Syngenta has announced its new ambition and priorities following the completion of the transaction with ChemChina. The company aims to profitably grow market share through organic growth and collaborations, and is considering targeted acquisitions with a focus on seeds. The goal is to strengthen Syngenta’s leadership position in crop protection and to become an ambitious number three in seeds. Agricultural …
ASTA Preparing Farm Bill Input
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) has an interest in several titles of the farm bill, so the organization is making preparations for the 2018 legislation. The research title is extremely important to the industry, and trade promotions are absolutely critical, Jane DeMarchi, VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs and Virginia Houston, Associate Director for Domestic and Government Affairs for …
Farm Groups Cheer WOTUS Repeal
Ding dong the ditch rule is dead! The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have officially begun the process to withdraw the highly controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) final rule and begin a replacement rulemaking process to gather input and re-evaluate the definition of WOTUS, to cheers from farmers and ranchers nationwide. American Farm …
Clariant Colors the Seed Industry Bright
If you haven’t heard of Clariant, it’s pretty remarkable to discover all the ways this manufacturer of chemicals might be involved in your daily life. With manufacturing plants around the globe, Clariant’s color division is providing pigments to industries like plastics, oil, even airline de-icing. They were at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota last …
ASTA Honors Dr. Stephen Smith
Dr. Stephen Smith was honored last week at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dr. Smith was made a Lifetime Honorary Member during the Gala Banquet in recognition of his leadership, vision, and service to the seed industry. “Dr. Smith has been an ardent supporter of ASTA’s activities on the domestic and international levels for …
Seeds in Space Benefit Ag on Earth
There’s a good bet that the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting of 30 years ago looked remarkably different than the event that took place last week in Minneapolis, MN. And it’s a good bet that the science and technology making an impact on the industry in another 30 years may not have even been thought of yet, but …
ASTA Elects New Leadership
The American Seed Trade Association has been a continuously growing family for the past 134 years, and the family of new chairman Tracy Tally has been a constant at the ASTA annual meeting for many of those years. Tally is president of Justin Seed Company in Justin, Texas, a company founded by his father in 1956. Besides running Justin Seed …
Learning Innovation from the Seed at #ASTAannual
Stan Abramson of Arent Fox LLP, Law Firm spoke with members of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) about promoting agriculture innovations in Washington D.C. We can learn a lot about innovation from the seeds themselves. “Plants and seeds are natural innovators. They constantly reinvent themselves,” he told the audience. “A lot of innovation is just figuring out how nature …
Clariant Ups R&D Support for Agriculture
Clariant is excited to announce their new greenhouse at Clariant Innovation Center (CIC) opened earlier this week. The state-of-the-art greenhouse will offer R&D for crop protection and managment, along with yield-enhancement solutions. The 400sqm greenhouse offers smart simulation of environmental conditions such as humidity, light, rainfall and temperature, creating a proper climate for testing to supplement Clariant’s existing laboratory testing …
Enogen Presents American Ethanol Race in Iowa
Coming up tomorrow at the Iowa Speedway, Enogen presents the NASCAR XFINITY Series American Ethanol E15 250 for the fifth year. Ron Wulfkuhle is excited to be attending the race for the first time as head of Enogen at Syngenta. “We’ll have about 1200 corn farmers attending as our guests and also we’ll be working with the FFA,” said Wulfuhle. …