b'International Year of Plant Health: Protecting Plants, KYLE DRATOWANY Protecting LifeMEDIA DEVELOPER,SEEDWORLD CREATEkdratowany@seedworldgroup.com @seedworldgroup IN CASE YOUhad not heard,diseases annually. To feed, clothe and seedworldgroup.com in early 2019, the United Nationsprovide shelter to the worlds growing declared 2020 as the Internationalpopulation, the agriculture commu-Year of Plant Health: Protectingnity must do everything in its power Plants, Protecting Life. Throughoutto produce healthy plants. Creating a Good Emailthis year, various organizationsIt does not matter whether it is around the world planned celebra- corn, soybeans, tomatoes, wheat, rice, Signature will Help Youtions or special events in honor ofpotatoes, timber, cotton, papaya or this declaration. Seed associationsany other agricultural commodity, the Stay on Brand like ISF and ASTA recognized thehealthier we can keep those crops, designation of this year and planned,the healthier we can keep mankind. in their own ways, various celebra- The more we focus attention on I RECENTLY HADto change my email signature.tions or events. Likewise, the USDAhealthy plants from seed to harvest to It was something I hadnt thought about in a longhad planned an event in Washington,consumption, the greater the benefit time, as Id been using the same one for years. As ID.C. Unfortunately, COVID-19 inter- there will be for the world. As the worked through changing it to be more in line withrupted many of these celebrations inglobal population continues to grow, our companys evolving image, I learned a fewboth the United States and aroundevery kilogram of food produced things about what makes a good signature. the world. As with so many otherbecomes more and more critical. Email signatures have evolved over the years,things during this pandemic, theseEvery effort must be made to protect and while there are many schools of thought oncelebrations had to go virtual or bethe health of plants to maximize the how to make a good one, theres a few things thatcanceled. production of every seed planted.pretty much anyone can agree makes for a goodSo, what was the intention of theDue to the pandemic this year closing signature to an email. United Nations in declaring 2020 theand its impact on all countries and Keep it simple. Name, title, phone number, andInternational Year of Plant Health?the millions of people affected, the website are all you need. If you feel its advanta- It was to focus global attention onInternational Year of Plant Health will geous, feel free to include your social media links.the importance of healthy plantsbe carried over into 2021. All of us You dont need your email addressthey areand the impact they have on humanmust do our best to carry it well into already reading your email, so they have yourhealth. For a year, the United Nationsthe future, well past 2020 and 2021. email address. But, including it can make it easierwanted to shine a spotlight on theProtecting Plants, Protecting Life.for people to copy it into their contacts list. In Macneed for the production of healthy Mail, for example, its a few extra clicks to pull itplants around the world. As a global from the top of a message. population, we have to strive through Avoid wacky colors. Stick with one or twoplant breeding, advanced agronomy, matching colors in addition to plain black text. proper application of pesticides, Avoid using image files. Some people includeorganic culture, timely harvests, their photo or another image in their signature. Irapid distribution and proper stor-prefer to avoid this. Often, my email app will blockage of agricultural commodities in images for security purposes, resulting in an emptyan effort to ensure the health of crop box where someones picture is meant to be. Youplants and plant products. The FAO can avoid this by sticking with text only. estimates that up to 40% of food Stay on brand. If every member of yourcrops are lost due to plant pests and organization has a different signature, your busi-ness can come across as disorganized. Come up with a standard signature for everyone, so all theyJOHN MIZICKOhave to do is add their personal info to a ready-made template. This ensures all email sent out byBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, your organization has a singular look, rather than aEUROFINSmishmash of different fonts and colors. johnmizicko@eurofinsus.comeurofinsus.com/biodiagnostics30/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2021'