34 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2018 “Recently I was evaluating the crosses I made in 2015. After tasting plenty of bad, acidic peaches, I suddenly found one that was the perfect flavor. I thought after all these bad ones, even a mediocre peach might seem like a great one ... We all take food for granted. We go to the stores, we buy it and we eat it, but we don’t put much thought into how that variety was developed.” —Ksenija Gasic, associate professor of Horticulture, Peach Genetics and Breeding, Clemson University; chair, Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee “There’s been this mantra across the world and the United States for the past several years of ‘how do you feed 9 billion people.’ When you look at North American farmers, who are the most productive farming group that the planet has ever seen, it’s our job to help them produce. In the way we work with independent seed companies — helping them grow and continue to thrive and deliver on their promises and being trusted advisors to those farmers — we help contribute to that feeding of the planet.” —Todd Martin, CEO, Independent Professional Seed Association Giant HIGHLIGHTS “We’re doubling down. What does that mean? We’re investing in talent acquisition We’re investing in talent acquisition because good talent is available. We’re investing in breeding, we’re investing in building our brands, and for independent seed companies that means investing in Agrisure traits and enhancing our position as a trusted provider of high-performing genetics; really making sure they understand we’ve got a platform that solves the needs of farmers and getting that message out there.” —David Hollinrake, president, Syngenta Seeds “To me, the future of grass is something that is economically produced for the grower. You must have good seed production in multiple locations. Also, you must meet the needs of the end-user, which usually means less inputs such as pesticides, water, and fertilizer, but it is still able to be aggressive and grow under abiotic and biotic stresses to fit whatever need is in the marketplace.” —Crystal Fricker, president, Pure-Seed Testing and Pure Seed “It’s up to farmers to choose which variety or seeds they want to use not only to increase their livelihood but also to support sustainable agriculture and food security. We want to show we are supporting seed choice for farmers everywhere.” —Michael Keller, Secretary General, International Seed Federation 2018 GIANT VIEWS OF THE INDUSTRY