38
SEED TESTING INTERNATIONAL   www.seedtest.org
SEED SCIENCE •
BIO: 
Susan Alvarez
Ransom Seed 
Laboratory, USA 
 
Retired laboratory 
manager / 
Registered seed 
technologist 
Before beginning her career in seed testing, 
Sue attended the University of California and 
graduated with a Masters degree from UC Davis. 
Over the years she has worked at four different 
seed testing laboratories in the private sector. The 
achievement she is most proud of is designing 
and operating a brand-new seed testing 
laboratory in San Luis Obispo, California. In the 
time Sue was there, she was successful in having 
the laboratory accredited by ISTA.
1.	Where did your journey with seed testing and 
ISTA start?
I attended my first ISTA Conference in 
Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2014, but before that I 
was very active in the Association of Official Seed 
Analysts (AOSA) and the Society of Commercial 
Seed Technologists (SCST) in North America.
2.	What does ISTA mean to you?
ISTA is a global community of seed testing 
professionals.
Seasoned@ISTA 
We acknowledge our exceptional members who have 
shown an unwavering passion and commitment to ISTA
3.	How do you keep in touch with ISTA’s work 
and its community?
Attending the meetings and participating in 
Technical Committees (TCOM) were the best 
ways to keep in touch while I was working. I am 
still a member of one TCOM.
4.	What are your fondest memories of ISTA and 
its community?
Making friends with mutual interests from 
around the world, and being able to attend 
conferences to meet them in person.
5.	What has been ISTA’s biggest impact on 
global food security in your opinion?
Almost all of our food begins with a seed. Quality 
seed is the first and most important step in food 
security. ISTA is vital to reporting the true quality 
of seed.
6.	What do you envision to be ISTA’s value for 
the future of seed testing and agriculture as a 
whole?
As technology advances, we must be prepared to 
use it to improve our seed testing procedures. We 
need to act globally to combat the challenges of 
global warming and its effects on agriculture. Seed 
quality is an important component of this effort.
The North American contingent in Estonia, 2016
Members of the Moisture Committee at the 32nd ISTA Congress in Hyderabad, India in 2019

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.