Dan Foor lays out his vision.
Dan Foor is the new chair of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) board. He is the senior vice president for DLF North America’s distribution business. We recently sat down with Foor to discuss his vision for the year ahead.
SW: You are a big “theme” person. What is your theme as ASTA chair?
Foor: My theme is “activation.” I want to inspire our members to get more involved and engage with ASTA. An active membership is the foundation for our success.
ASTA has 700 members. We work with every crop from alfalfa to zucchini and everything in between; that’s the slogan. What if at least one person from every member company was involved with some part of ASTA? We would be such a strong and active association.
SW: How will you implement your theme?
Foor: I’m going to take a few tours around the country, go to members businesses and have conversations. The key thing we have to think about is not where we are today, but where are we going?
We need to think about how we get in front of what’s ahead as an association and as an industry. I’ll focus on leveraging our regional vice presidents. They are doing a fantastic job today; we want to encourage them to tell the ASTA story to members within their regions and craftsuccess stories to help folks understand the work ASTA is doing in front of and behind the scenes.
Q: What are the biggest challenges facing the seed industry?
Foor: I think our foundational issue is not just related to seed but agriculture in general. The average American citizen is three to four generations removed from the farm. Recent data tells us there are 1.9 million farms in America and that number continues to decline and less than 2% of the population is engaged in production agriculture.
Our biggest challenge is the lack of awareness of what is going on in agriculture today and how some of the things that are important to innovation in agriculture need to be protected and fostered if we’re going to continue to feed, provide food and clothe the world. We need to talk about plant breeding innovation, using novel plant breeding techniques and having freedom to operate with those tools. Also, the ability to export agricultural products is going to be paramount in that global regulatory landscape. It’s going to be a big challenge. We need to make sure that we have the right messaging around the very safe tools that our industry is using.
Things like seed treatments continue to be under pressure largely because of a lack of knowledge about the benefits of those types of products. ASTA and other industry associations are really at the point of the arrow trying to protect that freedom and ability to innovate.
SW: What motivates your work in the seed industry and with ASTA?
Foor: Anytime you’re part of an industry that is innovative and dynamic, every day is something new. I’m excited by breeding techniques that can shorten the time to accelerate innovation. But I think most people like new things and better things; better seed, better life
SW: Do you have any advice for young professionals or those looking to become leaders in the industry?
Foor: Network meaningfully and be open to new experiences. Building relationships and being curious are crucial for leadership development.
Foor said he’s always open to engaging with ASTA members and learning from them. His goal is to set up future leaders for success and continue the strong tradition of ASTA. Look for a more in-depth profile in a future issue of Seed World U.S.
