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NEW BREEDS FOR SUCCESS Modern agriculture and increasingly sophisticated consumer tastes up the ante and require
collaboration in varietal development. BY MATT OGG
Breeding new varieties is not just about staying ahead of nience-oriented packaging and new harvesting technologies.
trends, but 10 or 20 years in front of them.
In other words, development of many new fruits or vegetables released tomorrow started before the
advent of smartphones.
What will consumers want in 2039? And how will farms, logistics,
packaging and shopping itself change by then? These are consider- ations all plant genetics companies take into account in creating the food of the future, and their best bet for success is collaboration.
No longer is varietal selection the exclusive domain of agrono- mists and growers. Yield has ceded its crown to priorities such as flavor, ability to grow close to market, how the crop fits with conve-
26 / MAY 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
Nowhere is this shift more evident than through the Idea Exchange (iX) events held by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., a subsidiary of German multinational Bayer Group, which became the world’s largest seed company after acquiring Monsanto in 2018.
“These are events that historically were field days, but increasingly it’s a very different scene,” says Andrew Burchett, industry affair lead for global vegetables based out of Bayer’s U.S. office in St Louis. “You’re actually going to see more parties from the supply chain, as well as people who may be a bit external to your seed provid- er-grower conversation.”
This can include companies spearheading automated harvesting