The Western Seed Association’s new president, Ryan Dunham, says his highest priority in his new role is to maintain opportunities for authentic, in-person business relationship building at the annual ‘Western.’
In 1899, a group of seed merchants met for an informal meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, aiming to discuss industry-related issues and promote the seed trade. The priority of the meeting was trade, with the seedsmen successfully making deals on hundreds of train-car loads of mostly timothy, red clover, common alfalfa, and smooth bromegrass. An annual tradition – the Western Conference – was born.
This year’s annual Western Seed Association (WSA) convention took place October 30 to November 1 in Kansas City, Missouri. During the convention, the WSA’s 2022 president, Kyle Atkinson of Pennington Seed, handed leadership to incoming president, Ryan Dunham, manager of Norfarm Seeds located near Roseau, Minnesota.
Leading the Western Seed Association and hosting the ‘Western’ is a big responsibility, Dunham says, but one he’s happy to step into.
“There’s a really good group of excellent businessmen in the seed industry who are very willing to pitch in to keep the Western going. It’s absolutely not all on my head as the president – there are lots of good people who will work together,” he says. “And it’s a really important tradition to keep going that makes a big difference to a lot of seed businesses.”
The WSA’s mission is to promote the production, selling and trading of seeds, while maintaining cooperation and respect between members, suppliers, and customers. While the WSA board meets throughout the year, its primary role is to organize the annual convention. Dunham says the value of the convention is clear.
“I’m the GM of a turfgrass seed multiplication cleaning plant,” Dunham says. “What we find value in from the Western Seed Association Conference is mostly that it’s an opportunity to meet with all the people we do business with. There are sessions and speakers too, but the biggest value is all the one-on-one business interaction.”
“Meeting face-to-face, just being in the same space with others in your business, is so important for any business, whether you’re selling houses or cars or, like us, working in the seed industry. Technology is great for lots of things but sometimes we need to be together as people to build and maintain the relationships that make business work.”
What does Dunham plan to do with his year of presidency?
“My main goal is to keep Tina happy,” he says with a smile but underlying seriousness. Executive director Tina Bowling, he says, “is what really keeps our organization rolling. We want to do everything we can to enable her to do the good work she does.”
In addition, he hopes to maintain the strong traditions of more than 100 years of Western conventions.
“This is more than a century old. In the seed industry, we focus on the seasons of planting and harvest. When the Western comes along, it’s a time to really look ahead and plan for the future. What are we going to be doing a year from now, both on the sales and the production sides. I think that’s so important to make time to focus on the future, to invest in the relationships that make your business successful. That’s what we want to continue as a tradition at the Western.”
Dunham brings to his new role as president of the WSA the same attitude he has about life:
“As humans, we always want to be optimistic. There will certainly be challenges that we’ll have to work through, because challenges come up anytime there’s decisions, but if you maintain that optimism, you’ll find the opportunities. And there are definitely opportunities – big opportunities – in the seed industry.”
