OCTOBER 2018 SEEDWORLD.COM / 85 Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN announced that Land O’Lakes, Inc. has acquired substantially all assets of Agren, Inc., an Iowa-based software company whose soil health and conservation planning software is already helping Land O’Lakes lead the way on innovative conservation stewardship. The Agren business and tools will be operated by the Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN division. Deere & Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PLA, a privately-held manufacturer of sprayers, planters, and specialty products for agriculture. PLA is based in Argentina, with manufacturing facilities in Las Rosas, Argentina, and Canoas, Brazil. PEOPLE NEWS S&W Seed Company retained seed industry veteran Mauricio P.M. Barbosa to aid in the expansion of its breeding capabilities within its sorghum portfolio. Shefali Mehta joined the Soil Health Partnership as executive director. Mehta fills the position after Nick Goeser’s promotion to NCGA vice president of production and sustainability earlier this year. Nufarm hired Mike Krull as North America lead for portfolio solutions. Krull brings 25 years of agriculture experience to the role, most recently with FMC where he led business development and commercial integration for the U.S. and Canada. Stokes Seeds added Fraser Hetherington to its executive team. Fraser will assume the new role of executive vice president and will oversee the company’s marketing, product and supplier strategies. Wayne Gale, president of Stokes Seeds, will continue to oversee distribution and finance. Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. appointed of Keith McGovern and Stuart Woolf to its board of directors, concurrent with the retirement of Richard Rominger. In conjunction, the company has also formed an advisory council to guide and advise the board of directors and management’s strategic vision for Marrone Bio Innovations. Agrinos welcomed Breen Neeser as executive vice president, North America commercial operations. Neeser will lead the North America business unit, overseeing all aspects of the company’s commercial activities in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Barenbrug USA promoted Samantha Miller to the new role of director of marketing and brand management. Miller will be responsible for managing marketing for both the international and domestic business. She will focus on market intelligence, market development for existing and future products, and the strategic direction of marketing objectives within the professional turf and forage divisions at Barenbrug USA. PRODUCT NEWS The Climate Corporation advanced a new predictive seed selection and placement technology to pre-commercial testing. This fall, approximately 50 seed dealers will be testing Seed Advisor, a data science-driven tool that provides dealers with a ranked hybrid recommendation by field and optimal seeding rate recommendation to help their farmer customers manage risk and maximize yield. Golden Harvest rolled out E-Luminate, an exclusive digital offering that draws upon extensive agronomic data to help farmers make more informed seed selection decisions. This unique seed placement tool is available to Golden Harvest Seed Advisors for use with their customers to have field-level discussion around selecting the right hybrid. To help farmers manage risk and grow a healthy corn crop, Channel introduced a new seed product lineup that provides enhanced disease tolerance. Channel Protexus corn provides tolerance against five yield-robbing diseases: anthracnose stalk rot, Goss’s wilt and leaf blight, northern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot and southern rust of corn. DONMARIO is now marketing soybeans in the U.S. for the first time. Focusing strictly on developing leading genetics for local geographies, the brand is dedicated to providing soybean growers with the highest yielding soybeans on the market, packaged together with the latest traits, technology and extensive agronomic insight. SW