SEPTEMBER 2026 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA 31 “There are more than 250 corn traditional, locally adapted varieties (known as landraces) stored in gene banks, but breed ing programs typically rely on just two or three. That means a vast amount of genetic diversity — especially from tropical germplasm — remains largely untapped,” Xu says. The work is painstaking. Researchers spend years cross ing wild species into corn, then repeatedly backcrossing those traits into elite breeding material. Some early generations barely resemble modern corn at all. Yet the effort may prove increas ingly valuable as breeders search for new sources of insect resist ance, heat tolerance and grain quality. That possibility is moving from theory to reality. Xu said the challenge now is scaling it. But scaling plant breeding innovation involves more than producing better varieties. The profession also needs the public to understand what breeders are doing and why it matters — plant breeding has a visibility problem. Being Seen That’s one of the first things Hannah Jeffery wants to tackle as she steps into her new role as chair of the NAPB’s communica tions committee. The challenge isn’t a lack of innovation. It’s making sure people understand the work that’s already happen ing. Jeffery says one of her biggest priorities is creating a more consistent communications strategy that showcases both the science and the people behind it. She also hopes to broaden the conversation by creating opportunities for more voices to participate and by encouraging discussion around timely topics affecting the profession. Those conversations are especially important because she believes one misunderstanding continues to dominate public perception: GMOs. “A lot of people (think of) GMOs as everything that hasn’t been conventionally bred,” she says. “But, also gene editing products and transgenic products, when really those are three different things.” Jeffery says plant breeders have an opportunity to bring more nuance into those discussions. Conventional breeding has shaped agriculture for centuries, but newer technologies have overshadowed much of that history in the public conversation. At the same time, she doesn’t shy away from difficult questions. She welcomes them. People should ask questions about new technologies, she says, while also understanding that significant regulatory oversight already exists. If she had only 60 seconds on national television to make the case for public plant breeding, she knows exactly where she’d start. “We have to invest in plant breeding because we do magic,” she says. Her example goes all the way back to teosinte, the ancestor of modern corn. “Look at how we’ve taken this tiny little thing called teo sinte and brought it into sweet corn and dent corn and all these different kinds of corn that feed the world,” she says. The work happening in laboratories, greenhouses and research plots directly influences the future of food, sustainabil ity and agricultural productivity. “We’ve got a lot of really smart people that are able to make the appropriate decisions at the right time using the right resources, and we just need to be able to carry out this mission that we have, which is helping people by feeding them,” she says. Technology and Change Plant breeding has changed dramatically as new technolo gies allow scientists to see crops in ways that were impossible decades ago. Cornell University professor Dr. Mark Sorrells, recipient of the 2025 NAPB Lifetime Achievement Award, has watched that transformation unfold over more than four decades. Today, breeders can identify “the individual genes, the gene sequences” and genetic characteristics that cannot be seen visually. As Sorrells puts it, technology “really facilitates being able to see and understand things that you couldn’t before.” Yet some of Sorrells’ work looks to the past for solutions to modern agricultural challenges. He has spent years authenticat ing century-old heritage wheat varieties developed before Green Revolution genetics and widespread synthetic nitrogen ferti lizer. Because those varieties were grown under lower-fertility conditions, their genetics could offer clues for breeding crops that use nitrogen more efficiently. “We would like to reduce the nitrogen requirements so we can reduce the potential for pollution,” he says. His work shows that innovation can sometimes come from rediscovering useful traits agriculture left behind. For Sorrells, however, his greatest legacy isn’t a variety or scientific publication. “The thing that I find most rewarding and really appreciate is being able to train young scientists to be successful plant breeders and contribute to feeding the world,” he says. Soybean breeder Rajcan shares that emphasis on mentor ship. Despite decades developing varieties and contributing to Canadian agriculture, he says, “To me, what’s more important is the graduate students that I’ve trained.” Together, their experiences show that the future of plant breeding depends as much on training the next generation as it does on advancing genetics and technology. The 2027 NAPB meeting takes place at North Dakota State University in Fargo from June 24-28. Stay tuned to plantbreeding.org for info. Scan the QR code to watch interviews from this year’s NAPB meeting!
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