b'A view from above Seed SaversExchange (SSE) Farm in Decorah, Iowa. PHOTO PROVIDED BY SSE. Seed Diversityin the Consolidation AgePreserving genetics inEVERY GLOBAL INDUSTRY,from automotive and beauty products to candy and seed, generally follows the same arc. an era of unprecedentedThere are the early pioneers, later joined in the market by larger and smaller companies. Some make it, some dont. Along the germplasm ownershipway but mostly after many years, larger firms buy up competi-tors in what can be called the consolidation stage of a given sector, a stage that usually comes with a wide range of implica-concentration. tions. The global seed industry has now reached this stagewith By Treena Hein, Seed World Contributor the preservation of genetic diversity hanging in the balance.Looking back at the past few years, in 2018 for example, AgReliant Genetics purchased several regional dealer brands (Eureka Seeds, Golden Acres Genetics, Wensman Seed Co., Great Lakes Hybrids, Producers Hybrids), rolling them all into LG Seeds. In 2023, Bayer announced plans to bring 10 regional seed compa-nies (Stone Seed, Fontanelle, Hubner Seed, Gold Country Seed, Stewart Seeds, Jung Seed Genetics, Kruger Seeds, Lewis Hybrids, Rea Hybrids, Specialty Seed) under its new Channel banner. By mid-2023, the USDA Economic Research Service reported that AgReliant, Bayer, Corteva and Syngenta accounted for 83% and 78% of recent U.S. sales of corn and soybean seed respec-tively. The latter three firms, along with BASF, are estimated to own about 95% of corn IP and 84% of soybean IP. 40/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2025'