Today (Dec. 6), the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) unveiled a new video as part of the “Better Seed, Better Life” communications program during the opening general session of CSS 2016 & Seed Expo in Chicago. The video features Jessie Alt, a mother, home gardener and professional plant breeder — along with her two daughters who help out with their home garden.
“The seed industry has a great story to tell, and this video helps us do that,” said Andy LaVigne, ASTA president and CEO. “Jessie, like all of our plant breeders, is passionate about producing new and improved varieties of nutritious crops in a sustainable manner to meet the needs of local farmers and American families.”
This video is part of the seed industry’s larger advocacy and social media campaign to share information with consumers about the importance of seed improvement and its connection to quality of life.
“We’ve done a good job explaining the science behind the seed, but we’ve not done a very good job of talking about the ‘better life’ part,” said David Hollinrake, Bayer vice president of Agricultural Commercial Operations Marketing for the Crop Science division. As part of the unveiling, Bayer announced its support of the “Better Seed, Better Life” communications initiative and a new partnership with ASTA’s Communications Committee.
Bayer has done a lot of research on the coasts, Hollinrake said, sharing that 88 percent of those surveyed don’t trust big corporations. Additionally, he said two-thirds of the American population doesn’t thing agriculture is important.
“Having grown up on a farm and spent my entire career in agriculture, this really bothers me,” he said. “But the positive in all this is that consumers trust farmers. They trust farmers more than scientists and more than doctors. That why we have our Agvocacy efforts to help farmers communicate about what they do.”
As the seed industry works to solve the challenges that farmers face, create a more sustainable food supply and increase choices for American families at the grocery store, LaVigne said it’s important to remember that it all starts with a seed, and better seed means better life.
