As a young kid, Randy Knutson, seeds production research scientist at Syngenta Seeds, knew he wanted to work in an area that serves and helps people. At the time, he thought that meant he would become a firefighter.
However, working in the seed industry has proven to be a new way for him to be of service to people — in an area he never expected.
Growing up in an exurb of Milwaukee, Wis., Knutson recalls that he was pretty separated from the ag industry — the closest he ever got was a 100-acre tangerine grove that his grandparents owned in Florida. Fast forward to college, and he was actively involved in a social agriculture fraternity and working on a friend’s dairy farm.
“Looking back, I realize that this work allowed me to see all facets of the value chain while literally getting my hands dirty,” Knutson says.
And although he was too late in his college career to make a major change, post-graduation he took an internship with Syngenta.
“It feels a bit like the seed industry chose me from there,” he jokes.
And in particular, corn was really a focus that caught Knutson’s interest.
“Corn has so many physiological components,” he says. “Thinking of all the inbred crosses we can make; the potential feels limitless when it comes to developing new hybrids. And the exciting part is we still don’t know everything about corn. The continual learning and science behind it are what makes the work interesting and fun.”
Another passion he has? Learning about trees.
“I love dendrology (the science and study of wooded plants),” he says. “In college, my fraternity brothers and I collected sap from the university golf course’s maple trees and made syrup for students on campus and for our families.”
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