b'How to Turn a Great ConferenceSTEVE REIDHEAD OF LAWN & CONSUMER into Real Business Opportunities TURF, R&Dsreid@dlfna.comdlfna.comCONGRATS!You just finished aReplay Every Meeting in Your @DLFUSAweek jam-packed with dozens ofHead and Retake Notesmeetings, incredible dinners andThis has been an interesting the excitement of generating newexercise for me. It can be hard toA Global Approach to Breeding contacts that can help take yourtake good notes if you are lead-company to the next level!ing a conversation or there is a lotClimate-Smart Grass VarietiesAnd thenthe day-to-day hits.of crosstalk in a group meeting. Your email inbox is overflowing,Replaying that meeting and takingIN MY LAST COLUMN,I talked about how DLF breed-your direct reports are lined upnew notes allows me to slow downers share germplasm with each other around the world. outside your office, your custom- the conversation and recall theThis global approach to research is revolutionizing grass ers are looking for updates and itmost important points for follow up.breeding in ways that positively impact our world. seems like everyone needs just fiveThis process has also allowed meFor example, DLF breeders are working to lower minutes of your time.to get better at taking good notesmethane production in livestock farming.All the forward-looking conver- during meetings. I keep them shortThirty-six percent of methane emissions come sations you had at the conferenceand focus on items that need followfrom natural sources. The other 65% are from human are about to be buried in the sandsup, more so than interesting facts. sources, including things like fossil fuels, landfills and of time as the pressure of your dailylivestock farming. tasks overwhelms your schedule.Send an Email Within a Week Ruminant animals have four compartments in their This happens too often, and IveQuick follow up is key. Thestomach instead of one. During the normal digestion been guilty of it too. But, Ive devel- person(s) you met are just as busyprocess, these animals depend on microflora in their oped a few tips on how you canas you after the meeting. If you waitgut to digest fibrous plant material. keep the momentum from a greatlonger than a week to follow up,These rumen microflorae break down complex conference rolling while you dig outtheyll likely forget about the con- plant material, which is then fermented into several from a week out of the office. tent of the discussions. Connectingchemical compounds, which can then be utilized by with them on email soon afterwardthe animal. One of the by-products of the fermentation Connect on LinkedIn gives you the best opportunity tothat occurs in the rumen is methane, released when I still carry and collect businesskeep the conversation going. they chew their cud and belch. cards for the sole purpose ofThe tactics above wont reduceStudies have shown we can get increased milk and making sure I connect with thatthe workload waiting for you backmeat yield with increased fiber digestibility while also person on LinkedIn. I connectat the office, but it will improve yourlowering the methane that is produced from the rumi-either immediately after meetingchances of turning a productivenant livestock that are grazing on those grasses. someone or right when I get home.meeting into meaningful connectionsBetter data has changed everything for grass You can easily include a note aboutand future business opportunities. breeders, growers and customers. Through DLFs your interaction in the connectionresearch, we aim to collect forage quality data on request and it reinforces the newevery harvest for all our forage grasses. face-to-face interaction you justIn Wisconsin alone, we collected over 7,500 had. They are likely to accept, willmeasurements for fiber digestibility in 2022 and over see all your future posts and youll150,000 worldwide. With this amount of data, we are have a way to contact them even ifmaking tremendous progress in delivering forages with they change jobs. increased fiber digestibility worldwide.With our global research model, we can utilize all the different locations we have within the company. Of course, ensuring long-term success means going beyond breeding. Seed enhancements, especially the use of biologicals, will further revolutionize grass in JIM SCHWEIGERTthe future. Applying biologicals to grass seed not only PRESIDENT, GRO ALLIANCE enhances their potential but can provide insights into@jim_schweigerthow we can breed better seed that can theoretically jim.schweigert@groalliance.com work in conjunction with biologicals to create climate-GroAlliance.com smart grass varieties.FEBRUARY 2023 SEEDWORLD.COM /25'