Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 14832 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2016 The total value of global sales of natural rubber in 2015, which is down from $45.9 billion in 2011 due to depreciation. So what does this have to do with the seed industry? Guayule is a desert shrub growing in the southwest United States and Michael Gore of Cornell University has a research project focused on it. “Right now, there are a substantial number of clonally propagated rubber trees in southeast Asia that are at risk from a devastating leaf blight, and there’s essentially no resistance to prevent them from being completely wiped out,” he says. “Can you think of a world without rubber? I cannot either. This is a way to produce a sustainable domestic source of rubber and latex in the U.S.” Gore says the particular species he is working with is maybe one or two generations away from being a wild species. “We are creating a number of genomic tools and resources that can be used by breeders to genetically improve guayule,” he says. “Companies, such as Bridgestone and Cooper Tires, are beginning to invest heavily in this plant because they understand what is at risk. If they want to be able to provide rubber for their own products — tires for cars and trucks — they have to have a renewable source. This is an alternative to trees growing in Asia.” Number of years that Alan Hirsch thinks the trend to move turf and forage seed production out of Oregon and toward the upper Midwest will con- tinue. “We are losing acreage to alternative crops in the primary growing areas, and that’s a concern in the long term,” says Barenbrug USA’s vice president of consumer products. Since 2013, annual and perennial ryegrass seed has seen acreage losses totaling 12,000 acres. Tall fescue (K-31 and others) have also lost acres — 4,000 according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. However, data show that since 2013 turf type tall fescue seed acres have increased by 5,000 acres to 115,000 acres in that same period, and forage type tall fescue seed acres have held steady at 15,000 acres. Year that Grassland Oregon launched FiXatioN clover. Risa DeMasi, a founding partner of Grassland Oregon, explains that it’s an annual clover that fits many cropping cycles very well. “It sets a tremendous amount of nitrogen and meets a wide array of climate conditions,” she says. “We can go down to 15 below. It’s got a wide pH range from 4.5-8. The next question everyone asks with cover crops is ‘what’s the forage quality?’ It’s a fantastic forage, and it’s meeting a lot of needs. We introduced a new clover each year since, Frosty Berseem and Kentucky Pride Crimson.” Number of member countries and companies belonging to the Seed Association of the Americas. These include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, United States, Paraguay, Peru, while Ecuador and Venezuela are observers. The association is supported by seven associate mem- bers and two affiliates. GIANT NUMBERS $ 14 BILLION 5-10 2014 21