ASTA CSS and Seed Expo Success

Cindy Zimmerman

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

2018 ASTA CSS and Seed Expo Photo Album

ASTA CSS Virtual Newsroom

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Seed

CropTrak Continues Expansion

Chuck Zimmerman

CropTrak, a leading global SaaS platform utilized by Agribusiness and Food Companies for compliance data capture and reporting, has hired Stewart Dainty as Director, Key Accounts.

An Iowa native, Dainty is based out of Des Moines and brings 25 years of agricultural industry experience in data and engineering analytics technology to CropTrak. He began his career with a degree in Finance (Analytics) from Iowa State University and most of his career has been spent working on improvements to agricultural processes, designs, and information.

Dainty has held both sales and leadership roles with companies such as John Deere and Proagrica and has developed a strong background in multi-dimensional data sciences, which helps to understand how CropTrak’s solutions can best be delivered to each unique client.

To learn more about the new CropTrak enterprise accounts team and how they can help you maximize efficiencies and provide further insights within your Agriculture-related business, send a note to Hello@CropTrak.com.

AgWired Precision, CropTrak, Precision Agriculture

#ASTACSS Student Video Award Winner

Cindy Zimmerman

Kevin Faulk (left) receives award from Kerry Grossweiler, BASF

Iowa State University PhD candidate Kevin Falk received the grand prize this year in the American Seed Trade Association’s (ASTA) second annual “Better Seed, Better Life” student video contest during the CSS 2018 & Seed Expo in Chicago this week. The award was presented to him by Kerry Grossweiler of BASF, which sponsors the ASTA Communications Committee.

The contest is held in conjunction with the National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) and the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of American and Soil Science Society of America (Tri-Societies). The 2018 contest theme was “Rumor Has It” and was open to university students who were asked to create videos to help set the record straight on a common misconception or myth associated with the seed industry and/or plant science. Second and third place winners were Kshitij Khatri, University of Florida, and Nathalia Penna Cruzato, Texas A&M University.

Kevin is currently a PhD candidate at Iowa State University focusing on soybean breeding. He holds a master’s in plant breeding from the University of Manitoba and worked in canola breeding programs at Monsanto and Bayer for five years prior to returning to pursue his PhD at Iowa State. He is one of five PhD students in the Singh soybean breeding and plant phenomics group. His PhD work focuses around harnessing technology to develop high throughput phenotyping platforms to advance plant breeding. He enjoys playing hockey, kitesurfing, videography, and exploring new technology. Kevin is set to graduate in the coming months and is interested in science, agriculture and using social media to connect and communicate with the public.

Learn more about Kevin in this interview and watch his award-winning video below – ASTACSS18 Interview with student video award winner Kevin Falk, ISU


2018 ASTA CSS and Seed Expo Photo Album

ASTA CSS Virtual Newsroom

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Plant Breeding, Seed, Video

USDA Under Secretary Ibach at #ASTACSS

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach spoke to attendees at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CSS 2018 and Seed Expo during a Plant Breeding Innovation session, toured the trade show, and met with media on Thursday in Chicago.

Ibach discussed the importance of innovation in plant breeding, as well as coming regulations for GMO labeling, and the current global trade situation. He said the GMO labeling rules should be released in the very near future. “We’re hoping we have that done before the end of the year because that’s an important timeline,” he said.

Listen to and download audio here:
ASTACSS18 USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach remarks at Plant Breeding session

ASTACSS18 USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach press conference

2018 ASTA CSS and Seed Expo Photo Album

Find more content from #ASTACSS here:
ASTA CSS Virtual Newsroom

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, USDA

Zimfo Bytes 12/7

Carrie Muehling

  • The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) announces its 2019 officers as well as directors elected to the AEM Board of Directors and AG and CE Sector Boards at its recent annual business meeting.
  • Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of three producers and three industry representatives to serve on the Peanut Standards Board.
  • The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is pleased to announce that California-based advanced renewable fuels company Aemetis, Inc. has joined RFA as a member.
  • American Farmland Trust, the organization behind the national movement No Farms No Food®, announces the promotion of Nick Herman to vice president of development.
  • The Yield Lab announces Jim Tobin and Kieran Gartlan as new Managing Directors at the Yield Lab. Jim will join the North American based Yield Lab accelerator out of St. Louis, and Kieran will join the Latin American accelerator, opening the Sao Paulo – Brazil operation.
  • Nomination meetings to fill three positions on the Georgia Peanut Commission Board of Directors will be held Dec. 10 in Ocilla, Vienna and Americus. The Georgia Farm Bureau Federation will conduct the meetings during which peanut producers will nominate peers to represent the Peanut Commission’s Districts 2, 4 and 5. The terms of the commission members who currently represent these districts expire Dec. 31, 2018.
  • The next AGree Discussion Series Event will be a panel discussion on Blockchain Applications for Agriculture on Tuesday, Dec.11, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Zimfo Bytes

Seed Treatment Tour at #ASTACSS

Chuck Zimmerman

A new feature this year at the ASTA CSS & Seed Expo was a Seed Treatment Education Tour in the expo. Groups of attendees visited ten different booths in rotation where they heard a ten minute presentation from each company.

I caught one of the groups in the Bayer booth. Doing the presentation is Greg Ginisty, SeedGrowth Product Manager. You can listen in to his presentation in the video below.

