The 130th American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting opened today with a look into the future of the seed industry provided by Dr. Lowell Catlett, the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics at New Mexico State University. Catlett is a self-professed “weirdo” who provided his perspective on what it takes to look to the future with …
ASTA at the Grand Ole Opry
The opening reception for the 130th American Seed Trade Association annual convention was held at the Grand Ole Opry and the entertainment was provided by an up-and-coming country artist who is now starting to get so popular that he is having less time for his job as a Syngenta Seeds sales rep. Not coincidentally, the reception was sponsored by Syngenta …
ASTA Convention Tackles Industry Issues
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) is holding its 130th annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee this week and it goes without saying that the organization is facing issues today that members at that first meeting never even dreamed about. “It’s really exciting when we look at 130 years of all the issues that impact the seed industry and how the …
Off to ASTA
What better place is there than Nashville to celebrate 130 years of the seed industry’s strong roots while charting a path for the progress and innovation of our present and future? I am heading to the 130th American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting at the Gaylord Opryland and joining me will be AgWired summer intern Maggie Seiler. Among the …
Syngenta Launches Clariva Seed Treatment
The first product from Syngenta’s acquisition of Pasteuria Bioscience, Clariva, has been launched and will be available in the U.S. next year. Syngenta announced today the launch of CLARIVA™, a proprietary seed treatment nematicide based on the Pasteuria technology acquired in 2012. CLARIVA consists of naturally occurring soil bacteria with a unique, direct mode of action on nematodes: microscopic worm-shaped …
Syngenta Builds on Garst® Seed Legacy
Even as the Syngenta-owned Garst and Golden Harvest® brands are being launched under the revised Golden Harvest brand, Syngenta intends to uphold the quality, reliability and legacy that have become synonymous with the Garst brand and the Garst Seed Advisor. “Roswell Garst’s commitment to customers – to be a trusted advisor in addition to a seed dealer – is the …
Keeping Seed Treatments Where They Belong
You’ve spent some good money to treat those seeds before you plant them in the ground. But the dust that forms when the treated seeds rub together and rub off those expensive treatments is more than a loss of protection and an irritant for workers – it’s like money blowing away in the wind. Charlie Hale, marketing strategy and support …
VAULT HP Fixes More Nitrogen for Soybeans
One of the biggest concerns for any ag operation is getting the most out of your inputs. During the recent tour of BASF‘s newly acquired Becker Underwood St.Joseph, Mo. seed facility, Russ Berndt, product manager for legumes and northern crops for Becker Underwood, talked about the symbiotic relationship soybeans have with the living organism rhizobia, a soil bacteria that fixes …
New Monsanto – Dupont Pioneer Licensing Agreement
Monsanto and Dupont Pioneer announced today “a series of technology licensing agreements.” These agreements will expand the range of seed products they can offer farmers. The agreements include a multi-year, royalty-bearing license for Monsanto’s next-generation soybean technologies in the United States and Canada. I spoke with Lisa Safarian, Monsanto, US Row Crops lead, to get some details. Some of the …
Precise Disk Drills from New Holland
Just how important is it to plant seeds precisely as you’d like to? Very important. That’s why New Holland has come out with a new series of disk drills. Whether seeding into summerfallow or stubble, New Holland’s new P2000 Series disk drills slice through crop residue to ensure precise, uniform seed placement with very low soil disturbance. Both the new …