The future of the seed industry is in good hands if the students who are attending this year’s American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting are any indication.

ASTA has a strong interest in encouraging young people pursuing careers in the industry in a number of ways, from programs that mentor students to supporting the efforts of the American Seed Research Foundation (ASRF) which has a scholarship program for graduate students.

This year’s Roger Krueger Memorial Scholarship was presented to Matthew Rhine, a graduate student at Texas A&M University who is working on improving soybeans across specific soil types. “I’m looking at trait identification based on nursery populations to see which traits are required for performance in each environment,” said Rhine, who added that being at ASTA and being able to interact with so many different people in the seed industry was a great experience.

The scholarship is named in honor of Dr. Roger Krueger, a seed researcher with Monsanto who passed away in 2007. “We’ve been giving a scholarship ever since to recognize him and to encourage students doing graduate work in the area of seed to follow in the footsteps of this terrific man who was a good friend of ours,” said Jim Tobin, who is retired from Monsanto but represented the company in awarding the scholarship this week.

Listen to my interview with Jim and Matthew here: Interview with ASRF Scholarship sponsor Monsanto and winner Matthew Rhine

2016 ASTA-OSA Annual Meeting photo album