A recent focus of Bill Hendrix, the Biology Team Leader, Insect Management Traits & Seeds Treatments for Dow AgroSciences, is developing the new SmartStax technology for corn with Monsanto. I spoke with Hendrix about the new SmartStax traits in more detail during Commodity Classic.
The SmartStax technology brings eight traits in a package of corn. It received registration in 2009 and is now available for the 2010 growing season. I asked Hendrix how this new technology benefited farmers.
“It’s a benefit to growers because it offers the broadest spectrum. It will bring the best of both the Herculex trait as well as the Yield Guard traits. So it’s got double modes of action, above ground and below ground. Plus, it has Liberty, Link and Roundup Ready herbicide traits,” answered Hendrix.
According to Hendrix, another major benefit for the farmer is that because of the resistance management protection and the extra modes of action, the EPA has granted a reduced refuge from 20 percent traditionally, to 5 percent.
Hendrix added that no matter where the farmer is in the country, the traits will bring them protection.”
You can get more information here as well as by listening to my interview with Bill below.
Commodity Classic was full of new products and technologies and two new product lines have come from the Channel Brand. The Channel Brand is under the Channel Bio company (launched in September 2009) which is a Monsanto company.
I spoke with Stacy Markovich, Channel Brand Manager about Channel Bio and the new Channel Brand products. “Our mission is to serve as the American farmers most trusted source for seed, and Channel is one of the largest seed companies in the United States,” said Markovich.
The company’s primary products are corn and soybean but they also have alfalfa and sorghum. This year, they have a new corn lineup with 18 new products including six Channel Brand Genuity SmartStax products. On the soybean side, they have 24 new products including 20 Channel Brand Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield products.
Also in the Monsanto pipeline are products that will address drought, drought tolerance and water utilization needs. Click here to learn more about the Channel Brand products.
Congrats to Tracy Mader who was just promoted to head of Product Marketing for Syngenta Seeds corn and soybean products.
In this new role, Mader will be responsible for the corn, soybean and other field crops portfolio, including traits, genetics, seed care and other relevant technology, and will oversee late stage product development, product launches and product lifecycle management.
Mader most recently served as the Agrisure marketing manager, responsible for branding, launching and marketing of Agrisure® corn traits. Mader joined Syngenta in 1995 as an employee of predecessor company Ciba. He brings a wealth of marketing experience and knowledge to the product marketing role, having had various positions within Syngenta throughout the U.S. He has an agricultural economics degree from Kansas State University.
Jill Loehr has joined Wyffels Hybrids as a new communications manager.
Loehr will be responsible for developing a strategic communications plan, as well as working closely with the director of marketing to develop materials and programs that reinforce Wyffels’ brand promise of being the best way to bring seed technology to the farm.
Loehr has extensive communications experience serving most recently as an account supervisor at Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Communications on the Bayer CropScience account. She holds a dual degree from Iowa State University in public service and administration in agriculture and journalism and mass communications.
I learned what’s new with Syngenta Seeds from Wayne Fithian at the recent NAFB Trade Talk. He says that because of biotechnology the pace of new products is becoming more rapid. According to Wayne, they’re in the final stages of regulatory approval of their Agrisure Viptera for corn which they hope to have available for planting in 2010. Following that they’ll have “water optimization” which is an improved drought tolerance trait. And the list goes on and on.
When Syngenta Seeds considers new products to bring to market, they think like a farmer.
“They’re our primary customer at the end of the day and we can have the greatest technologies, the greatest genetics but if we don’t understand their business and the challenges they face, it could all be wasted,” said Agronomy Marketing Manager Bruce Battles at a recent ag media day at Syngenta Seeds new headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn.
Bruce says they use their seed innovations to meet grower needs and one example is the aphid management system they are preparing to launch in the next year. “In this example, we have taken genetics and taken a trait and put it with the genetics for controlling aphids. But, we’ve also taken our expertise from our seed care group in using a product like Cruiser as a seed treatment to help suppress aphid pressure,” he said.
Coming soon to a field near you from Syngenta Seeds – corn with water optimization traits.
