b'Forage and Turf Breeding is Becoming Increasingly GlobalAS A WORLDWIDE company, DLF is present in Europe, thehave perfected is ever-changing in light of rapidly advanc-Americas and Oceania. We also operate in Asia anding technology, such as genomic selection and the effects Africa, touching virtually every corner of the globe. Thisof climate change.worldwide network informs our breeding and helps usCustomer needs are always shifting, and that means provide the best products we can for our customers. our breeding priorities have to shift as well (Im think-Of course, that global network is made up of a hugeing of things like drought/heat tolerance). Germplasm team that includes local breeders like me. I breed forcreated in drier/warmer parts of the globe are perfectly DLFs North American business unit. Turf and forage cus- suited to this. In past decades, it may have surprised a tomers in this part of the world have unique needs whenlot of people that a turfgrass developed in North America it comes to seed varieties, be it for animal feed, lawnwould have uses in Europe or even parts of Canada, grass or sports turf. but this is a reality DLF breeders are encountering more Of course, DLFs status as a global playersomethingoften as the climate changes and northern environments that were taking time to highlight in light of our recentbecome warmer and drier.rebrandingis a key part of our local breeding work.Our DLF breeders around the world are keenly More than ever, it has to be. attuned to what their local markets need, but our global Turf and forage breeding is global. For example, manypresence and germplasm bank means our company is forage perennial ryegrasses grown around the worldone that has learned to operate with a truly global busi-come mainly from greater Europe or Oceania. When itness model that benefits our businesses worldwide.comes to orchardgrass and tall fescue, they often come from southern Europe and/or North America.Our trial sites around the world provide us with data on countless populations and/or varieties and where they perform best. When it comes to the wide range of germ-plasm we use to breed with, each species could be bred for a couple of places or just one, in addition to multiple traits, such as drought tolerance or nitrogen use efficiency.Our database is organized based on where that spe-cies might fit or might have an appropriate use. A prod-uct bred in New Zealand might have characteristics that could be used to build a game-changing variety for the Canadian or American Midwest markets. The system we STEVE REIDHEAD OF R&D NORTH AMERICA, DLFsreid@dlfna.comdlfna.com @DLFCAN20GERMINATION.CAJANUARY 2023'