b'The Headlines Business | People | Policy | Product | ResearchSubmissions welcome: news@seedworldgroup.comPEOPLESeeds Canada Announces New BoardSeeds Canadas second board of director and executive elec-tions took place in July. Brent Collins, head of seeds and traits for BASF Canada, is the incoming president while 20/20 Seed Labs President Sarah Foster is the new vice-president. Jeff Loessin (business intelligence leader at Corteva Agriscience), Ellen Sparry (general manager, C&M Seeds), and Michelle Wall (seed regulatory lead at Syngenta Canada) were elected to the executive board (all pictured above). Curt Baldwin (director, operations and product strategy at Canterra Seeds) BUSINESS and Mark Metcalfe (president, Nexeed) joined the board of National Barley Cluster Announced directors. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced a new Canadian National Barley Cluster, a significant initiative aimed atPRODUCTadvancing barley production in Canada. With a value of $9.6Maizex Seeds Retires Elite Seed Brandmillion over five years, this cluster will drive research effortsMaizex Seeds announced its exclusive forage and cereal varie-to enhance the competitiveness and resilience of the Canadianties will now be marketed under the Maizex brand, following barley industry. Administered by the Canadian Barley Researcha similar rebranding of its soybeans line last year. The switch Coalition (CBRC), the new barley cluster will fund researchto one brand means farmers can now buy all corn, soybean, projects that advance feed barley, barley genetics, agronomy,forage, and cereal seed under the Maizex label.disease resistance and sustainability to make it a more resilient and profitable crop for Canadian farmers and end users. New SCN Trait AnnouncedBASF recently announced a new soybean cyst nematode trait Syngenta Partners with InstaDeep theyve named Nemasphere. The company describes the nema-Syngenta Seeds announced a collaboration with AI companytode resistance trait as the first and only biotechnology trait for InstaDeep to bring Syngentas proprietary trait research andSCN. The trait employs a novel mode of action while maintain-development capabilities together with InstaDeeps Largeing yield potential. Specifically, the trait utilizes a Cry14 pro-Language Model platform to accelerate the development oftein that, when ingested by nematodes, disrupts nutrient uptake solution-providing crop traits for farmers. InstaDeep hasin their intestines, ultimately causing their death. developed a language model, AgroNT1, trained on trillions of nucleotides from agriculturally relevant crop species, to inter- RESEARCHpret the complex language of the genetic code.Researchers Uncover Mechanism Behind Soybean Seed HardnessAlberta Farmers Buy Stake in Canterra Seeds A comprehensive study from Nanjing Agricultural University Canterra Seeds Holdings announced that United Farmers ofin China has elucidated the genetic and molecular mechanisms Alberta Co-operative Limited has acquired a 17% stake ininfluencing soybean seed hardness, a key factor in consumer Canterra Seeds from Ceres Global Ag Corp. Canterra Seeds isacceptance and vegetable soybean quality, by examining differ-also owned by Limagrain, 175 seed growers, ag retailers andential gene expression during seed development. The discovery private investors. The company offers one of the broadest fieldof the GmSWEET2 gene as a significant regulator of hardness seed portfolios in Western Canada including canola, cereals,offers a pathway to enhance soybean texture, potentially revo-pulses and specialty crops.lutionizing the market with customized varieties to suit diverse consumer preferences.46 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA SEPTEMBER 2024'