed sampling and testing with a presentation by Tim Gutormson of SGS Mid-West Seed Services, Inc., and on reducing risk from weather events with a presentation by Weather Bill representatives. Attendance for the inaugural workshop was good, and ASTA looks forward to bringing more educational opportunities at future events.
TAKING AUDIENCES "BEYOND THE SEED" ASTA's motto is "First-the Seed." The challenge of the seed industry today is how to inform growers, legislators, regulators, the public, media and others that today's seed is not the seed of our fathers or grandfathers. At CSS 2008, ASTA unveiled a program that goes "Beyond the Seed!" Protection of intellectual property for the seed industry is one of ASTA's strategic goals. The Beyond the Seed Program will unite the seed industry to communicate a shared message on the benefits of intellectual property rights (IPR) to customers and policy makers. Designed to provide an array of tools, ASTA will be adding to the informational resources available under the program over the next couple months. A logo serves (shown above) as the cornerstone of this "Beyond the Seed" Program - highlighting the seed industry's commitment to innovation, bringing performance on the farm. A 10-page brochure simply explains the Beyond the Seed Program and provides a clear outline of information that supports the logo's cornerstone message. These brochures will be distributed at upcoming grower meetings and will be made available to ambassadors and ASTA staff, members and partner organizations. The accompanying wallet card is a great little give away that emphasizes for nuggets for people to consider. It is a nice piece to hand out at trade shows or for a seed representative to tuck in the wallet for that quick conversation on the elevator. One of the main outreach vehicles will be a standard presentation that supports and emphasizes the messages of the Beyond the Seed Program. Currently, it is in the final production stages, adding the latest information on the seed industry from the two economic research studies on the seed industry and the benefits of IPR to growers, and ultimately, to consumers. Unique to this project is that the standard presentation will not only include notes for a seed industry representative to personally deliver the presentation, but it will also have a voiceover option. This will allow the option to "play" the presentation for audiences. In addition, this version of the presentation will be available on the Web site so it can reach a broader audience, making the Web site more dynamic. The Web site will offer additional slide options that will go deeper into explanations for those with specific audiences or explaining specific technologies, or drawing upon different case studies in development by Iowa State University. A Web site is critical in today's information highway. This Beyond the Seed informational vehicle (www.beyondtheseed.org) will allow us the greatest exposure to the broadest of audiences, as well as serve as a resource for ambassadors, ASTA members, staff and partner organizations. The Web site will have a public section which delves deeper into the three areas outlined in the logo - Commitment, Innovation and Performance. Commitment will cover all seed and all technologies; innovation will have an interactive matrix with general product pipelines, and buckets of technologies which will allow audiences to zero in on their area of interest by crop or technology; and under performance, facts and studies will demonstrate how this impacts growers in the management of their own operations. There will also be an extensive section that is password protected. It will include licensing information on the logo, access to download or order the various tools such as the brochure, wallet card and presentation, as well as the supplemental slides. The password protected area will be developed over the next two months. However, the public section will be up and running in the coming weeks and will be added to over the next couple months. The first Beyond the Seed Ambassadors will be ASTA staff and key ASTA members who have been involved in developing the Beyond the Seed Program since the inception of the idea. ASTA will be reaching deeper into its membership to recruit good spokespersons for this strategic area. If IPR is a passion for you, then ASTA wants you in the legion of ambassadors. Training, materials and resources will be provided to further this message about IPR. To learn more about the project, please contact Gretchen Flanley or Bernice Slutsky.
SANTA MAKES EARLY VISIT TO FIRST THE SEED FOUNDATION After only six months, the First the Seed Foundation has created quite a buzz. Santa came early when the Monsanto Company became a Partner Donor through a contribution to the Foundation, a not for profit organization established to conduct education, outreach and communication on the value of crops and food produced from seeds. "We are extremely grateful for the support and contribution commitments we have received for the new First the Seed Foundation," said ASTA President and CEO Andy LaVigne. "We have an enormous opportunity to work together to spread the word about the great work being done by the American seed industry and Monsanto's strong commitment as a Founding Partner, as well as the early committment from other seed industry companies, is greatly appreciated." Past ASTA President Sonny Beck, who also serves on the foundation's board, was able to talk to seed representatives at CSS 2008 and Seed Expo about the foundation. He remarked, "I was surprised that everyone I talked to about the First the Seed Foundation totally agreed with its educational goals and wanted to contribute despite the slow economy. This is great for the future of the seed industry and our ability to attract the best talent to it." The First the Seed Foundation has been jump starting its efforts, recently developing a strategic plan and prioritizing outreach activities to address the goals of the foundation, which will begin with educational materials and an informational Web site. These efforts would not be possible without the early contributions also made by the following Patron Donors, Beck's Superior Hybrids and the GROWMARK System; Champion Donors, Indian Crop Improvement, Dr. Owen Newlin, RiceTec, and Remington Seeds; and Supporting Donors, Ahern International Seeds, Inc., Risa DeMasi, Bill Dolezel, Frontier Hybrids, Grief Packaging, Illinois Foundation Seeds, Inc., Kelly and Diana Kincannon, Maurice Miller, Popp Engineering, Seeds to the World, J.R. Simplot - memorial donation, John Tamulonis, Alan and Elise Walker, and Wyffels Hybrids. "There is strong support for the activities planned through the foundation, and all the support we are receiving from the seed industry will ensure that are goals are met," remarked LaVigne. Any contribution given in this inaugural year (calendar year 2008) will establish its donor as a Founding Donor of the First the Seed Foundation. Donations to the First the Seed Foundation are tax deductible. Please consider making a contribution to this important effort. For more information, or to make a donation, please click here.
ASTA received a special salute from AgriMarketing,the only magazine that covers the unique interests of corporate agribusiness executives, their marketing communications agencies, the agricultural media, agricultural trade associations and other agriculture-related professionals. Its audience annually sells products and services to the estimated $400 billion U.S. and Canadian agricultural markets. Their products include crop protection chemicals, plant nutrients, farm equipment, seed/traits, animal health, feed, material handling and a multitude of others. Nearly 8,000 subscribers receive the magazine that is published nine times per year and sent throughout the U.S. and Canada. ASTA and its efforts for the seed industry were featured in the salute and were made available at CSS 2008 and Seed Expo. To view an on-line version of the magazine, please click here. Additional copies can be obtained by contacting Gretchen Flanley.
LOOKING FORWARD TO CSS 2009 & SEED EXPO As this year's convention wanes, the Soybean Program Planning Committee and Corn & Sorghum Program Planning Committee are already hard at work to plan CSS 2009 & Seed Expo. Both committees are seeking members to join their efforts to select speakers and topics for CSS 2009. The committees are currently collecting ideas, and members are encouraged to send ideas by email to ASTA Director of Meetings Jennifer Lord. Both committees will next meet in Chicago on March 5-6, 2009.
ASTA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact ASTA at (703) 837-8140.
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129th Annual Convention • 2011 Farm & Lawn Seed Conf. • CSS 2011 & Seed Expo • 51st Vegetable & Flower Seed Conf. |