Syngenta is going beyond drought-resistant corn to introduce water optimization traits, which will reduce the amount of moisture needed to optimize yield and minimize yield loss in drought conditions, as well as reduce water use in average years. Business Lead Corn Product Manager Wayne Fithian says this trait will help farmers be more productive and more sustainable. “Part of it is helping farmers do a better job of managing their environment,” Wayne said during a recent media day at the new Syngenta Seeds headquarters in Minnesota. “Sometimes it rains, sometimes it doesn’t rain and farmers get caught in this yo-yo of yields connected to rainfall. So if we can break that relationship and help farmers increase yield potential in times when Mother Nature doesn’t give them all the rain they want, then that would be a great thing.”
Wayne says water-optimized hybrids are expected to be available in 2011 through Garst, Golden Harvest and NK brand seeds. Listen to an interview with Wayne below.
Syngenta Seeds calls them “broad leps” – farmers call them expensive – most people would just call them icky.
They are a bunch of nasty wormy creatures – technically lepidopteran corn pests – that make up what Syngenta calls the “multi-pest complex” which costs growers over $1 billion each year in lost yield and grain quality. They include corn earworm, fall armyworm, Western bean cutworm, black cutworm, stalk borer and sugarcane borer.
Agrisure Marketing Manager Tracy Mader says the pests are challenging because they affect all areas of the country and all growth stages of the plant. “The industry has done a very good job controlling corn borer root worm, but the next step is to control this group of broad lep pests, like black cutworm, that can attack the crop at the very early stages.”
That is what they are striving for with the Agrisure Viptera™ trait for corn, which is still awaiting all necessary regulatory approvals and authorizations before it can be marketed. “We’re working really hard,” Tracy said. “What we do have is deregulation from the EPA and the FDA and we are working hard with USDA to receive deregulation for Agrisure Viptera™ and they’re also working in all the key export countries as well.”
I interviewed Tracy about Agrisure Viptera™ during the recent grand opening of the Syngenta Seeds headquarters in Minnetonka, MN. Listen to or download that interview below. And if you want to find out more – and see a really creepy but impressive video – go to agrisuretraits.com.
Syngenta Seeds new headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota is just one of the many locations where Syngenta has major research laboratories.
Principal Research Scientist for Insect Resistance Dirk Benson talked about Syngenta’s global research capabilities during a symposium for agricultural reporters during the grand opening event. “In Europe, we have insecticide development, we have herbicide technology development, in the US we have formulation development on the crop protection side,” Dirk said. “On the seeds and traits side, we have capabilities for biotechnology in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, we just opened a new site in Beijing, China to augment that. We do other seed research in Australia, we do some in Toulouse, France for our vegetable businesses, we do sugar beet work in Scandinavian countries.”
Dirk is based in North Carolina and he says they deal with everything from new trait discovery to building the vectors to insert in plants. “At Syngenta biotechnology in RTP, we have about 400 employees which represents about 10 percent of Syngenta’s global R&D force,” he said.
He is excited about the new headquarters because it provides great opportunity for collaborative opportunities for the organization as a whole.
Listen to or download my interview with Dirk Benson below.
Sponsored by
Dan Dyer, Syngenta Seeds Soybean Product Development Lead, told ag media during the grand opening of the company’s new headquarters that varieties like this prove how Syngenta Seeds is raising the bar. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve noticed in our own data and what we are hearing back from the field, about just how strong the performance is in our varieties,” Dan told me in an interview. “If you’re looking for top yields, these really are the top-yielding beans in the market.”
“It’s real simple for us, doesn’t sound too sophisticated, but we’re going to sell the highest yielding soybeans,” Dan said. “Our objective is to make the growers the most profitable they can be.”
Listen to or download my interview with Dan Dyer below.
Sponsored by
Why is this man smiling? Probably because he spends about half the year in Hawaii working on new corn seed hybrids for growers to plant back here on the mainland.
