ASTA | AgWired

ZimmCast 341 It’s time to look forward to the 2012 National Agriculture Day activities in Washington, DC. Things kick off on Thursday morning and I’ll be there again this year courtesy of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) and Agriculture Council of America.

In a look ahead to this week’s activities I visited with Julie Douglas, Communications Director, ASTA, during Commodity Classic last week. Julie says there is no other industry as important as agriculture and that ASTA is very happy to support and celebrate farmers and increase awareness of all the good things they do including being good stewards of the land.

Besides attending Ag Day Activities courtesy of ASTA I will also be attending their annual meeting this year which Julie says will be held in Washington, DC for the first time in years. She says it will be an opportunity to bring together all segments of the seed industry who will be able to visit with lawmakers and educate them about the industry and need for continued funding for agricultural research. The annual meeting will not only feature an agvocacy day on Capitol Hill but sessions on conservation and phytosanitary issues as well as individual industry organizational meetings.

The ASTA 129th Annual Convention will be held June 20 – 23 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center at
National Harbor, MD.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Visiting with ASTA

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

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Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland

Ag Day Dinner During the National Ag Day banquet I met one of our sponsors for Ag Day coverage, Andy Lavigne, American Seed Trade Association.

Andy says ASTA is 127 years old and was started by seed companies to promote high quality seed. Member companies produce seed from alfalfa to zucchini and everything in between. If it can be grown from a seed, that’s what their members produce. That makes for a wide variety of companies. They work on legislative matters for their members to try to keep regulations from becoming too burdensome and to make sure there are seed variety options for growers. They do this by working with grower groups and the food industry.

I asked him to describe the current legislative climate and what the key issues ASTA will be working on this year. He says it’s an interesting time and right now agriculture is doing very well. But the challenge will be with Congress and the pressure to reduce spending. He says they are helping make sure agriculture is at the table when the negotiating is going on.

The top priority for ASTA is working with the grower community to make sure there is a viable farm bill. It’s not just because there are a couple of items that have a direct impact on seed production but because it’s so important to their customers.

You can listen to my interview with Andy here: Andrew Lavigne Interview

2011 National Ag Day Photo Album

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