S&W Seed Chairman To Retire
S&W Seed Company’s Grover Wickersham who serves as chairman of the board intends to retire prior to the end of 2014. In 2008, Wickersham led the purchased of S&W Seed […]
Refuge-In-A-Bag Moves Industry Forward
The American Seed Trade Association kicked off its annual corn, sorghum and soybean seed research conference, also referred to as CSS 2014 & Seed Expo, in Chicago today (Dec. 8). […]
The Climate Corporation Acquires 640 Labs
Today (Dec. 8), The Climate Corporation announced the acquisition of Chicago-based 640 Labs, an agricultural technology startup, to strengthen the company’s efforts to build the industry’s leading data science platform […]
Koch Ag Services Acquires Mendel Biotechnology
A subsidiary of Koch Agronomic Services LLC (KAS) has purchased the biological research and development business of Mendel Biotechnology Inc. “The Mendel team has expertise in understanding how plant processes, […]
S&W Files Patent For New Variety
S&W Seed Company has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for stevia plant variety SW107. “This patent marks a significant milestone in our stevia development […]
Puzzling Truths In Labeling
The issue of seed testing uniformity is a complex and convoluted problem with many players and facets involved. There’s thousands of seed species, nearly a hundred labs, multiple testing methods, […]
Dividend VL orchard grass named 2014 Seed of the Year
Orchard Grass, a high-yielding, disease-resistant grass seed, has been named the 2014 Seed of the Year. Learn more about its benefits and how it can help your farm.
Trait Stewardship a Shared Responsibility
Should China dictate what new technologies U.S. farmers have access to? Some of the trading issues between the United States and China have brought trait stewardship front and center in […]
Changing the LLP Landscape
National seed associations around the globe now have a new tool that can be used to work with governments on implementing low-level presence policies. The seed industry is increasingly global, […]
Valent U.S.A. Plans North American Expansion
Valent U.S.A. Corporation will expand its commercial business aimed to support the company’s growing specialty and row crop portfolio. Through this series of expansions, Valent reports that it will enhance […]
Plant Breeders Without Borders makes new inroads
One plant breeder is committed to making a difference in feeding an ever-growing global population. Plant Breeders Without Borders is the concept of Anthony Leddin, an Australian plant breeder who […]
Standards to Bring Predictability
More harmonized phytosanitary regulations are poised to alleviate trade woes but it will take time. SINCE 2008, the seed industry has worked to improve phytosanitary regulations through the International Plant […]
Pinnacle Announces New Investment, Adds Staff
Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings LLC invests in a new Midwestern wholesale business, Meridian Agriculture Distribution. In addition to providing retailers with supplier-branded products at service levels that retailers expect, Meridian will […]
A Push to Ratify
The U.S. seed industry diligently works to educate congress about the importance of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture with the hopes of ratification. No […]
Going Hormonal
Researchers study how hormones can be used to control seed dormancy and germination, saving millions of dollars of crop loss each year. After lengthy periods of drought, this past summer […]
Knowledge is Power
UPOV’S databases offer a wealth of information for the seed sector. In the past few years, The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in Geneva […]
Golden Opportunities
Throughout the food supply chain, companies focus efforts on sustainability and science? How does an individual with an electrical engineering degree and a focus on aeronautics become the CEO of […]
Shedding Light on LED Technology
Being able to control the entire spectrum of light brings innumerable benefits to the seed industry. Thanks to a technologythat’s become increasingly popular within the seed industry, growers are able […]
EU Reaches Provisional Agreement On GMOs
Yesterday evening (Dec. 3), European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis welcomed a provisional political agreement on GMO cultivation in the European Union. “I am glad to announce […]
A Bountiful Harvest of Trained Plant Breeders
Joint initiatives between industry and academia have revitalized plant breeder training and preparatory programs, and initial efforts are beginning to pay off. Greater numbers of talented young men and women […]
GENETICS vs. TRAITS
When selling seed balance customer priorities and potential. With tighter margins and constantly-evolving pest and disease issues, growers are looking to fine-tune their 2015 seed order. With those considerations, among […]
University Of Arkansas Releases RR Soybean
The University of Arkansas’ System Division of Agriculture has released its first soybean variety that features Roundup Ready technology. “The new variety, called UA 5414RR, offers the weed control advantages […]
Corn Conundrum
Corn owes much of its success to plant breeding advances that have increased yields and produced more and better stress-tolerant varieties. But with corn prices lower than they’ve been in […]
Plowing Ahead
Dow AgroSciences President and CEO Tim Hassinger shares his perspective on risk. Named president and chief executive officer of Dow AgroSciences May 1, 2014, Tim Hassinger has been plowing ahead. […]
Extracting Value from Data
A featured segment designed to share business-critical information to seed-selling professionals. Visit SeedWorld.com to download this department and other tools to help you sell seed to farmers. Are you missing […]
The Seed Treatment Saga
New studies outline the benefits, or lack thereof, of seed treatment use in U.S. crop production. Seed treatments have been around for more than 100 years, but it hasn’t been […]
Sorghum Partners Offers Aphid Tolerant Hybrids
Sorghum Partners, a Chromatin Inc. brand, has announced that several of its hybrid sorghum products have demonstrated tolerance against sugarcane aphids. A third-party evaluation conducted by the Agricultural Research Service […]
UC-Davis to Host Seed Biology, Production and Quality Class
The University of California, Davis, will host a seed biology, production and quality class Feb. 10-12 for seed industry professionals, new employees, consultants and seed producers. “Delivering improved varieties and […]
Eye On China
Today, China feeds an estimated 22 percent of the world’s population from 9 percent of the world’s cultivated land. As the second largest economy in the world, the People’s Republic […]
protecting pollinators
Weather Worries Beekeepers Bees are adaptive and can survive in diverse geographic locations with very different climatic conditions, ranging from seven months of near Arctic temperatures in Newfoundland, Canada, to […]
A Phenotyping Revolution
Researchers study how to best use remote sensing technologies to transform plant evaluation and phenotyping in the field. Each season, scientists, plant breeders and hired hands regularly trudge out into […]
Deflectors Help to Reduce Dust
New research shows that the use of deflectors on planters helps to reduce pollinator exposure to dust from treated seed. With the goal of protecting pollinators from seed treatment dust […]
Giant Numbers – December 2014
120 Million Number of hectares of farmland in China. “China has a huge surface dedicated to agriculture — 120 million hectares. This is twice the size of Brazil or Russia, […]
Giant Biographies – December 2014
Neil Bentley Neil Bentley, BASF director of marketing for the U.S. Crop division, oversees the marketing activities for the U.S. crop protection business. He grew up in a small farming […]
Bad Vibrations: Plants respond to insect chewing
New research shows when caterpillars bite into a leaf, plants can detect chewing vibrations and mobilize chemical defenses. University of Missouri researchers have discovered that Arabidopsis mustard plants can detect […]
What Does Climate Change Mean for the Future of Agriculture?
Industry analysts say those involved in today’s seed business and agriculture are in for some big bumps in the road. While Mother Nature tends to wreak havoc on agricultural production […]