Latest News From Seed Technology

Quickshot is Helena’s newest entrant in the field, which provides seed fluency in addition to crop nutrient package. For 2024, it’s available in limited quantities.

According to the company, the use of PhotoSeed technology has the potential to lower a crop’s carbon intensity score.

Yield Optimizer is a digital tool that uses independent seed trial data to help farmers make seed selections with guaranteed yield performance. CEO Billy Rose tells how it gives farmers peace of mind.

Rick Rice, AMVAC director of application technology, says grant programs aren't meant to forever subsidize a particular practice, but instead act as a catalyst for new participants to see its benefits.

Under the terms of the agreement Loveland and Cibus will work toward commercializing herbicide tolerance in rice with a focus on the southern US market.

Corn growers can use this free tool to understand which hybrids have which traits, as well as evaluate insect problems and herbicide needs in-season.

“Our goal is simple: use traits to help plants grow deeper roots,” says Cquesta CEO Michael Ott.

The study’s team has found inputting excessive heat and cold data into their model slowed plant growth, though the heat proved to be a larger issue for the plant. 

Myron Stine says Stine Seed is celebrating its 45-year history with a keen eye on the future.

David Heublein won the conventional, non-irrigated category of the 2023 NCGA yield contest for the state. The amazing yield was grown with only one-third of the total rainfall his fields usually get in a growing season.

InnerPlant is developing early-stress signaling capabilities in soybeans and corn. The concept is getting serious buy-in from big players in U.S. agriculture.

InnerSoy is genetically engineered to omit signals when stressed, which are detectable from as far away as space. The company says its products can show stress signals two weeks before current detection methods.

"By expanding into soybeans, we're showing our commitment to providing solutions for our customers and investing in the future of row crop growers," said Spencer Harris.

The company sees potential in focusing on animal feed and pet food via several non-GMO, Ultra-High Protein low oligosaccharide (“UHP-LO”) commercial soybean varieties.

Poncho Votivo Precise from BASF offers a combination of protection to address nematodes and early-season insects in soybeans. The product contains a biological and insecticide.

Some of the research now underway at the facility is focused on improving germplasm performance, launching stacked, next-generation differentiated traits and demonstrating  regenerative agriculture cropping systems.

This was the final step needed to support planting of Axant Flex Cotton in the U.S.

The new technology is designed to improve seedling vigor, boost root biomass and contribute to yield increases – up to 15% in corn and 12% in soybeans. It will be commercially available starting in 2024.

The new bionematicide will combine multiple defense actions, including systemically induced plant protections to fight nematodes. 

Today, the company has announced a partnership with Mertec, an Iowa-based breeder and developer of soybean germplasm for the seed trade.

The company says these new products balance crop production needs with environmental stewardship to increase yields responsibly and efficiently.

The first-of-its-kind biotech trait is commercially available to farmers as Bollgard 3 ThryvOn cotton with XtendFlex Technology – just in time for the 2023 production season. 

In hopes of solidifying American ag’s competitive role in global markets, 27 House members signed a letter to the White House, stressing the importance of ag research investments in the 2024 budget.

“Gene editing is the analog to digital moment for agriculture,” says Rory Riggs, co-founder of Cibus and newly named CEO of the merged company.

“We rely on the support of farm bill funding and programs to ensure continued U.S. leadership as the provider of the best seed to the world," said Katy Rainey, Purdue associate professor, at the Senate Ag hearing.

Empty dinner plates can quickly translate to lack of world peace. Just ask Sen. Ernst, who gave a political rundown of food security as national security at Iowa State University last week.

With threats to global food supplies, ag companies are stepping up to ensure wheat has a seat at everyone’s table. Embrapa is taking a shot at filling the wheat void through GMO wheat trials.

Companies like Corteva Agriscience are delivering new products and innovations to help meet the needs of farmers working to maximize food production on every acre.

Scientists in Ohio are testing a new product to be mounted on the rear of combines, effectively killing weed seeds on-site to reduce weed populations year-over-year.

On March 2, Bayer announced it had received EPA registrations on two crop science products. 

Input costs are high across the board this year. In leu of low glyphosate availability and increasing costs, whispers of an alternative have trickled down to Bayer’s research and development team.

Here are the top insights related to what factors into farmers’ seed purchases and the timing of them.

Plan for a normal crop – hope for the biggest crop of your career – and then mitigate the risk of a drought or crop failure.

Benson Hill was founded in 2012. CEO Matt Crisp will retain his role with the new company.

Since its inception in 2016, Inari has made significant progress in delivering scientific breakthroughs through its SEEDesign platform.

Pizazz is a dry seed coating technology designed to deliver shine and improved flow to treated seed with minimal fugitive dust when handling and applying the product.

ABM specializes in seed treatment with bionutrition products. Agrauxine by Lesaffre has been developing biosourced solutions for plant nutrition and health for more than 15 years.

Seed treatments help protect the developing seed during its most vulnerable time – at planting and germination.

With a $2 billion euro investment every year in R&D, Bob Reiter provides these updates in key areas of Bayer’s pipeline and strategy:

“This is a brand-new insecticide, Broflanilide—it’s not just a reformulation of the same chemistries,” says Ruhiyyih Dyrdahl-Young with BASF.

“Nufarm continues to add more and more seed-applied solutions that elevate agronomic performance and add operational efficiency for both upstream and downstream customers” said Ken Barham.

BASF is strengthening its cotton portfolio from seed to harvest with the introduction of two new seed treatment packages, Core and Prime seed treatments.

Robb Fraley’s biotech shot was heard round the world

Regarding its Source product, the company says it sold out its supply for 2020 and engaged in multiple product trials across the country with ag retailers and farmers

Syngenta plans to open a new R&D Innovation and Customer Experience Center in Malta, Ill. The site is 90 acres and will have facilities for large-scale events.

It’s described as “an easy button.” Launched in January of 2019, Compass Minerals brought to market Rocket Seeds, a seed treatment product for crop nutrition.

The impact of neonicotinoids on pollinators is a prime focus for the additional risk mitigation when using these products.

The Syngenta Seeds leader shares he sees yield gains coming on two fronts: the developments in the pipeline as well as fine-tuning agronomic management.

Calyxt soybeans are a high-oleic variety, which is the first gene-edited soybean available to grow in the U.S.

Every hybrid has its own way of responding to environmental conditions