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 …
Herrmann Concludes Year as ASTA Chair
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting marks the end of Mark Herrmann’s service as Chair of the organization. For the past year he has lead the group in some major changes and successes, including the passing of a federal GMO bill. “The GMO transparency bill being a federal bill, as opposed to the patchwork that was being done …
Panel Offers Food Company Perspectives
The Opening Session of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting featured three speakers offering “Perspectives from Today’s Major Food Companies.” John Wiebold from General Mills, Jenny Verner from Cargill, Inc., and Autumn Price representing Land O’Lakes each addressed the audience before participating in a panel discussion and taking questions from the audience. Each spoke of the challenges of …
Joe Funk Earns ASTA Distinguished Service Award
Joe Funk, Editor at SEED TODAY, was selected as this year’s American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Distinguished Service Award winner. He was honored during the Opening General Session of the ASTA Annual convention in Minneapolis, MN. The award is given to a member who has made a significant contribution both to ASTA and the seed industry. “Joe has been faithfully …
ASTA Annual Conference in Full Swing
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual conference is in full swing in Minneapolis, MN with both Cindy and Kelly on the ground to bring you all the news. To kick off our coverage of the event Cindy spoke with President and CEO Andy LaVigne about the past year’s work and what ASTA hopes to accomplish at the conference for the …
ASTA Annual Meeting is Next Week
The 2017 American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Annual Convention is coming up next week, June 21-24 in Minneapolis with a theme of Voyage to Better Seed. “This year we’ve got a lot of topics in front of us with a new administration, a farm bill out there, all the issues within the farm bill, and how do we develop policy …
Taking DC Bureaucrats to the Farm
The National Corn Growers Association recently joined with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the American Seed Trade Association to host officials from EPA and USDA for demonstrations on planting practices, seed treatments, and equipment innovations in an effort to help them understand modern farming. The event took place on the working farm of NCGA Chairman Chip Bowling in …
Set Sail on a Voyage of Better Seed
With the theme “Voyage of Better Seed,” the 2017 American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Annual Convention June 21-24 in Minneapolis will focus on science and policy issues related to the development and free movement of quality seed worldwide. ASTA president and CEO Andy LaVigne says a number of special sessions and tours are planned for the week, including an Opening …