Every industry in the world is asking itself 1) what is the real and applicable definition of sustainability?, 2) what are the real and useful goals we should be reaching to achieve?, and 3) what tools or resources are available or coming down the pipeline to help us achieve the goals we choose? The seed treatment/coating industry is no exception. We will ask and start to answer these questions. Topics will include:
- Time is money management (strategies to build powerful tools to help farmers maximize the effectiveness of the timing of their crop planting and germination program)
- Seed viability and germination enhancement strategies and tools, especially in low-resource or adverse environment scenarios (eg- achieving strong germination and stand establishment in dry land cropping systems with low water availability)
- Non-microplastic polymers for seed treatment and coating
- Carbon management (how can the seed industry make a difference?)
- Soil health management (beneficial microbe addition or promotion- beyond traditional inoculants, pathological microbe demotion, water holding capacity, CO2 capture, etc.)
- Maximize efficiency of pesticides, nutrients, microbes, and more
- Plant signaling / gene upregulation materials in seed coating (maximize gene expression!)
- Energy, packaging, pollution management (power management, transportation strategies/localized production/treatment, bio-degradable packaging, process pollution reduction?, etc.)
- Water management (quantity, quality, etc.) at every stage from farm to factory back to farm
- Profitability management (the only item the industry cannot live without)
Why it matters to the seed industry: The seed industry is one of the key pillars of agricultural sustainability. Without the preservation, protection, and promotion of seeds through a variety of tools, including seed treatment and coating, agriculture and the food/fiber/beauty agriculture provides, there is no future. Correctly defining sustainability, correctly making appropriate and achievable goals, and correctly building our businesses and partnerships (from manufacturer to supplier to distributor to retailer to grower to consumer) is key to the survival of the seed industry and the world they provide for. If we do our jobs well with the best goals, ideas, and strategies, we can not only survive, we can thrive…and help make the people in agriculture become universally known as some of the true heroes of sustainability. We not only feed/clothe/beautify the world….we also help protect and sustain the natural beauty and resources of it.
Every industry in the world is asking itself 1) what is the real and applicable definition of sustainability?, 2) what are the real and useful goals we should be reaching to achieve?, and 3) what tools or resources are available or coming down the pipeline to help us achieve the goals we choose? The seed treatment/coating industry is no exception. We will ask and start to answer these questions. Topics will include:
- Time is money management (strategies to build powerful tools to help farmers maximize the effectiveness of the timing of their crop planting and germination program)
- Seed viability and germination enhancement strategies and tools, especially in low-resource or adverse environment scenarios (eg- achieving strong germination and stand establishment in dry land cropping systems with low water availability)
- Non-microplastic polymers for seed treatment and coating
- Carbon management (how can the seed industry make a difference?)
- Soil health management (beneficial microbe addition or promotion- beyond traditional inoculants, pathological microbe demotion, water holding capacity, CO2 capture, etc.)
- Maximize efficiency of pesticides, nutrients, microbes, and more
- Plant signaling / gene upregulation materials in seed coating (maximize gene expression!)
- Energy, packaging, pollution management (power management, transportation strategies/localized production/treatment, bio-degradable packaging, process pollution reduction?, etc.)
- Water management (quantity, quality, etc.) at every stage from farm to factory back to farm
- Profitability management (the only item the industry cannot live without)
Why it matters to the seed industry: The seed industry is one of the key pillars of agricultural sustainability. Without the preservation, protection, and promotion of seeds through a variety of tools, including seed treatment and coating, agriculture and the food/fiber/beauty agriculture provides, there is no future. Correctly defining sustainability, correctly making appropriate and achievable goals, and correctly building our businesses and partnerships (from manufacturer to supplier to distributor to retailer to grower to consumer) is key to the survival of the seed industry and the world they provide for. If we do our jobs well with the best goals, ideas, and strategies, we can not only survive, we can thrive…and help make the people in agriculture become universally known as some of the true heroes of sustainability. We not only feed/clothe/beautify the world….we also help protect and sustain the natural beauty and resources of it.