48  / SEEDWORLD.COM  OCTOBER 2026
You Told Us. We Listened. 
See You in Chicago!
THERE’S SOMETHING inherently optimistic about the seed 
industry. Every year, farmers put seed in the ground trusting 
that the genetics, quality and work behind it will deliver months 
later. In this industry, believing in tomorrow is quite literally what 
we do.
But when I look at where we are today, there’s another 
word that comes to mind: uncertainty. Trade policy is shift­
ing. Regulations are evolving. Technology is moving incredibly 
quickly. The path we find before us may not be clear, but one 
thing is certain: how we respond will truly matter.
Now more than ever, the seed industry needs to operate as 
one. Whether you’re running a family seed company that has 
been around for generations or working for a multinational with 
operations on every continent — whether your focus is row 
crops, turf, or vegetables, organic, conventional or biotechnol­
ogy — you are part of the seed industry and your perspective 
matters. We don’t all see things the same way, and honestly, that 
is our strength. We have far more in common than we do apart, 
and when we choose to lead with that, this industry is unstoppa­
ble. That’s exactly why having a table to come to matters — we 
are stronger when we work together!
For more than 70 years, one of the most important tables for 
us to gather around was in Chicago. Over the past few years, we 
heard pretty clearly from the industry that people wanted the 
Field Crop Seed Convention back in the Midwest. After three 
years in Orlando, the message wasn’t subtle. You wanted to go 
back to the Midwest. 
ASTA is your association, not only in name, but in action and 
in voice, and that means listening to what you tell us about the 
association itself, including where you want to gather and what 
you need from our meetings.
So, we’re going back.
The Midwest is home to so much of the U.S. seed industry, 
and there’s certainly history in bringing this meeting back to 
Chicago. But I’m less interested in recreating the past than I am 
in making this gathering valuable for what our members need 
now. 
ASTA meetings have always been places where business gets 
done and relationships are built, but their value goes deeper than 
that. They’re where you sit down with someone from another 
part of the industry and realize they’re wrestling with the same 
issue you are. You hear an opinion you hadn’t considered. You 
have the conversation in the hallway after the session that turns 
out to be more valuable than the session itself. Those interac­
By Andy LaVigne,President & CEO, ASTA
tions are nearly impossible to manufacture if you’re not in space 
together and at a time when so much is changing around us, I 
think they become even more valuable. 
When you come to Chicago, bring the issues you’re wrestling 
with and the questions you haven’t answered yet. Plan to talk to 
your customers and your partners, but also talk to your competi­
tors and the people from parts of the industry you don’t nor­
mally encounter. I can’t promise you’ll leave with all the answers, 
but I can promise you’ll leave better informed, better connected 
and with a clearer sense of our collective path ahead. 
That’s what I want this year’s Field Crop Seed Convention to 
deliver.
You told us it was time to come back to Chicago. We listened. 
Now let’s make it a meeting worth coming back for. 
See you in Chicago. SW

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