b'Were in the People BusinessOVER THE PAST20-plus years, as editor of anothersame company that supplied the new biotech traits. seed journal, I visited more than 250 seed companiesThe situation became so untenable that numerous and interviewed countless seed producers across thecompanies exited marketing and chose to concentrate United States, in several Canadian provinces and in 10 oron seed production. At the same time, consumers 11 nations. Without exception, I came away from thesewere drawn into the controversy surrounding those visits with nothing but pleasant memories and greatnew GMO traits when the trait providers forgot that respect for the men and women I met. The seed indus- they were still in the people business and applied try is first and foremost in the people business. It juststrong-arm tactics to overpower legitimate concerns. happens to sell seed. I believe the industry is universallyWounds from that miscalculation may never fully heal.JOE FUNK focused on seed quality. Companies whose managers Since 2017, Joelost pride in their products and let seed quality be any-Funk has been athing less than their highest priority are out of business. contributing writerHaving pride in your product may be most impor- My goal was to be the village square, provide a for Seed World tant when it is least expected. One of my earliest inter- forum where everyone could congregate, share , and a dear friend to allnational trips was to the seed industry in Hungary. The our editorial staff. Indirector of the Hungarian seed industry associationideas and discuss common concerns. May 2021, Joe decidedwas a young man educated in the United States. He to retire so he couldspoke perfect English and was instrumental in arrang-enjoy the company ofing my facility visits. One of the seed companies weAn important lesson from those turbulent years is his lovely wife, Donna,visited operated from an old, windowless Communist- to always keep your eye on the people you serve. As and travel around theera warehouse constructed with thick, gray, concreteeditor, I envisioned I was serving two customer groups: globe.walls. The company had one bright red batch seedseed producers and their product/service providers. treater, a few antiquated seed cleaning machines andMy goal was to be the village square, provide a forum minimal seed handling equipment. Its manager, awhere everyone could congregate, share ideas and dis-pleasant, traditional-looking peasant woman, spoke nocuss common concerns. My focus was to bring those English, and I knew no Hungarian.groups together. If they would provide news and infor-Nonetheless, she enthusiastically led us through themation, I would deliver an audience to them. We each facility with its labor-intense methods. When we camehad what the other wanted without ever mentioning it. to a heavy metal tote with bright, treated turnip seed,Whatever success I had as an editor came from she held out a handful for our inspection and beamedstaying focused on my mission. The ideal outcome was with a smile that reached from ear to ear. No one hasa win-win solution for all of us. My co-conspirator in this shown more pride in their seed than I felt from her asarrangement was the magazines sales team. I never we gathered in that gloomy, Hungarian warehouse.directly sold anything, but everything I did was, in a Given their resources, that company produced fantasti- sense, always selling. My focus was always on the inter-cally high-quality seed. ests of my audiences and how we all related to each During the last 25 years, the seed industry has ledother. I was frequently reminded that if I could provide production agriculture in the United States through thegood content, sales will follow. True to form, they did.seismic introduction of transgenic, genetically engi- Then as today, we are all in the people business. As I neered seed. As news of herbicide-tolerant began toam about to retire and sail into the sunset, I am grate-circulate in the mid-1990s, few recognized the shock- ful for my successes, but my best memories are of the waves that were about to redefine the seed business.times I spent with the seed industrys men and women. The independence of family-owned seed companiesIt has been my privilege to participate in an economy was challenged when these smaller companies foundwhere so many of its participants still have their feet themselves competing in the marketplace with thefirmly planted on the earth. SW 72/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2021'