The House Agriculture Committee heard testimony Wednesday on technology and innovation in specialty crops as input toward the making of the 2018 farm bill. “As we look at the farm bill through the lens of the current farm economy, innovation and technology will remain essential for farmers and ranchers to continue producing more food and fiber with fewer resources,” said … Read More
ASTA Preparing Farm Bill Input
Virginia Houston The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) has an interest in several titles of the farm bill, so the organization is making preparations for the 2018 legislation. The research title is extremely important to the industry, and trade promotions are absolutely critical, Jane DeMarchi, VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs and Virginia Houston, Associate Director for Domestic and Government … Read More
Clariant Colors the Seed Industry Bright
If you haven’t heard of Clariant, it’s pretty remarkable to discover all the ways this manufacturer of chemicals might be involved in your daily life. With manufacturing plants around the globe, Clariant’s color division is providing pigments to industries like plastics, oil, even airline de-icing. They were at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota last … Read More
Seeds in Space Benefit Ag on Earth
There’s a good bet that the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting of 30 years ago looked remarkably different than the event that took place last week in Minneapolis, MN. And it’s a good bet that the science and technology making an impact on the industry in another 30 years may not have even been thought of yet, but … Read More
ASTA Elects New Leadership
The American Seed Trade Association has been a continuously growing family for the past 134 years, and the family of new chairman Tracy Tally has been a constant at the ASTA annual meeting for many of those years. Tally is president of Justin Seed Company in Justin, Texas, a company founded by his father in 1956. Besides running Justin Seed … Read More
Learning Innovation from the Seed at #ASTAannual
Stan Abramson of Arent Fox LLP, Law Firm spoke with members of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) about promoting agriculture innovations in Washington D.C. We can learn a lot about innovation from the seeds themselves. “Plants and seeds are natural innovators. They constantly reinvent themselves,” he told the audience. “A lot of innovation is just figuring out how nature … Read More
Herrmann Concludes Year as ASTA Chair
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting marks the end of Mark Herrmann’s service as Chair of the organization. For the past year he has lead the group in some major changes and successes, including the passing of a federal GMO bill. “The GMO transparency bill being a federal bill, as opposed to the patchwork that was being done … Read More
ASTA Annual Conference in Full Swing
The American Seed Trade Assocition (ASTA) annual conference is in full swing in Minneapolis, MN with both Cindy and Kelly on the ground to bring you all the news. To kick off our coverage of the event Cindy spoke with President and CEO Andy LaVigne about the past year’s work and what ASTA hopes to accomplish at the conference for … Read More
ASTA Annual Meeting is Next Week
The 2017 American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Annual Convention is coming up next week, June 21-24 in Minneapolis with a theme of Voyage to Better Seed. “This year we’ve got a lot of topics in front of us with a new administration, a farm bill out there, all the issues within the farm bill, and how do we develop policy … Read More
ASA Encourages Safe Use of Seed Treatment
It’s critical to keep treated seed from entering the supply of U.S. grains and oilseeds, reminds the American Soybean Association (ASA). Treated seeds are a problem that affects the entire supply chain, jeopardizing U.S. markets at home and abroad. Maintaining the stellar U.S. reputation for appropriately managing all pesticides is one key element of providing customer satisfaction and official acceptance … Read More