ASTA’s Farm and Lawn Seed Conference Highlights Cover Crops, Environmental and Conservation Seed Issues

On November 5 and 6, ASTA held its annual Farm and Lawn Seed Conference in conjunction with the Western Seed Association’s annual meeting in Kansas City. On Sunday, November 5, a trio of ASTA working groups and committees met to discuss issues and hear from industry experts on challenges facing the industry. The Farm and Lawn Seed Division meeting featured an overview of grass-seed phytosanitary trade issues from ASTA’s Dr. Ric Dunkle and a discussion on turf breeding from Dr. Crystal Rose-Fricker of Pure Seed.

The Cover Crops Working Group featured a joint presentation on the future of cover crops from Bill Buckner of the Noble Foundation and Rob Myers from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program at the University of Missouri. The day concluded with the Environmental and Conservation Seed Committee meeting, which highlighted ASTA’s conservation priorities for the 2018 Farm Bill as well as an update on native seed testing and invasive weed issues.

During the policy breakfast on November 6, ASTA Chair Tracy Tally discussed the review of ASTA’s strategic plan, and staff provided an update on the ASTA Policy and Leadership Development Conference (formerly the ASTA Annual Meeting), which will take place in Washington, D.C. in June 2018.