b'PARTNER CONTENTWhy Social Distancing is ImpactingPlant Breeders in a Big WayPlant breeders get some of their best ideas working shoulder-to-shoulder. Right now, that cant happenand that means they need a partner to help bring some stability to their work environment. M ark Massoudi, president of the California-based Ag-Biotech, knows what plant breeders are going through right now. Weve all had to learn to work differently. For many, that means person-to-person contact has ceased. In a profession like plant breeding, that means your workflow may have been impact-ed in any number of ways. Maximizing trait selection is vital for accurate product devel-opment and for reducing the time-to-market for new varieties. That requires advanced technology, and that technology is built and operated by the companys staffall of whom have taken great pains to ensure a talented staff is the foundation of Ag-Bio-techs philosophy.For so many companies in the plant breeding space, relation-ships have changed. In-person gatherings are now held virtually. Many breeders have told me that some of their most important conversations happen when theyre together or in a vehicle driv-ing to see their research plots. Those car rides arent happening anymore. For a lot of people that link in the chain isnt what it used to be, Massoudi says.Ag-Biotechs genomic testing servicesstarting with the companys signature Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS)help breeders to better grow their new cultivars and, as a result, their business.The MAS product has become a cornerstone for many seedMark Massoudi is president of Ag-Biotech.companies over the years, but at its root is the Ag-Biotech staff, who are helping bring stability to an industry that is being chal- Massoudi notes that the nature of what plant breeders and lenged like never before. seed companies do hasnt changed, but the way they do it has. Helping breeders and companies in the seed space to be suc- What the past nine months have done is affect people and cessful is a lot like sending someone to space. Sure, you see the foot- relationships and how they take those relationships to work. age on TV of the astronaut doing their spacewalk, but you dont seeMost people still shelter in place. Office interaction is extremely all the people on the ground who make it happen, he says.important for plant breeding, but breeders are having to learn to We spent a lot of time fine-tuning and honing the processesdo their jobs with less physical presence, he notes.and developing our marker assay products we use in the lab. IfHow much a breeder is affected by all this depends on how one marker is going to behave a certain way, we want to be able tothe company they work with operates. Breeders need some stabil-reduce the variability and potential variation in our test results inity right now, and we help offer them that. We cant make plants order to give our clients what they needpertinent phenotypicgrow faster, but we can eliminate the common bottlenecks that information to help select individuals with desirable traits forhave stood between you and the information you need.subsequent generations.For more info visit agbiotech.net.DECEMBER 2020SEEDWORLD.COM /17'