b'Working as a Continous CircleWhile there have been some bumps in the world, Illinois Crop Improvement CEO Doug Miller looks forward to the point where the seed industry and its scientists can meet again without worry.Seed World (SW): Favorite book currently? Doug Miller (DM): It is tough to pick a favorite. On the history shelf is Spearhead by Adam Makos. On the self-improvement shelf, actually an e-book, is Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. More work related but across the aisle from crop genetics is The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee. I am blessed with curiosity and cursed by a diverse set of interests.SW: Coffee or tea in the morning? DM: Definitely coffee in the morning and tea in the evening. I can be over caffeinated at times, but hearing colors and seeing smells seems to help me think around corners and peer into what the future may hold. SW: One new skill youd want to learn?DM: How to effectively use a UAV or drone.SW: Howd you fall into seed certification? DM: Your question is apropos. I was working a seasonal job at Crows Hybrids, they really didnt have a place for me but as a former intern they let me work in research. When the greenhouse program manager left Illinois Crop I interviewedSW: Why was Puerto Rico an area you wanted to conduct for the job. I consider myself the first greenhouse manager fortrials? the association since the previous person left prior to startingDM: The decision to offer services in Puerto Rico goes back to operations. I have been with Illinois Crop for 27 years and madeDaryl Rolland, Jim Shearl, Paul Palmgren, Robert Troutman, Tom four title changes learning as I went.Ainsworth, Larry Lewis, Dale Cochran and other innovators in the mid-1980s. Had I known about it I would have cheered them SW: Whats the biggest concern you have when it comeson from my desk at Iroquois West Highschool. Puerto Rico has to seed certification right now?stood the test of time. Up to three generations per year, fertile DM: My biggest concern is that seed certification has not keptsoils, solid agricultural and logistical support from the University up with the times. We still rely on the phenotype, documentationof Puerto Rico, local ag retailers, PRDA, USDA, EPA, OECD, and the willingness of the certifier to join with the agency in thePRABIA and others have made Puerto Rico an essential part of certification of seed. Seed that is willfully, or unwittingly, pirated,the seed industry.mis-identified or adulterated is something we could address with more modern techniques. To be clear issues are rare. TheSW: Whats your biggest hope for 2022 in the industry? seed sector, as a whole, is doing a great job of protecting theDM: I travel in two circles. One circle includes the developers, identity and purity of seed. There is a high degree of confidencescientists and decision makers that can work from anywhere. in the existing production, handling, verification and regulatoryOne circle includes the bench analysts, seed conditioners, practices. For me modernizing the system means elevatingagronomists and growers. My hope is that we can work together confidence without breaking the budget. It is in everyonesagain. Together as a continuous circle. Let us not forget those interest to maintain this confidence and in the end that is whatwho never stopped reporting to work and let us not forget those seed certification is all about. Confidence in the identity andwho were locked down. People were made to work together. I purity of the seed.hope we can shake hands and see each other smile in 2022.SW118/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2021'