36  / SEEDWORLD.COM  JUNE 2026
AFTER NEARLY FIVE decades in 
seed testing, SoDak Labs, Inc. CEO 
Tim Gutormson still sees the same truth 
playing out in new ways: quality is eve­
rything, but the industry continues to 
underestimate how easily it can be 
compromised.
“I think seed quality has 
improved a lot in the last 30 
years,” he says. “But some­
times how we bring seed into 
mass production, to get high 
throughput in conditioning 
and bagging, we lose quality 
because systems are designed 
for maximum throughput 
versus gentle handling.”
That tension between effi­
ciency and care has defined much 
of his career. From his early days 
in academia to building and rebuild­
ing seed testing businesses in South 
Dakota, Gutormson has worked at the 
intersection of science and real-world 
application. His perspective is grounded 
in both.
“You know, farmers are planting earlier 
now,” he says. “Testing has to evolve with 
that. There used to be a saying, don’t 
plant your corn before 50 degrees. A lot 
of farmers are planting way before that 
now.”
The shift puts new pressure on seed 
companies to deliver consistent, resilient 
performance. It also reinforces something 
Gutormson believes has not changed: 
quality remains a key differentiator.
“Quality is still a differentiating factor 
in seed companies,” he says.
Over time, the tools for measuring 
quality have evolved. Gutormson points 
seed moisture and physical damage. The 
seed industry really has very little control 
on that.”
If there’s one gap he continues to see, 
it’s education. Despite the complexity of 
seed systems, formal training remains 
limited.
“A lot of people in the indus­
try have biology or agronomy 
degrees, but very few universi­
ties teach seed science,” he says. 
“People don’t understand basic 
seed biology because they don’t 
get training on it.”
That gap is what drove 
Gutormson to teach, both in 
classrooms and through decades 
of industry training programs. The 
impact, he says, shows up in unex­
pected places.
“I’ll have people come up and say 
they took our courses many years ago,” 
he says. “That’s probably where we’ve 
helped contribute the most.”
Looking ahead, Gutormson believes 
the definition of quality will continue to 
shift depending on the crop and how 
closely performance can be measured in 
the field. But one trend stands out: the 
rise of more informed end users.
“Some progressive farmers are now 
testing their seed when they get it,” he 
says. “That pushes back on the seed 
companies to try to be better at what 
they do.”
Even after 47 years, Gutormson isn’t in 
a hurry to step away. His role has shifted 
from operations to research and market­
ing, but his curiosity remains intact.
“I don’t dread going to work,” he says. 
“I like to keep busy.”
Tested Over Time 
After nearly 50 years in seed testing, Tim Gutormson explains why quality still breaks 
down, and why the industry may be pushing it harder than ever  
BY AIMEE NIELSON, SEED WORLD U.S. EDITOR
to the fact that ISTA Orange and Blue 
certificates for export seed have grown 
over the past 25 years and says advance­
ments in seed drying represent meaning­
ful progress, particularly in corn. But he 
notes that not all crops have seen the 
same gains.
“In seed corn, we’ve gotten a lot better 
at drying for higher quality,” he explains. 
“Soybeans, we’re still at the mercy of low 
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