Ames, IA (February 18, 2021) - The Graduate Program in Seed Technology and Business (STB), housed at the Iowa State University (ISU) Seed Science Center (SSC), is organizing a free week of webinars addressing current topics in Seed Business Management.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the decision was made to cancel the annual Seed Business Management on-campus short course. While this means the popular weeklong short course won’t be held in person, the program leaders decided to create these live, interactive webinars for seed industry professionals. The best part – it is entirely free of charge, and you don’t have to be an enrolled ISU student to participate.
“We offered a Seed Science and Technology webinar series in November 2020 with great attendance and very positive feedback. We wanted to create something equally appealing and insightful for our Seed Business Management series,” says Professor Gary Munkvold, STB Program Director. “I’m very pleased with the creativity and enthusiasm of our staff and webinar presenters that made this series come together very quickly.”
The webinar sessions are facilitated by some of the most respected seed business experts in the industry. The webinar sessions topics are:
- Achieving Differentiation in the Seed Industry
- Perspectives from Washington: Federal Policies and Potential Impacts on the Seed Industry
- Market Outlook for 2022: Planning for the Seed We Need
- Seed Industry Awareness, Increasing Your Odds of Success
- Seed Supply Chains: Managing Disruptions, Uncertainty, and Customer Service
“We have a nice mixture of seed industry professionals and ISU faculty; all with extensive experience in one or more aspects of the seed industry,” Munkvold said. “The sessions differ in their focus, so each one might appeal to a different segment of seed professionals, depending on their current job and goals.”
STB program leaders hope to be back next year to continue the on-campus, hands-on short course. Until then, they invite anyone who is interested to join daily at 11 am (CDST), starting Monday, April 5, and continuing through Friday, April 9, 2021. Please see the complete schedule of webinar sessions below.
“You only need to register once to have access to the entire week of sessions,” said Lori Youngberg, STB Program Coordinator. “We are excited about the wealth of knowledge and experience our presenters are bringing to the table for our webinar series. We look forward to “seeing” everyone in April.”
About the Seed Science Center: The Seed Science Center at Iowa State is a center of excellence nationally and internationally in seed research, education, technology transfer, and international seed programs.
Schedule
Monday, April 5, 2021 11 a.m. CDST
- Achieving Differentiation in the Seed Industry
- Jim Schweigert, MS, President Gro Alliance
Tuesday, April 6, 2021 11 a.m. CDST
- Perspectives from Washington: Federal Policies and Potential Impacts on the Seed Industry
- Janae Brady, Senior Director, Government Affairs for the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA)
Wednesday, April 7, 2021 11 a.m. CDST
- Market Outlook for 2022: Planning for the Seed We Need
- Chad Hart, PhD Professor of Economics at Iowa State University
Thursday, April 8, 2021 11 a.m. CDST
- Seed Industry Awareness, Increasing Your Odds of Success
- Ken Davis, MS, Commercial Director Grow Pro Genetics
Friday, April 9, 2021 11 a.m. CDST
- Seed Supply Chains: Managing Disruptions, Uncertainty, and Customer Service
- Bobby Martens, PhD, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Iowa State University