Ben Hable (pronounced Hobbly) is Syngenta Seeds Corn Product Development Lead. During an agricultural media seminar following the grand opening of the new Syngenta Seeds headquarters in Minnetonka, MN this week, Ben said that producing seed corn in Hawaii allows them to fast track new products to market. “In Hawaii we can actually turn a crop every 3 and a half months so we can increase the seeds that we need to get back here to the mainland for seed production,” Ben told me during an interview. “Syngenta now has over 300 full time staff in the state of Hawaii working on corn and soybean seed production.”
Ben told us that seed corn is now Hawaii’s biggest cash crop, and he was telling the truth. Just today, a story came out of Honolulu about the latest report from the the Hawaii Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) that says the value of Hawaii’s seed industry for the 2008/2009 season was a “record high” of $176.6 million. Seed corn accounts for $169.3 million, or 96 percent, of the total value.
A recent Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation study shows that seed crops have become the largest agricultural commodity in the state, exceeding the value of both sugar and pineapple by 180 percent and 90 percent, respectively. The photo is of seed corn growing on the island of Molokai.
Listen to or download my interview with Ben Hable below.
Sponsored by
The CEO of Switzerland-based Syngenta helped to do the honors of opening the new headquarters of Syngenta Seeds in Minnetonka, MN on Monday.
Mike Mack says the new building represents Syngenta planting the seeds of the future. “We’re really proud of this extraordinary building which embodies the forward-looking, sustainable qualities and spirit of innovation that have driven Syngenta and its predecessor companies for more than a century,” Mack said during the grand opening ceremony. Mack highlighted the features of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified building, which include natural light, recycled materials, and other environmentally-friendly features.
Mack also talked about how Syngenta Seeds was built on the acquisitions of several well-known seed brands, leading with Northrup King, which was started in Minnesota 125 years ago.
Listen to Mike Mack’s remarks at the grand opening below.
Sponsored by
Syngenta Seeds president David Morgan welcomed agricultural leaders, invited guests, media and employees to the official opening of the Syngenta Seeds headquarters on a beautiful Monday morning in Minnetonka. Among those in attendence were Syngenta CEO Mike Mack, Minnesota State Senator Terri Bonoff, state Agriculture Deputy Commissioner Jim Boerboom, Chamber of Commerce president David Olsen and Minnetonka mayor Terry Schneider.
Morgan praised the employees of Syngenta seeds for their hard work and commitment and recognized three exceptional sales reps responsible for $6-10 million in sales for the various Syngenta seed brands, including Garst, Golden Harvest and Northrup King. Morgan called the new building a symbol of the company’s increasing strength in the seeds business. “Our reputation is growing as a leader in agriculture and our new headquarters reflects our accomplishments and underscores our intent as we move confidently into the future.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is expected to arrive shortly to join the celebration.
Here’s the latest change in the seed business and it’s a big one. Dow AgroSciences LLC announced today it is acquiring the majority of assets of Illinois based corn company Pfister Hybrids. The addition of Pfister Hybrids will further expand Dow AgroSciences’ current U.S. seeds business as the company anticipates the introduction of SmartStax(TM) in 2010 and Dow AgroSciences Herbicide Tolerance (DHT) technology in corn in 2012. The transactional close is expected in the near future.
“Pfister was one of the founding seed corn companies in the Midwest, and we are proud to continue the legacy started more than seven decades ago by one of the nation’s original seedsmen Lester Pfister,” said Stan Howell, vice president, North America Regional Commercial Unit for Dow AgroSciences. “Pfister Seeds is a welcomed addition to our U.S. seed business. At Dow AgroSciences investing in innovation is the key to our future, and we look forward to building upon the Pfister tradition.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Dow AgroSciences will acquire the Pfister brand and the sales and marketing areas, as well as the warehousing and administrative services of the business. Dow AgroSciences will continue to independently market seeds under the Pfister Seeds brand, and Pfister Seeds will continue to be headquartered at its existing location in El Paso.
Linda Brown, president for Pfister, will remain with Pfister Seeds LLC as general manager. Dale Brown will continue with Pfister as the business and brand development lead and Bill Salmi will remain as the company controller.
