Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84OCTOBER 2016 SEEDWORLD.COM / 33 OCTOBER 2016 SEEDWORLD.COM / 33 SEED TREATMENT EQUIPMENT Better Environment, Better Product Competition is tough and you do everything you can to produce the best quality seed to meet your customer’s needs. And much of your success hinges on the people you hire. This is particularly true of the seed treatment operator as he is coating the final product and that’s something farmers can visually see. It also directly impacts planting. Couple that with the fact that formulations are increasingly complex, and a lot depends on your operator. Years ago, your seed treatment operator was the loyal employee who grew up in your company and knew a good quality application just by looking at the seed. Today, people shift jobs more often. This means you need equipment that is safe and easy to operate, calibrate and service. Operators should be able to easily check the dosing rates, and data collection should be streamlined. Basically, you need equipment that’s going to do a quality job, even with employees who have little prior knowledge. NOROGARD PRESIDENT @NoroGardAB Ketty@NoroGard.com NoroGard.com KETTY NILSSON The other factor to consider is you want employees to say good things about your company and your product. It’s important that they feel comfortable operating the equipment and that cleanouts are not messy or labor intensive. Cleaning a seed treater is not a sweet task to begin with. You are handling toxic chemicals and it can be time consuming. It’s in the best interest of your company and your operator to have equipment that is easy to clean. This not only saves your team time and money, it’s also more likely that the task will be done. Cleaning your seed treatment equipment helps improve the quality of treatment and extends the life of your equipment. The last piece that I’m going to focus on is dust. We know that dust can be an issue for pollinators; it can also affect the health of your operators or those working around the equipment. Make sure you have sufficient aspiration. This improves that application quality of the seed treatment and improves the environment at your seed plant. If we take good care of our seed treatment operators, they will take better care of the seed treatment. They will see to it that your investment stays on the seed. To deliver top quality product, you need more than top quality seed treatment equipment. You need devoted and engaged operators. I encourage you to look at how you can improve the work environment for your employees. SEED TREATMENT STEWARDSHIP One Seed, One Plant As the value of each seed increases, farmers look to get the most from it and protect that investment. This means planting earlier to hit that optimum window, decreasing planting population to make sure every seed has the nutrients, water and sun that it needs, and hoping it will endure whatever Mother Nature throws at it. That’s where seed treatments deliver results. Right from the start, seed treatments complement genetics and help each plant reach its maximum potential. They protect the seed at a time when it’s most vulnerable to soil-borne diseases and pests. While I was stationed in Africa and Asia, I saw cotton fields completely decimated by nematodes. That’s not just the loss of a crop; that’s the loss of income and greatly impacts the livelihood of those farmers. Today, I’m proud to walk through those same fields with those same farmers. Only this time, they are smiling because they are in control — not the other way around. SYNGENTA SEEDCARE GLOBAL COMMERCIAL HEAD @bfaerm martin.faerber@syngenta.com syngenta-us.com/crop- protection/seed-treatment MARTIN FAERBER I like to think of seed treatment as a kind of insurance. You hope you don’t need it, but it sure pays off when you do. In fact, as developing countries, which typically have harsher growing conditions, approve GM technology, we see the use of seed treatments skyrocket. Farmers need, and expect, each seed to produce a plant.The value proposition for seed treatments is unmatched. The return on investment for all stakeholders is critical and only results in happy customers — seed treatment suppliers, dealers and growers. One might say that the ROI for seed treatments is bigger than the seed itself. We’re doing more with less: more yield from fewer acres and more yield with less chemicals — micrograms of an active ingredient per seed vs. gallons per acre. It’s estimated that we use 500 times less active than a conventional spray. When we use a seed treatment, we are targeting the application on the seed, and some seed treatments precisely target a specific pest. This targeted approach means it’s an incredibly effective tool for farmers, and very safe for those who handle the product and the environment. Seed treatments allow us to go beyond seed protection and work to enhance biodiversity. If you have questions about seed treatments, I want to hear them. Email me at martin.faerber@ syngenta.com.