nav-left cat-right
cat-right

ISA Recognizes Honorary Member at Seed Forum

Tom Tusha (Left), Mycogen Seeds, 2017 ISA President, presents the 2017 ISA Honorary Member plaque to Rick Burseh (Right), Region Manager at Wyffels Hybrids, Inc.

During the annual Seed Forum hosted by the Iowa Seed Association (ISA), the ISA board of directors recognized Rick Buresh as the 2017 ISA Honorary Member. The association annually partners with the Agribusiness Showcase & Conference (ASC) in Des Moines to provide attending members a wider range of learning and networking opportunities. The ASC is a two day conference and trade show that encompasses many facets of the ag industry, including seed. The ISA board encourages the membership to attend the forum each year as it gives a unique learning opportunity that is focused on the seed industry. The 2017 panel of speakers included: GMO Answers by Ruth MacDonald, ISU; Iowa Legislative Update by Dave Tierney, Monsanto; ASTA Update by John Latham, Latham Hi-tech Seeds; Pollinator Health by Palle Pedersen, Syngenta; it also included topics presented on the WQI Cover Crop Grant and Noxious Weeds.

2017 Seed Forum & Annual Meeting

The Iowa Seed Association Annual Meeting and Seed Forum will be held at the Varied Industries Building, Iowa State Fairgrounds, Des Moines, IA on Wednesday, February 15 from 9 am to Noon. 

Partnering with the Agribusiness Showcase & Conference will allow ISA to once again expand the education and networking opportunities available at our Seed Forum and Annual Meeting.

The Agribusiness Showcase & Conference is about giving agribusiness professionals the opportunity to explore the innovative tools they need to grow their business, now and into the future. More than 1,000 ag professionals attended the 2017 Conference and its the nation’s largest indoor field-day was held which filled the Varied Industries Building. Through ISA’s partnership with the Agribusiness Showcase & Conference, ISA members will have the opportunity to attend a wider variety of workshops and network with all facets of the ag industry.

The Seed Forum workshops are dedicated solely to information pertinent to the seed industry.  Please pre-register before Jan 17, 2017 for a discounted price $75.  After the 17th it will be $100. Registration includes educational materials, 2 Day Admission to the Showcase Floor, admission to the All Industry Reception on Tuesday, and lunch on Wednesday.

Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crops Initiative

The Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crops Initiative is a new project developed by the Iowa Seed Association in conjunction with the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Corn, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society. A $1.1M grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture under their Clean Water Initiative program will fund the project starting this growing season and running through the end of 2018.

The Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crops Initiative will focus on ways to help increase adoption of cover crops specifically within the seed corn production system in Iowa. The focus on seed corn is driven by the unique opportunity that seed corn provides due to the earlier harvest, thereby providing better timing opportunities for establishing cover crops in the late summer and fall after harvest. This focus is also heavily driven by the seed corn industry in Iowa, and their efforts to help promote and support the use of cover crops as part of Iowa’s Nutrient Strategy.

Primary Objectives:

  • Directly engage seed corn companies to work with their growers on adopting cover crops
  • Increase the number of seed corn growers utilizing cover crops
  • Develop and deploy new strategic partnerships with agricultural retailers to provide turn-key services for growers to assist them with cover crop implementation
  • Develop and distribute educational and informational materials primarily targeted to entry-level audiences to provide more focus on beginning cover crop user needs
  • Hold demonstration field days and grower meetings to provide information and advice designed to equip farmers with the resource support needed for successful establishment and management of cover crops

Project Details:

  • Funds will be made available exclusively to farmers that grow seed corn
  • Cost-Share (C/S) assistance is available to growers for planting cover crops on seed corn acres only.
  • Both winter and non-winter hardy cover crops are allowed.
  • C/S rate available to growers is $15/acre regardless of cover crop type.
  • Seed companies and other supporting partners can offer incentives of their own in addition to the $15/acre C/S from project funds if they desire to do so (e.g. discounts on cover crop seed or seeding services, or $/acre incentives from seed companies).

For More Information:

Call or e-mail Shawn Richmond at 515-868-0201 or shawnatagribizdotorg  (shawnatagribizdotorg)  .

Iowa Seed Association Awards Nine Scholarships to ...

2016

Pictured above: first row left to right, Susana Goggi, Iowa State University Seed Center, Anthony Moellers, Kelsey Baumhover, Rebekah Arnold, Sarah Striegel, Haleigh Summers, Kathryn Hoemann, Dr. Manjit Misra, Iowa State University Seed Center and Iowa Seed Association Ex-Officio, Shannon Latham. Second row left to right, Lucas Roberts, Jamie Pokorny, Catherine Leafstedt, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Chris Latham, John Latham.

 

Des Moines, IA – The Iowa Seed Association (ISA) recently awarded nine Iowa Seed Association (ISA) Scholarships of $1000 each. The awards ceremony was held during the Agribusiness Showcase & Conference at the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Des Moines, IA on February 10, 2016. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey also attended the ceremony. One of these students, Haleigh Summers, was also selected as our “Manjit Misra Outstanding Senior Scholar,” and that individual will receive $500 in addition to the $1000 ISA scholarship.  ISA also award another $1000 scholarship sponsored by the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA).

2015-2014 Scholarship Recipient Recognition

2015 ISA Scholarship Winners

The Iowa Seed Association (ISA) recently awarded eight scholarships of $1,000 to students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. One student was also selected as the “Manjit K. Misra Outstanding Senior Seed Scholar,” receiving a $500 scholarship in addition to the $1,000 scholarship sponsored by the ISA. One student also received an award from the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA).

During the awards ceremony held at the Agribusiness Showcase and Conference on February 11, 2015 at the Varied Industries Building, Susana Goggi, Seed Paysiologist, Dpt of Agronomy, ISU read bios, accomplishments, and goals of each student.

Recipients of the ISA 2014-2015 academic year scholarships are : Jeffery Barnes, Hillary Kletscher, Katharina Wigg, Madison Schulte, Lucas Roberts, Morgan Shrader, and Catherine Leafstedt.

Kathryn Hoemann received the ISA and the Manjit Misra Outstanding Senior Scholarship. Brandon Miller was the ASTA scholarship recipient.

The ISA scholarships are open to students in any major in ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Scholarships are awarded on the bases of: academic excellence, leadership skills, interpersonal skills, and most important to the selection committee, a demonstrated interest in a career in the seed industry or seed science.

Also Pictured below are: Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, far right, Susana Goggi, second from right, Max Smith, AAI Chairman, far left, and Manjit K. Misra, ISA Director, 2nd from left.

Congratulations to all these students!