AgReliant Genetics president and CEO Mark Herrmann took over as chairman of the American Seed Trade Association this past summer at the annual meeting and we had the chance to sit down and talk about priorities for the organization in 2017 during the ASTA CSS & Seed Expo this week.
“Unnecessary regulation in the seed business can either completely stall development in seed or make it extremely costly,” said Herrmann. “So we do need a well-understood, consistent, reliable regulatory process.” And there are hopes that the incoming Trump administration will have a more science-based approach to regulation.
Herrmann also commented on consolidation in the seed industry with so many of the major players involved in mergers and acquisitions this year. “You could get concerned because it sounds like bigger may be a problem,” he said. “But if (consolidation) can bring products to market that it otherwise couldn’t, if it can increase efficiency for sustainability, it’s a positive thing.”
Listen to our interview with Mark here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/astacss-16-herrmann.mp3″ text=”Interview with Mark Herrmann, ASTA Chairman”]
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