On June 12, at the American Seed Trade Association’s (ASTA) Leadership Summit, ASTA recognized five members of the seed industry at their Awards Reception.
“For all the first-time attendees, everyone that you’re going to see up on stage today was also a first-time attendee at one point in their career — it all starts with engagement,” says Jim Schweigert, ASTA chair and president of Gro Alliance, adding that many award members had progressed significantly through ASTA leadership and made grand impacts on the industry.
The Heritage Awards
This year, ASTA awarded two Heritage Awards, a newer honor created to “preserve and build history and to honor and recognize individuals who have significantly impacted ASTA and the seed industry,” ASTA says.
This year, ASTA awarded the Heritage Awards to Richard “Dick” Crowder and Bill Latham.
Dick Crowder spent more than 50 years in the industry in senior executive and policy positions for food and agriculture to advance the interests of farmers, ranchers and the industries that produce food and fiber. He previously served as ASTA executive vice president, where he raised awareness and stature of the association with the USDA, the White House and the Agriculture Committees of the House and Senate. While Crowder couldn’t be present due to health concerns to receive his award, ASTA plans on honoring them at their next convention.
“We were able to connect the other day, and he was able to send this response,” says Wayne Gale, past chair of ASTA and president of Stoke Seeds, reading a message from Crowder. “‘This award holds profound significance for me coming from an organization that strives relentlessly to enhance the agricultural landscape. I am filled with gratitude for the support and mentorship I have received throughout my career. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to ASTA and all its members.'”
The second heritage award was given in honor of Bill Latham, and was received by his wife and son, Linda and John Latham.
“We are truly honored to receive this award — ASTA meant the world to my dad,” Latham says. “I’m so proud to be able to follow my dad’s footsteps, not only with Latham Seed, but as chair of ASTA.”
Bill Latham served as ASTA’s national president in 1998 and served as president of the Independent Professional Seed Association (IPSA), as well as participating on the board of directors for both associations. He was named an Honorary Lifetime Member of ASTA in 2008 and received the IPSA Lifetime Achievement award in 2010. He passed away on July 31, 2015, after a battle with myeloid leukemia and graft versus host disease.
Excellence in Science Award
This year’s recipient of the Seed Science Foundation’s Excellence in Science award was Manjit Misra, director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and formerly executive director of the Iowa State Seed Science Center.
The award recognizes the outstanding achievement by a public or private researcher whose accomplishments have had an impact in the areas of breeding systems, seed quality, seed production and technology, seed health and pathology, digital agriculture or seed applied technology.
Misra has worked in the seed industry for a significant amount of time and was recently appointed director of NIFA following his retirement at the Iowa State University Seed Science Center. In addition, he was appointed as the chair of the USDA National Genetic Resources Advisory Council for two terms by the Secretary of Agriculture. He’s served on more than 60 local, national and international boards and committees.
“I accept this honor with a sense of humility,” Misra says. “Seeds are the foundation of agriculture, and agriculture is the foundation of civilization and all life. I’m so proud to accept this.”
Distinguished Service and Lifetime Honorary Member
Finally, ASTA awarded the ASTA Distinguished Service Award and the Lifetime Honorary Member Award. The Distinguished Service Award was given to Donn Cummings of the National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB), and the Lifetime Honorary Member Award was given to Craig Newman of Finding Black Ink, LLC.
Don Cummings had a 30-year career with Pfizer Genetics, Dekalb and Monsanto and was a highly successful corn breeder, station manager and area research director. He was actively involved and a founding member of NAPB, has served as NAPB membership committee chair, and finally as a mentor for NAPB’s Borlaug Scholars program.
“At this point in my career, I’m just kind of an ASTA groupie,” Cummings joked. “I have a passion for mentoring, and going forward as we work on workforce development, we have to think about the scalability of mentoring… I encourage you to think about scaling up mentoring as we go forward to build the workforce we need, and I encourage you to think about the rewards of mentoring.”
Newman is the former president and CEO of AgReliant Genetics. Following his retirement in 2012, he began consulting with Finding Black Ink, LLC. He’s also served as president of the Illinois Seed Dealers and as Central regional vice president and chairman of the board of directors for ASTA.
“My first ASTA board meeting, I sat between two other new board members, and we were anxious about the meeting,” Newman says. “We wondered what we were getting into. Well, I ended up being in complete awe, because we learned what ASTA did for all the seed companies. We are so blessed to be part of such an important industry.”
