BioLumic Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Jason Wargent, PhD, explains how the need and opportunities for new seed trait innovation are boundless and have never been more important for the future. (BioLumic)
For more information, see the First Quarter issue of Seed Today.
By Chris Lusvardi
Innovation is continually happening all around the seed industry.
As the industry looks to the future, the ability for companies to quickly and effectively innovate is more important than ever before.
Innovations come in many different forms, impacting various aspects of the industry from plant breeding to seed processing equipment.
Innovation is happening as companies such as Mid-State Seed update their equipment. The company recently added rotary spirals from Profile Industries that are improving the efficiency and quality of their seed processing capabilities at their Marshall, MO plant.
Other companies, such as Gro Alliance, are expanding their reach and utilizing the latest technology in the process.
Gro Alliance in December opened a Vegetable Seed Improvement Center in Davis, CA featuring Seed-X AI-powered technology. The company says this empowers clients to elevate the quality of their seed lots, minimize unsold inventory, optimize production, and ultimately boost sales and profitability.
Gro Alliance President Jim Schweigert says the future of seed improvement is now in Davis.
World Changing Ideas
In this issue of Seed Today, you can read about more innovations, with a particular focus on the AgTech sector.
In addition to BioLumic Founder Jason Wargent’s article in this issue, additional perspectives about the future of AgTech will be available online at seedtoday.com as part of our “Seeds of Innovation” series.
Wargent explains how new ideas in seed trait innovation represent a significant opportunity to solve challenges in food security on a large scale, across continents and nations. But he says ideas, like seeds, must be carefully nurtured, from concept to reality.
More can be learned from the leading innovators in this industry.
Dieter Mulitze, founder of Agronomix Software, is remembered as one such innovator.
Since starting Agronomix in 1990, Mulitze shared what he knew about plant breeding, and his legacy can continue as those who knew him take what they learned from him to continue improving how best to grow the crops that feed the world.
Using Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) will no doubt play a leading role in the change in technology that will occur.
Companies such as Syngenta see ways in which AI is revolutionizing the agriculture industry.
In outlining five trends related to AI the company is seeing this year, Syngenta Group CEO Jeff Rowe points to advanced monitoring systems integrating satellite imagery, drones, and soil maps to enable precise crop management.
He says predictive analytics, powered by AI and machine learning, provide farmers with “actionable insights, transforming reactive practices into proactive strategies.”
If used well, AI has immense potential to improve the innovations companies and farmers are looking to make now and in the future.
Innovation will continue to be important in the years ahead.
We plan to share more information and stories about the innovations taking place every day in the seed industry, both in the United States and around the world. Stay tuned for more.