b'TOP 10 NEXT GEN LEADERSKEVIN FALKKevin Falk, integrated field sciences research scientist at Corteva Agriscience, grew up in a small, 3,000-person farming community, which was an incubator for crop research for different companies, including Dow, DuPont, Pioneer and Monsanto, to name a few. Growing up, he says the farm was his happy place. After graduation, he said it seemed only natural to sign up for plant science, and he never looked back. According to Falk, the seed industry has allowed him to explore so many of his passions: farming, genetics, research, education, market-ing and most recentlyfilm! Its a mixture of farming, culture, history, soil, science, people, community, engineering, technology, business and marketing altogether, he says. Whats better yet is Im passionate about all of them. Its a mixture of farming, culture, WILL CORNELIUShistory, soil, science, people, community, Will Cornelius, vice president of Cornelius Seed, was lucky enough to grow up in the seed indus- engineering, technology, business and tryhe and his brother are the 5th generation to be involved in Cornelius Seed. He mentions they started helping at a young age, from helping withmarketing altogether.harvesting to detasseling to roguing to crew lead-ing. He says, I was pretty certain that agriculture was what I wanted to be involved in for a living, and I had the advantage of knowing more or less what IOver the last two years, Falk has won the Better Life, Better Seed wanted to do when I went to Iowa State. video contest, which has allowed him to combine his passion for the Corneliuss choice was solidified at Iowa State seed industry with his creative drive. Each year, I told my own story he completed internships with two other companiesbased off my experiences surrounding the theme ASTA created, he during that time, but knew he wanted to be backsays. Most recently, he discussed his time spent in the USDA Plant working for the family business. However, he saysIntroduction Station, which has a large seed bank, so show how our that wasnt the only reason the seed industry reallyplanet, our health and our food all start with the seed. called him. Im attracted by the challenges the seedIn his journey, Falk is most thankful to his mentors who encouraged industry provides, he says. Any time you havehim, but also provided humbling feedback. Its tough to hear, but it to rely on Mother Nature, there are bound to bemakes me a better scientist, team member and person, he says.challenges that you have to overcome. Every year brings a new set of challenges to meet head on. Not only that, but Cornelius loves the collabo-ration between companies in the industry: We often joke that agriculture is a pretty small world, because you see the same people in various rolls with various companies throughout their careers. In particular, he loves being able to meet up both personally and professionally with different col-leagues at the ASTA CSS tradeshow in Chicago and the annual IPSA Conference. And for anyone coming into the seed industry, Cornelius says the most important thing to do? Network, network, network. One thing you might not know about Cornelius is hes been to five of the seven continents, includ-ing Antarctica! 38/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2020'