Borlaug Scholar Austin Dobbels is a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota. He is studying how unmanned aerial vehicles can be used for high-throughput phenotyping of soybean iron deficiency chlorosis. We caught up with him at the 2018 annual meeting of the National Association of Plant Breeders to talk about his work, how drone enthusiasts can get the most out of their hobby, and the importance of making your parents proud.

Ron Wulfkuhle was once the head of GreenLeaf Genetics, the licensing arm of Syngenta. This week, Farmers Business Network announced that Wulfkuhle will serve as head of seeds for its new American seed division, F2F Genetics Network, which he says could potentially come to Canada one day. We chat with Wulfkuhle about why he took the new role and what he wants to try and accomplish with the new venture.

We sit down with Arron Carter, Washington State University wheat breeder and mentor for the National Association of Plant Breeders Borlaug scholarship program. The program is established by the NAPB and funded through the Agronomic Science Foundation to develop the plant breeding science professions by strengthening the next generation of leaders. He also explains how a ’69 Corvette Stingray led to him becoming a plant breeder.

We sat down today with Canadian plant breeder and 2018 Borlaug Scholar Kevin Falk at the National Association of Plant Breeders 2018 meeting in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He tells us why we need to look more thoroughly at soybean root system architecture and why plant breeders should put special emphasis on forming strong personal relationships.

We interview Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota undergraduate biology major and Borlaug Scholar Dorothy Kirsch at the National Association of Plant Breeders annual meeting in Guelph, Ontario. She tells us her motivational secret to success and how studying plant and ear height in maize could help breeders be more successful.

We report live from the National Association of Plant Breeders Annual Meeting in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Today: a tour of the Vineland Research & Innovation Centre.

Find out what’s happening in the world of flax, canola and soybeans! Participants will learn about:

* Exciting new research on the nutritional, marketing and agronomic potential of oilseed crops

* New oilseed technologies coming onto the market

* Up-and-coming disease threats that could affect flax, canola and soybean seed health

Speakers:

* Todd Hyra, SeCan

* Sarah Foster & Kevin Zaychuk, 20/20 Seed Labs

* Shaan Tsai, Canterra Seeds

* Guanqun (Gavin) Chen, University of Alberta

The business development manager — seed and crop for SGS BioVision chats about how the company is helping its clients fulfill their needs for efficient, quality service all in one spot.

Todd Hyra, the new president of the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA), sits down to chat about the months ahead and where he sees the CSTA going as the Seed Synergy project ramps up.

Dan Wright, Canada Corn and Soybean Portfolio Lead for Monsanto and outgoing president of the Canadian Seed Trade Association, talks about the past 12 months leading the board of directors, his hopes for the Seed Synergy Collaboration Project, and the value of trusting one another.