The Hemp Seed Opportunities & Challenges session at the American Seed Trade Association’s 2019 CSS and Seed Expo was packed at the end of the day on Wednesday, showing the high level of interest the seed industry has in this new and growing commodity. Participating in the session were Pat Miller, ASTA’s Director of State Government Affairs; Wendy Mosher with …
ASTA Excited About USMCA
Members of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) meeting in Chicago this week are excited about news that an agreement has been reached on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that could mean a vote as early as next week. “Mexico and Canada are our two biggest agricultural trading partners so we need that clear relationship,” said ASTA Chair Wayne Gale …
ASTA Announces Student Video Contest Winner
Recent Iowa State University PhD graduate Kevin Falk was honored as the grand prize winner of the Better Seed, Better Life Student Video Contest for the second year in row during the Opening General Session of ASTA’s CSS & Seed Expo 2019 in Chicago. Falk’s PhD work focuses around harnessing technology to develop high throughput phenotyping platforms and machine learning …
Hemp Seed is a Hot Topic for ASTA
American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) chairman Wayne Gale, Stokes Seeds, spent a lot of time answering questions about hemp seed at the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk. Gale says ASTA’s role is to provide information for the growing hemp industry to help the seed industry identify sources of quality seed “to ensure that the growers that the …
Bayer Seed Treatments Protect on Multiple Fronts
With one of the broadest and most diverse portfolios of seed treatment in the industry, Bayer is helping farmers to protect their crops against more than just insect and disease pressure. “Being covered on multiple fronts, whether that’s against diseases, pests, nematodes, maybe it’s drought or nutrient deficiency, having a different breadth of seed treatment can really help protect against …
Companies Partner to Expand Corn Hybrid Choices
Benson Hill Biosystems has entered into a partnership with Brownseed Genetics, a Wisconsin-based seed breeder of new corn hybrids that are higher in both oil content and essential amino acids. The new Brownseed hybrids, developed through conventional breeding methods, yield about 9 percent corn oil – nearly triple the normal production – and are rich in the amino acids lysine …
New ASTA Officers
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) announced its newly-elected officer team this week during the organization’s Policy & Leadership Development Conference (PLDC) in Denver, CO. Members of the FY2019-20 ASTA officer team—officially taking office on July 1 are: Chair: Wayne Gale, Stokes Seed First Vice Chair: John Latham, Latham Hi-Tech Seeds Second Vice Chair: Brad May, BASF A third generation …
Two Receive ASTA Honorary Lifetime Member Award
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Honorary Lifetime Member Award was presented to two seed-industry professionals at the organization’s Policy & Leadership Development Conference this week in Denver. Blake Curtis, Senior Vice President of Management and Sales for the family seed company Curtis & Curtis, has held a number of volunteer leadership positions over the years. From 1986 to 1995, …
Legendary Seedsman Don Funk Relaunches NC+
Legendary seedsman Don Funk, founder of Channel Bio Corp, is leading a team to relaunch the NC+ brand to serve western corn, soybean and sorghum growers. NC+ was started in 1958 as a production and marketing organization for farmers to work together as a group rather than individuals to merchandise and grow seed. The original 56 growers merchandised their seed …
Panel Explores Future at Agri-Pulse Summit
“Shaping Farm and Food Policy Strategies for 2040” was the theme for the Agri-Pulse 2019 Ag and Food Policy Summit this week in Washington D.C. and the first panel of the day considered what the future might hold for farm land ownership, management, and crop production. Farm broadcaster Jeff Nalley moderated the panel which included Syngenta Seeds president David Hollinrake; …