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80 SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2015 Were Listening and Were Measuring The call for improved communication strikes me as both a vote of confidence and a challenge. Risa DeMasi divisions as well as by increased partnerships with peer groups such as the American Soybean Association National Corn Growers Association and Agricultural Retailers Association. Advocacy It was observed that communicating and building relationships with federal officials yields the most suc- cess when participation by the industry is as broad as it is deep. In addition to immediate legislative victo- ries progress can be measured by participation in ASTAs annual Washington D.C. Fly-In meetings held with state legislators expanded circulation of legisla- tive updates and intelligence flowing into ASTA from members and funding of the Seed First PAC. Inter-generational Communication Passing on the lessons learned by todays leadership to tomorrows was identified by several as a priority. More mentoring programs more aggressive recruit- ment of young professionals to working groups and greater outreach through social media are some of the ways we can measure success in this area. Internal Communication While a terrific amount of work is conducted and reported by ASTAs division and committee leaders more vehicles for two-way communication were rec- ommended. Requesting input from members to iden- tify and exploit more opportunities will be explored. Public Outreach With ASTAs rebranding program underway we recog- nize the need to communicate about all types of seed breeding and the industrys evolution to the public. Social and traditional media monitoring will help estab- lish benchmarks in public opinion and future outreach efforts will be evaluated and shared. As you can tell we have no shortage of ideas for sharing information and ideas among our industrys stakeholders and those who can impact our ability to grow and prosper. I hope you recognize this as an invitation to learn more and to actively engage with ASTA. With greater industry participation I look for- ward to reporting measurable progress in all areas of communication by the end of my term next June. SW IF THERES ONE message that leaders throughout the seed industry have communicated to me during the first 100 days of my term as chair of the American Seed Trade Association its that they want to improve com- munication between sectors with federal and state governments among generations within the associa- tion and to the public. While a seemingly huge order Im encouraged by this feedback. For one thing it affirms both the need for an active seed association and the desire of its members to be more involved. As one member said Were in a position to blast off It also affirms ASTAs successes in promoting trade and influencing policy and regulation are being recognized internally and externally. One example of this has been the increasing attendance at the Farm and Lawn Seed Conference the Corn Sorghum Soybean Seed Research Conference and Seed Expo the Vegetable Flower Seed Conference and ASTAs annual convention. Ive also seen our influence in state and federal government matters grow were now regularly consulted on and invited to participate in policy discussions such as the one I attended with U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Vilsack on the Sage Grouse Initiative. According to another leader surveyed ASTA is instigating profound change around the world. So the call for improved communication strikes me as both a vote of confidence and a challenge. Having stated in my acceptance speech in June that my focus will be on developing benchmarks and metrics to measure our progress in executing ASTAs five-year strategic plan I asked how we could apply this to com- munications. Strategically and tactically the feedback I received fell into five areas Cross-sector communi- cation advocacy inter-generational communication internal communication and public outreach. Cross-sector Communication Breaking down industry silos to facilitate innovation and cooperation among businesses in the row crop vegetable grass and floral sectors seems to be an idea whose time has finally come. Our progress in achieving sector- and geo-diversity can be measured by partici- pation in conferences and expanded distribution of information by working groups committees and RISA DEMASI American Seed Trade Association chair and Grassland Oregon partner and director of marketing