b"While immediate yield gains havent yet hit the original target of 23%, Hubner remains confident that it will happen through better weed control, better pest control since all the agronomic attributes are in the platform.Innovation Rooted in LegacyHubners passion for solving this challenge isnt just about build-ing a business; its deeply personal. His family has been involved in seed corn since the 1930s, and his grandfather helped build one of the first DeKalb seed plants in Illinois.He was a pilot he flew to multiple production areas because it took too long to drive, Hubner recalls. Driving innovation and advancement in seed production isnt just for us today, its been in our family for generations.That mindset drives his willingness to tinker with emerging tech, ask new questions, and push the boundaries of whats pos-sible. Case in point: outfitting their own sprayer for the first time this year with camera systems to monitor spray coverage, and potentially even detect pollen shed an R&D project for future monitoring in SeedTrax.Hubner believes its that kind of curiosity that fuels SeedTrax and its potential to transform the seed industry from the inside out.Doug Hubner, Hubner Industries CEO From Problem-Solving to Platform BuildingThis innovation is critical to all the seed corn producers, Hubner says. There are fewer seedsmen to produce the grow-ing seed corn market demand, so weve got to develop the tools I can dial in and see all of our acres in one place, Hubnerneeded so that our field scouts can manage more acres per says. This gives me a digital eye on all the fields Im askingperson with better intelligence than they previously had.good questions, rather than not knowing anything or onlyIntelinair accounts manager Demitrius Kikalos also sees the (knowing) the fields Im walking. bigger picture. With food security and sustainability being a top priority Scaling People and Performance today, integrating technology into the seed production industry Today, growers are actively using SeedTrax on more thanis crucial, he says. SeedTrax enhances seed development by 10,000 acres of seed corn, with plans to reach 30,000 acres inproviding real-time insights that elevate seed quality, ensuring 2025. According to Hubner, the tool is already improving laborwe grow the best food for the future.efficiency and oversight.Were seeing better coverage across all of our acres as farFor the Whole Seed Industryas our field scouts, he says. Sometimes its not purely acres, itsWith pilot partners already using the system, Hubners team is how many SKUs that field scout is managing. Managing a 160- working on broader distribution strategies to bring SeedTrax to acre field with one hybrid is very different than managing 160more growers, faster. The goal isnt just to keep it in-house, its acres with four. to raise the standard for seed corn production industry-wide.With every acre digitally monitored and every scout sup- We're sort of just on this whole SeedTrax journey, he says. ported, SeedTrax enables experienced seed professionals toHopefully we can influence the 30 million-plus bags of seed coach newer team members and guide decisions in real time. Itcorn thats raised annually and change what that looks like also helps generate more reliable supply estimates at harvest. moving forward.You can start calculating a little better how much of the fieldAnd if that sounds ambitious, Hubner is okay with that. Its is red, how much is yellow, how much is green, Hubner says.not for me; its not for SeedTrax. Its what Ive always dreamed of Then you can start attributing that to lower or higher yieldingdoing.portions of the field.16/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2025"