Nufarm Americas Inc. is making a major push into the growing seed treatment market, introducing several new products this year to give it a full portfolio of brands to protect seeds and young crops from insects, stress and disease.
“We see great opportunities in seed treatment,” says Tim Stoehr, director of sales for Nufarm seed treatment. “With our global reach, and over 20 years experience in seed treatment, we can bring the American seed industry proven products with outstanding formulations, and do it at a good value.”
Nufarm just introduced Senator™, its first U.S. seed treatment brand, last year. By the end of 2009, Stoehr says they expect to have 15 products available for use. “We have been able to leverage our worldwide expertise, along with our U.S.-based team of researchers, to bring a wide range of products to market very quickly, including a range of nutritional seed treatments that are compatible with insecticide and fungicide seed treatment products,” he said.
Read more here.
At last week’s Commodity Classic I learned a new word – Genuity. My teacher was Dion McBay, Monsanto trait marketing lead.
Genuity is a new brand that provides Monsanto with a new platform to deliver new technologies to the marketplace. The name came from the work of a brand development team that talked to farmers across the country. The name meant things like genuine and the “gen” part seemed to suggest genes or genesis so Genuity it is. Dion says that the Monsanto brand covers a lot of things and with Genuity they can focus on a brand that “promises to deliver technology products that help farmers do what they do best, even better.” A media and public relations campaign is scheduled to start immediately to begin introducing the brand to farmers.
You can listen to my iPhone interview with Dion here:
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There’s an interesting story in yesterday’s N.Y. Times titled, “Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research.” Apparently a group of university scientists has filed this statement to the EPA which the story says will be holding meetings next week on biotech crops and was seeking public comments.
“Technology/stewardship agreements required for the purchase of genetically modified seed explicitly prohibit research. These agreements inhibit public scientists from pursuing their mandated role on behalf of the public good unless the research is approved by industry. As a result of restricted access, no truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions regarding the technology, its performance, its management implications, IRM, and its interactions with insect biology. Consequently, data flowing to an EPA Scientific Advisory Panel from the public sector is unduly limited.”
The seed companies require contracts to purchase their genetically modified seed and therein lies the concerns and frustrations apparently. It makes a good read just prior to Commodity Classic next week when seed companies will be exhibiting while the EPA is meeting.
I couldn’t attend the Schillinger Seed Technology Day last week but thanks to Jess Held, Lessing-Flynn, I did get a photo.
The purpose of the event, held in Queenstown, MD, was to provide a glimpse of:
At a glimpse:
• Behind the Schillinger Story
• Revolutionizing the soybean industry
• Launch of soybean industry firsts
• Meet with several international and domestic end users of non-GMO Soybeans.
• An “in-the-lab” look at high-tech Trait Marker Technology
One of the people bringing technology to farmers in the field here at the Farm Science Review is Agrow/Dekalb Field Advisor, Troy Putnam (pictured on the Monsanto Mobile Greenhouse).
Troy says that the exhibit is helping promote the Roundup Ready 2 Yield launch. He describes it as second generation technology that will be in the Asgrow line. Farmers, he says, have seen great yield increases in corn over the years and they have been looking for the same in soybeans. “Roundup Ready 2 Yield will raise that bar and you’ve heard the numbers 7-11% in some of our research trials. We’re so excited about it that we’ll have a couple million acres in the launch for 2009.” Troy says there’s a plan in place to distribute out different varieties to various regions based on maturity, soybean volume and demand of the current Roundup Ready line.
When it comes to advantages of the new technology he says it will mean more beans per plant. An example he sites is that if you plant 180,000 plants/acre and get just one more bean per plant then you’ll have one additional bushel of yield for that acre. So increasing the number of beans on the plant has a major impact on yield.
Troy also talks about their Mobile Greenhouse which he says takes farmers through the process of looking at conventional beans through Roundup beans.
You can listen to my interview with Troy here:
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An “almost anything goes” video contest for a seed corn company sounds very cutting edge doesn’t it? That’s what iCORN.com is doing.
iCORN.com has launched a new $30,000 video contest as a way to help students pay for college and to show appreciation to its customers. The new video contest gives students an opportunity to win a share of $30,000 by posting videos online for public voting. The videos receiving the most votes win.
