Last week was the 73rd year for American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CSS 2018 & Seed Expo and like this year it was full of changes for the industry.
Besides having several new company names, ASTA changed the layout of the trade show so that all the booths were located on the same expo floor. “We’re always trying to improve the experience of the members who attend the expo,” said ASTA Chair Jerry Flint of Corteva Agriscience, one of those new company names in the industry.
There were 21 new exhibitors at the expo this year and more than 2300 attendees. Flint says they also added a new seed treatment educational tour at the expo. “Over 80 people went around and visited a number of the different vendors and the feedback that we received was extremely good,” said Flint.
An expanded general session this year allowed for a panel on “Majors after the Mergers” with the four major companies discussing this year’s changes. “We thought that it was a very candid conversation they had,” said ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne. “We had a number of questions and they were able to have dialogue back and forth – we thought the session went very well.”
In these interviews, Flint and LaVigne talk about ASTA’s long range strategic planning for the industry, a look back at 2018 and a look ahead at 2019.
ASTACSS18 Interview with ASTA Chair Jerry Flint, Corteva Agriscience ASTACSS18 interview with Andy LaVigne, ASTA CEO