90 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2017 INDUSTRY NEWS Delivering the people, industry, business and product news you need to know. Submissions are welcome. Email us at news@issuesink.com. The increased occurrence of soybean Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) has led to increased study of its causes. Soil profiling is a major tool for research. Until now, researchers have focused on identifying the soil’s physical and chemical characteristics when SDS is present. Ahmad Fakhoury, a Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, associate professor of plant pathology and fungal genetics, has found a new way to analyze soil to determine the incidence and severity of SDS. He profiles the soil’s microbes as well as the physical and chemical properties. Another class earned their tassels in Seed Business 101 Field Crops from the University of California, Davis. The course was held Aug. 28 – Sept. 1 in St. Charles, Ill. To date, more than 400 seed profes- sionals have attended the one-week course that exposes participants to the five functional areas of a seed company. The American Seed Trade Association announced a new name for its annual convention. Next year, it will be called the 135th Policy and Leadership Development Conference, and it will be held in Washington, D.C. A Purdue University study confirms complex associations among plant hormones and their signaling pathways that are key to control- ling plant architecture. Plant architecture is partly controlled through the production and perception of plant hormones. The loss of either the brassinosteroid or gibberellin plant hormones results in dwarfed plants. Removing both can increase this effect, which suggests that they control plant growth sepa- rately. PEOPLE NEWS Pinnacle Operating Corporation announced that Robert Marchbank will lead its agriculture retail and wholesale distribu- tion businesses across 27 states as the president and CEO. The AgVenture network of seed companies is housed under Pinnacle Agriculture Distribution, Inc. The Barenbrug Group is developing its seed enhancement busi- ness with the appointment of Andro Tjin to the newly created position of global seed enhancement technology manager as of September 2017. Tjin will focus on the development of new technologies. He will also be responsible for creating synergy between the different regional seed enhancement programs and plants to maximize output. Noble Research Institute Professor Twain Butler was named a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America, the highest honor bestowed by the organization. Butler’s research focuses on tall fescue, alfalfa, wheat and bermudagrass grazing systems to determine the optimal forages for the Southern Great Plains. President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey to Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Inocucor Technologies Inc., a producer of biologicals, increases its capacity to serve farmers and greenhouse growers in Canada with the appointment of Jan Kral to vice president of sales for Canada and Sean Chiki to lead its Ontario sales effort. NorthStar Genetics promotes Kyle Krump to regional sales manager and Alan Muhs to soybean product manager. Located in Colfax, N.D., Krump who has been working as a dis- trict sales manager will transition to his new role immediately. Located in Valley City, N.D., Muhs is responsible for all soybean product selection, production and inventory management. American Takii hires Ing. Francisco Maldonado B. as technical sales manager for Central America. Maldonado is a resident of Parramos, Guatemala. In his new role, he will develop Takii’s full line of crops in the region for local and export markets. Agrium Inc. welcomes Mike Frank as president of Agrium