Three main steps comprise the contest:
1. A new, current or former iCORN.com customer nominates a student.
2. The nominated student makes an original video (up to 90 seconds) and submits it to the contest website, www.iCORN.com/Contest.
3. Online public voting determines which 3 students win a share of $30,000 ($20,000 for first, $7,500 for second and $2,500 for third). (more…)
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Happy Ag Week
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
In this week's program I interview Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the group coordinating National Ag Day. Learn more about their activities, especially this week in Washington, DC.
“It’s a benefit to growers because it offers the broadest spectrum. It will bring the best of both the Herculex trait as well as the Yield Guard traits. So it’s got double modes of action, above ground and below ground. Plus, it has Liberty, Link and Roundup Ready herbicide traits,” answered Hendrix.
and 
I learned what’s new with Syngenta Seeds from Wayne Fithian at the recent NAFB Trade Talk. He says that because of biotechnology the pace of new products is becoming more rapid. According to Wayne, they’re in the final stages of regulatory approval of their 
“They’re our primary customer at the end of the day and we can have the greatest technologies, the greatest genetics but if we don’t understand their business and the challenges they face, it could all be wasted,” said Agronomy Marketing Manager Bruce Battles at a recent ag media day at Syngenta Seeds new headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn.
Syngenta is going beyond drought-resistant corn to introduce water optimization traits, which will reduce the amount of moisture needed to optimize yield and minimize yield loss in drought conditions, as well as reduce water use in average years. Business Lead Corn Product Manager Wayne Fithian says this trait will help farmers be more productive and more sustainable. “Part of it is helping farmers do a better job of managing their environment,” Wayne said during a recent media day at the new Syngenta Seeds headquarters in Minnesota. “Sometimes it rains, sometimes it doesn’t rain and farmers get caught in this yo-yo of yields connected to rainfall. So if we can break that relationship and help farmers increase yield potential in times when Mother Nature doesn’t give them all the rain they want, then that would be a great thing.”
Agrisure Marketing Manager Tracy Mader says the pests are challenging because they affect all areas of the country and all growth stages of the plant. “The industry has done a very good job controlling corn borer root worm, but the next step is to control this group of broad lep pests, like black cutworm, that can attack the crop at the very early stages.” 
Principal Research Scientist for Insect Resistance Dirk Benson talked about Syngenta’s global research capabilities during a symposium for agricultural reporters during the grand opening event. “In Europe, we have insecticide development, we have herbicide technology development, in the US we have formulation development on the crop protection side,” Dirk said. “On the seeds and traits side, we have capabilities for biotechnology in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, we just opened a new site in Beijing, China to augment that. We do other seed research in Australia, we do some in Toulouse, France for our vegetable businesses, we do sugar beet work in Scandinavian countries.”
Why is this man smiling? Probably because he spends about half the year in Hawaii working on new corn seed hybrids for growers to plant back here on the mainland.
Ben told us that seed corn is now Hawaii’s biggest cash crop, and he was telling the truth. Just today, 
The CEO of Switzerland-based 
Morgan praised the employees of Syngenta seeds for their hard work and commitment and recognized three exceptional sales reps responsible for $6-10 million in sales for the various Syngenta seed brands, including Garst, Golden Harvest and Northrup King. Morgan called the new building a symbol of the company’s increasing strength in the seeds business. “Our reputation is growing as a leader in agriculture and our new headquarters reflects our accomplishments and underscores our intent as we move confidently into the future.”
Here’s the latest change in the seed business and it’s a big one.
At last week’s Commodity Classic I learned a new word – 
I couldn’t attend the 
One of the people bringing technology to farmers in the field here at the Farm Science Review is Agrow/Dekalb Field Advisor, Troy Putnam (pictured on the Monsanto Mobile Greenhouse).
An “almost anything goes” video contest for a seed corn company sounds very cutting edge doesn’t it? That’s what
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
