JUNE 2026 SEEDWORLD.COM / 7 BRYAN GERARD GREW UP watching seed shape his family’s life. Long before he became chair of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), long before he logged decades of committee service and international leader ship, seed was simply part of everyday conversation at home. His father, John Gerard, started as an FFA agricul ture teacher in a small Indiana town. He later served as general manager of the Indiana Crop Improvement Association and founded a private soybean company, In 1984 launched JGL Inc., a soybean and wheat licens ing company that became the foundation of the family business. Bryan and his brother Greg eventually joined the company and helped expand what their parents had built. After the family sold JGL in 2012, John Gerard did something few entrepreneurs would attempt after decades in business: he started over. They named the new company JoMar Seeds. “JoMar stands for John and Marta,” Gerard says, referring to his mother and father. Today, the company is moving into its third gen eration. Greg’s son John is part of the business, and Bryan’s youngest son Adam has joined as well. For Gerard, joining the family business became more than a career decision. It also gave him a pro found appreciation for the central role seed plays in modern life. “If you look at the seed industry, food, feed, fuel, fiber, a significant part of reclamation and part of climate adaptation, there’s not much that doesn’t start around the seed,” he says. Where Everything Begins JoMar Seeds occupies a critical position in the seed value chain. The company does not breed wheat varieties. Instead, it represents breeding programs and licenses their genetics to seed companies of every size, from multinational corporations to small independent busi nesses serving only a few counties. “If you have a seed brand, you can be a JoMar cus tomer,” Gerard says. That work gives Gerard a front-row seat to the movement of innovation from breeder to seed com pany to farmer and ultimately to consumers. “There is something that is phenomenal in that,” he says. “To know that the work we’re putting in, the amount of hours we’re doing, we’re looking for better products for seed companies to eventually provide to the growers, which then gets to the consumer. That is phenomenal.” Gerard doesn’t use words like “feeding the world” lightly, but he believes deeply in the purpose behind the industry’s work. “To be engaged in feeding the world is something that I know sounds altruistic, but the reality is there is something phenomenal in knowing that the work we’re putting in eventually gets to the consumer.” To him, seed is not merely the first input in agriculture. It is the starting point for solving some of the world’s biggest challenges. Thirty Years, One Defining Year Gerard’s path to the ASTA chairmanship began long before he officially entered the leadership chain. He first attended industry meetings as part of Junior Seedsmen programs. His formal leadership journey started in the early 1990s and accelerated in 1998 when his father was asked to represent ASTA at the International Seed Federation for cereal crops. John Gerard declined and pushed forward Bryan instead. That recommendation opened a door that would shape Bryan Gerard’s career for decades. He represented the cereal crop sector internationally for 19 years, served two terms on the International Seed Federation board and held multiple positions on ASTA’s executive committee and board. “My first role on the (ASTA) executive committee was from 1999 to 2009, and then I stepped back onto the executive committee around 2019 or 2020 and have been on it since,” he explains. “I’ve served in different committee leadership roles and on the advisory council in the in-between time.” Now, after more than three decades of service, Gerard assumes the chairmanship at a time when the seed industry faces a lot of uncertainty. Trade disputes continue to reshape global mar kets. Regulatory questions grow more complex. State legislatures are increasingly active. Federal farm policy remains unresolved. Gerard sees those realities clearly, but he does not view them as reasons for retreat. “Challenges have always been with us,” he says. “Challenges bring opportunities. Business leaders see them in a positive way. They find their path forward.” His prescription is straightforward. “I think we have to stay calm and just drive those opportunities.” Innovation Never Stops Setting the Table Every ASTA chair enters office with a theme. Gerard’s is both nostalgic and ambitious: Back to the Future. “I look at how entrepreneurial ASTA has been over the years, and how engaged ASTA has been over the “If you look at the seed industry — food, feed, fuel, fiber, a significant part of reclamation and part of climate — there’s not much that doesn’t start around the seed.” — Bryan Gerard
View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.