The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) wrapped up its annual Forage, Turf and Conservation (FTC) Seed Conference in Kansas City, Missouri last week.

The meeting, held on October 29 in conjunction with the Western Seed Association Annual Meeting, gathers over 800 attendees in the conservation and grass seed sector to learn about the latest industry news, share the obstacles and the strategies to mitigate them, and explore business opportunities for the seed industry. Given the momentum surrounding conservation-related efforts, the U.S. forage, turf, and conservation sector has long been at the forefront of promoting seed as the solution for environmental initiatives.

“There is tremendous excitement surrounding the future of the seed industry…in the forage, turf, and conservation seed space,” said ASTA Chairman Dan Foor. “To that end, ASTA has been working to provide information on cover crop demand to support its members in making real-time business decisions to supply seed to farmers and landowners.”

The FTC Seed Conference included a full day of programming featuring speakers from the private and public sectors, offering the latest updates on cover crops, conservation programs, federal policy, and more. During closing remarks, Rob Wendell of the Native Seed Group was recognized for his four years of service as Chair of ASTA’s Environment and Conservation Seed Committee. Al Holleman of Agassiz Seed and Damon Winter of L&H Seeds were welcomed as the Committee’s new Chair and Vice Chair.

Coming up next month is ASTA’s 2024 Field Crop Seed Convention December 10-13 in Orlando, and registration is already open for the 64th Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference, January 31 – February 4, also in Orlando.