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 84ORGANIZERS OF THE American Seed Trade Association’s annual Farm and Lawn Seed Conference are trying something new this year. Held in conjunction with the Western Seed Association’s annual meeting, the conference takes place Nov. 6-7 in Kansas City, Mo. For the first time, it will feature a value chain panel discussion with industry leaders fielding questions from the audience as well as ones gathered in advance. "We’re trying something a little different. We thought that it would be of interest to folks who are in attendance to have a chance to get their questions answered and to be a little bit more interactive,” says Pat Miller, director of state affairs for ASTA, who’s also a key organizer of the event. Miller notes they’re aiming to have six to eight experts signed up for the panel discussion, which will address industry concerns and provide insights into future trends in the farm and lawn seed industry. Darcy Turner, owner of Texas-based Turner Seed, will serve as mod- erator. He says the panelists will represent not only different geographic regions, but also different facets of the business from native grasses to small grains. Issues that Turner expects to be covered in the panel discussion include how such factors as the next federal administration, commodity prices and economic uncertainty will affect the farm seed business. The panel discussion is scheduled for the afternoon of Nov. 6. Earlier that afternoon, ASTA’s Cover Crop Working Group will look at what’s new in cover crop species research. Participants in that meeting will also be provided with an update on the Soil Health Partnership, the ag industry initiative launched in 2014 aimed at measuring and communicating the economic and environmental benefits of different soil management strategies to farmers. According to Miller, cover crop sessions are always popular among conference attendees, and this year shouldn’t be any different. “It’ll be a good session,” he says. “It's always packed.” Also on Nov. 6, ASTA’s Environment and Conservation Seed Committee Meeting will meet to discuss plans for 2017. In addition, issues pertaining to native seed testing and lab uniformity will be examined, and there will also be an update on the activities of the U.S. Department of the Interior/Bureau of Land Management related to environment and conser- vation seed. The conference wraps up with a town hall breakfast meeting the morning of Nov. 7. The meeting will feature speakers in various industry, government and regulatory roles, primarily within ASTA and other seed organizations. “Historically we've given updates on ASTA activities at that meeting, but this year we’re going to broaden that out,” Miller says. The latest ASTA news will be shared with attendees, but other regional and state seed associations have also been invited to provide updates on their activities. “Plus there'll be discussion of our new communications program called ‘Better Seed, Better Life’ that basically communicates the benefits of professionally produced seed to growers, as well as just general consumer education about seed,” Miller says. “It’ll be interesting,” he adds. “There’s a lot to cover in a short amount of time, so we’ll keep it moving, that’s for sure.” SW Experts will be fielding questions about the future of the farm and lawn seed industry at ASTA’s annual Farm and Lawn Seed Conference. Mark Halsall Going Interactive 36 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2016 For more information on the American Seed Trade Association’s Farm and Lawn Seed Conference, visit betterseed.org/events.