Seed Today - Q3 2008 - (Page 4)

Editor’s Note I Know My Rights A Publication of Country Journal Publishing Company 3065 Pershing Ct • Decatur, IL 62526 217-877-9660 • FAX: 217-877-6647 www.seedtoday.com joe@seedtoday.com Joe W. Funk Editor Deb Coontz Publisher/Sales Manager/Circulation Jody Sexton Production Manager/Assistant Editor Rod Horve Art Director Sy McElvain Bookkeeper Jeff Miller, Mark Avery Sales In the court of public opinion, American agriculture has lost its luster. The mythical image of a happy Old MacDonald with a floppy straw hat riding his putt-putt tractor in front of a cheerful red barn is no longer farming’s public image. Agriculture has become demonized for its collective decisions. Joe W. Our image problem is not the result of the explosive growth of corn-based ethanol production diverting corn to fuel. Even the water-wars that are beginning to pit agricultural water demands against the desire for lush green lawns in the West and Southwest are not the root of agriculture’s image problem. If it were this simple, there would be some grounds to negotiate improvement. But I think the cause runs much deeper. Our image problem comes from the aggressive marketing and rapid adoption of biotech seeds. I am fearful that agriculture’s image— and by association, the image of the seed industy—is in for troubled times. Third, as a society, we know less about more, especially science-based topics. In the debate about GM crops, surveys indicate a sizeable portion of people believe only genetically altered crops have genes. Finally, fewer people have personal agricultural experience. With Funk no connections to crop production, there is little incentive to understand what it takes to stock supermarket shelves. A Minority Target Group Agriculture is a minority target group. Grocers blame farmers for high food prices while food manufacturers raise prices and boost profits. But even with recent high commodity prices, farmers’ return on a loaf of bread increased less than a dime. When food prices take a perceptable increase and high commodity prices make the evening news headlines, the easy way out is to blame agriculture. While consumers seldom understand what sets commodity prices, they know farmers are out there somewhere. Never mind hedge fund speculators or the increased consumption of emerging nations—farmers are getting rich at our expense. When new crops containing genes from soil bacteria are vilified by the media, blame agricultural science. When the cost of watering the lawn gets too high, agriculture gets blamed. Yet who wants to give up lettuce and tomatoes grown with irrigation water? I have no hope that any of these trends will soon be reversed. Even if agriculture could mount a vigerous public relations campaign, few would hear. Don’t bother them, they have the right to be undisturbed in their ignorance. Joe W. Funk, editor joe@seedtoday.com Seed Today is published quarterly and mailed to members of the following seed associations: • American Seed Trade Association • Atlantic Seed Association • Independent Professional Seed Association • Northern Seed Trade Association • Pacific Seed Association • Southern Seed Association • Western Seed Association The magazine is free of charge to qualifying individuals in the United States and Canada. Foreign subscription rate is $60 per year. Brought to you by the publishers of Grain Journal, Milling Journal, BioFuels Journal and industry specific F.Y.I. e-newsletters. Ominous Trends for Agriculture Several trends lead me in this somewhat pessimistic direction. First, our society is increasingly prone to believe that we have the right to do, get, and expect whatever we want. We are no longer satisified with the basic rights outlined by our founding fathers. Instead, we claim our right to have what we want without compromise—comfort, leisure, cheap fuel, abundant food, and immediate gratification. Second, we have become socially isolated. Our homes are our fortresses. We are protected from the outside even as we reach out to the world via the Internet. We have become high tech, low touch. We don’t know how to see any point of view other than our own. 4 Third Quarter 2008 http://www.seedtoday.com http://www.seedtoday.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Seed Today - Q3 2008

Seed Today - Q3 2008 Contents Editor’s Notes Cover Feature Fred Miller, Ph.D., MMR Genetics Crosbyton Seed Company AOSCA Greg Lowry Floyd Hansmeirer AOSA/SCST According to ASTA Seedsellers, Inc. BinMaster Blake Sieker Ad Index

Seed Today - Q3 2008

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