b'Below: Jeptha Creed keeps grows corn close to the distillery.PHOTO: JEPTHA CREED DISTILLERY. the flavor after aging. Its high-risk for seed companies because the payoff is so far out.He notes the balance seed com-panies must strike when investing in traits. You want a product that meets a wide market, he says. If youre just producing for one small region, its not a sustain- Left: JD Miracle, agromomist at Homestead Family Farms.able business model. But theres opportunity heretraits likeRight: Homesteads fields provide the corn for Diageos Bulleit smoother grain complexity or enhanced regional characteristicsbourbon.PHOTO PROVIDED BY HOMESTEAD FAMILY FARMS.could shine through in bourbon.DeBolt also points out that modern breeding has achieved remarkable progress in disease resistance.Regenerative agriculture is just sustainability with a new Seventy years of breeding for disease resistance meansname, he said. The data from Kentuckys 50-year no-till trials todays corn is incredibly clean, he says. Thats vital becauseshow that it takes decades to recover the carbon lost from till-even small levels of disease can create off notes in the distillate age. Progress is slow but measurable.earthy or musty flavors that detract from the spirits quality. He added that cover crops and no-till practices are critical to Nethery says her focus always remains on flavor.maintaining soil health. Yield and efficiency are important, but we cant lose the soulIf we hadnt made these advances, wed be clearing forests or of what makes bourbon special, she says. Flavor connects us tousing marginal lands to grow enough corn, he says. Instead, were history. Its worth preserving. able to produce efficiently while preserving natural ecosystems.In every sip of bourbon, theres a legacy that begins long Sustainability Saves the Seed and the Spirit before the spirit reaches the glass. From the careful selection of Sustainability is not just a buzzword in the bourbon industry corn hybrids to precise cultivation practices and the artistry of its a necessity.distillation, bourbon embodies a harmonious blend of science, Corn growers and agronomists have been the greatest envi- tradition and passion. Every part honors the history and the land ronmentalists of the past 100 years, DeBolt says. Weve seenand the seed that make this spirit distinctly American. an eightfold increase in yields with only a 10% increase in inputs.As the industry looks ahead, balancing sustainability, inno-Thats extraordinary. vation and authenticity, one truth remains: bourbons story will However, DeBolt cautioned against conflating sustainabilityalways begin with the seed and end with a taste that connects us with newer terms like regenerative agriculture.to its roots.SWFEBRUARY 2025SEEDWORLD.COM /17'