You can also learn more about Bayer SeedGrowth in this interview – Interview with Greg Ginisty, Bayer

See and hear all about the new Bayer at ASTA CSS and Seed Expo on AgNewsWire –
Bayer at 2018 CSS and Seed Expo virtual newsroom


2018 ASTA CSS and Seed Expo photo album

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Bayer, Seed, Video

BASF Launches Vault® IP Plus and Obvius® Plus

Chuck Zimmerman

BASF has expanded its soybean seed treatment portfolio with the launch of Vault® IP Plus seed treatment and Obvius® Plus fungicide seed treatment, recently registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both products will be commercially available in September 2019. I spoke with BASF’s Justin Clark to learn more about these products.

With the launch of Vault IP Plus seed treatment, BASF sets new standards for seed inoculation and protection. It’s the only combined inoculant and EPA-registered bio-fungicide, containing two active biologicals for improved fungicidal activity and protection.

“Soybean growers can benefit from Vault IP Plus seed treatment, as it delivers increased root nodulation and disease protection for an overall healthier soybean plant,” said Justin Clark, Technical Marketing Manager, BASF. “The highly effective rhizobia are produced fresh every year to increase overall nodulation and maximize nitrogen fixation potential.”

Obvius Plus seed treatment supports faster emergence and healthier plants. The new seed treatment delivers four-way disease protection that helps growers get their soybean crop successfully established earlier in the season.

“While early planting allows soybeans to intercept more sunlight for better photosynthesis, this practice also exposes newly planted seeds to potential damage from fungal infections while the soil is still damp and cool,” said Clark. “Obvius Plus seed treatment offers protection from key diseases such as Phytophthora, Pythium, Fusarium and Rhizoctonia.”

Learn more in this interview –
Interview with Justin Clark, BASF

BASF at 2018 ASTA CSS and Seed Expo

2018 ASTA CSS and Seed Expo photos

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, BASF, Seed

Basse was Back at #ASTACSS

Cindy Zimmerman

Dan Basse, Ag Resource, returned to the ASTA 2018 CSS and Seed Expo for the 6th year in a row to deliver his insights on the intersection of economics and agriculture.

Some of Basse’s comments included:
Population growth slowing – 9 billion people now about 2054
When you look at population growth, it’s all about Africa
Black swan event for 2018 in grain markets was US trade sanctions on China
World debt record large, and growing
China ethanol production is global demand driver, expects they will start importing corn in 2021-22
US corn and soybean costs estimated to be 2-4% higher in 2019

“Our future is tied to unfettered trade throughout the world going forward,” Basse said. “I’m not trying to be political but free trade helps the world going forward.”

Listen to his entire presentation here:

ASTACSS18 Dan Basse, Ag Resource, presentation

In my interview with Basse, one of the questions I asked was what has changed most in the six years he has been presenting at ASTA CSS:
ASTACSS18 Interview with Dan Basse, Ag Resource

2018 ASTA CSS and Seed Expo

ASTA, Audio, Corn

Precision Ag Bytes 12/5

Carrie Muehling

  • Raven Industries, Inc. announced the release of AutoBoom® XRT, the latest advancement in boom control.
  • Solinftec, a digital agriculture company that grew quickly in Latin America by making sugar cane and row crop operations more efficient, announced plans to establish operations at its U.S. headquarters near Purdue University to bring high-tech solutions to American farmers, creating 90 jobs in 2019 and up to 334 high-wage jobs by 2022.
  • Many farmers are considering the use of corn with the Enlist™ trait to control yield-robbing volunteer corn by applying a FOP herbicide in 2019.
  • AgXplore is pleased to introduce Microcoat™, a blend of five essential micro and secondary nutrients, including magnesium, sulfur, manganese, molybdenum and zinc, with a proprietary delivery package.
  • The Soil Health Partnership has tapped Dr. Maria Bowman, a notable and experienced agricultural and resource economist, for the new position of Lead Scientist.
  • AirBoard Inc. introduces AirBoard AGRO – an aerial platform for pesticide spraying in steep and mountainous vineyards. Built for pesticide and fertilizer spraying with a capacity of 60 liters, it is 50 times faster than manual spraying and twice as cost effective than using a helicopter service.
  • CNH Industrial N.V. has launched the AGXTENDTM brand, focused exclusively on aftermarket precision farming technology solutions.
  • BASF partners with the National Agricultural Aviation Association and presents “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” scholarships to support future aerial applicators. This year, Parker Gore of Cleveland, Mississippi, and Emory Lobley of Dalhart, Texas, receive scholarships of $5,000 each.
  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of Matthew J. “Matt” Lohr to serve as Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

Major Seed Companies after the Mergers

Cindy Zimmerman

The past two years have seen major changes in the agricultural seed industry and some of the traditional companies have different names and different players. That’s why the “Majors after the Mergers” panel was a big hit at the ASTA 2018 CSS and Seed Expo this week.

Dan Basse, Ag Resource, moderated the panel which consisted of Jim Collins, Corteva; Scott Kay, BASF; Jeff Rowe, Syngenta; and Lisa Safarian, Bayer.

It was a long and very interesting panel, so we split up the audio into opening remarks and panel discussion.

Opening remarks ASTA Majors after the Mergers panel

ASTA Majors after the Mergers panel discussion

2018 ASTA CSS and Seed Expo

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, BASF, Bayer, Seed, Syngenta