I spend a lot of time driving. The windshield time is perfect for reflecting on our company, the industry and how we can take advantage of new opportunities. It also means I listen to a lot of different local radio stations. The music genres can vary greatly as I travel through rural areas, navigate cities and skirt around the suburbs. As I listen, I can’t help but hear some lyrics that sure seem to be added just for us seed industry folks. I started keeping track of these and have decided to release the first ever, “Top 5 Songs About the Seed Industry”! I also thought this would be a fun topic to get input on, so please let me know what you think about my selections and let me know what songs I missed!
1. SONG: Glass Animals, Heat Wave (2020), This song started my quest to find the Top 5.
KEY LYRICS: “Sometimes all I think about is you, late nights in the middle of June, heat waves been fakin’ me out, can’t make you happier now.”
REASON: This song is clearly about seed corn production. Heat waves in the middle of June would be dangerously close to detasseling season. Excessive heat during pollination can have a major impact on seed set and yield, so you bet I’d be thinking about the crop late at night and trying to find ways to make the seed corn crop happier!
2. SONG: Blind Melon, No Rain (1993)
KEY LYRICS: “All I can say is that my life is pretty plain, I like watching the puddles gather rain.”
REASON: The title gets the attention of any seed professional. No rain is a scary thought. The song also describes that lonely feeling of a seed producer spending the entire summer months in the fields and then the simple joy of seeing rain gathering in puddles.
3. SONG: Journey, Any Way You Want it (1980)
KEY LYRICS: “Any way you want it, that’s the way you need it.”
REASON: This sums up the relationship between consumers and the seed industry perfectly! Consumers always want something new, different and specialized. The seed industry then uses its wide array of incredible breeding and production methods to delivery exactly what the consumers want! From GMOs, gene-edited products, organic food and more, any way the consumer wants it, the seed industry can deliver.
4. SONG: Tom Petty, I Need to Know (1993)
KEY LYRICS: “If you’re making me wait, if you’re leading me on, I need to know, I need to know.”
REASON: This song is all about seed companies needing full transparency of their seed crop in real-time. The earlier the seed company knows about a possible production issue, the more options they have with customers. When Tom Petty wrote this song, he was probably thinking, “If the crop got hailed on in June, tell me then, not in October!”
5. SONG: MC Hammer, 2 Legit 2 Quit (1991)
KEY LYRIC: “Freeze, (freeze) cause you don’t want none … Yeah, I’m going for all that I can get, kicking it at the top ’cause I’m too legit to quit.”
REASON: The “F” word is one of the worst in seed production. A freeze prior to (and sometimes even after) the crop matures can kill the germ and make the field unusable. It’s one of the biggest risks in seed production and this song gets right to the point. No, we don’t want none of those freezing temperatures! Also, it speaks to the resilience of seed producers. We are too legit to quit. Every effort is made to get the crop in on time, manage it for all the yield we can get and harvest it for maximum quality. We never quit on the crop!
Those are my Top 5 Songs About the Seed Industry. I’d love you hear your comments or suggestions as well and keep your ears open for more hidden messages in songs about the seed industry.
