Inside This Issue: 



• Iowa Seed Association Annual Meeting Highlights
• Growers Can Apply for the Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crops Initiative
• Upcoming Iowa Seed Association Events
• ISA at the Iowa Capitol
• Attend ASTA’s 2025 Leadership Summit
• ISU Seed Lab Offers Training for Seed Industry
• Thank You to Our Sponsors!

The Iowa Seed Association’s 122^nd annual meeting was held on February 12 at the Agribusiness Showcase & Conference in Altoona. Highlights include the election of new board members and officers for the upcoming year, an update on the Seed Corn Cover Crop Initiative, and panel discussions with scholarship winners and leadership from the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). We greatly appreciate ASTA CEO Andrew LaVigne, board chair Dan Foor, and regional vice president Jessi Strinmoen traveling to Iowa to participate in the meeting.

Bert Strayer becomes the 98^th president, and we thank Jeff Steinback for his service as president over the past year. Steinback presented the 2025 Honorary Award to Wade Jensen who is the 76^th recipient dating back to 1949. Scholarships were awarded virtually due to a snowstorm.



The proposed slate of directors and officers was approved:

Past president Jeff Steinback and new president Bert Strayer

Jeff Steinback presents the 2025 Honorary Award to Wade Jensen

In 2024, over $400,000 in financial assistance was provided to farmers through the Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crop Initiative for cost share associated with planting almost 30,000 acres of cover crops through the Water Quality Initiative (WQI). The Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crop Initiative is a project developed by the Iowa Seed Association with the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, and Iowa Corn. “Cover crop utilization in a seed corn production system offers a unique opportunity for earlier establishment to further increase soil conservation efforts and protect water quality,” said Iowa Seed Association’s Board of Directors President Bert Strayer. 

Partnerships with eight seed companies, representing the vast majority of seed corn production in Iowa, provide cost share, technical assistance, outreach, and education dedicated to seed corn growers. Funding incentives have increased for 2025 including:

• $20 per acre for winter-hardy cover crops such as cereal rye
• $10 per acre for winterkill cover crops such as oats. 
• An additional $10 per acre incentive is available for first-time cover crop users. 

Seed companies are encouraged to help their seed corn growers enroll in the program. The sign-up form and other resources are available at Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crops Initiative | Grower Resources. Growers may mail in the sign-up form or apply online at 2025 Cost-Share Application. For more information, email Erica Lydolph, project coordinator, at covercrops@agribiz.org. 

June 12, 2025

Iowa Seed Association Board Meeting

Des Moines, IA

June 18, 2025

Iowa Seed Association Golf Tournament & Scholarship Fundraiser

Veenker Memorial Golf Course, Ames, IA

Registration: 2025 Iowa Seed Association Golf Tournament & Education



Leadership from the Iowa Seed Association worked with the Agribusiness Association of Iowa and American Seed Trade Association to add an amendment to a bill to protect intellectual property rights for commercial seed production. The bill (SF 494) sought to protect residential gardens from regulations and included language on saving seed. Ultimately the bill died but will be monitored in the future.

Registration is open for ASTA’s 2025 Leadership Summit, June 8-11 in Washington, D.C.! Join fellow seed industry professionals in our nation’s capital to sharpen your leadership skills, hear from key government officials and industry experts, and advocate for seed industry priorities on Capitol Hill during the event’s signature Advocacy Day.

ASTA invites members of the Iowa Seed Association to attend the Leadership Summit at the ASTA member rate. There is no discount code or link needed. Indicate affiliation during the regular registration at ASTA Leadership Summit 2025. If you have questions about the event, please contact Jordan Gregory at jgregory@betterseed.org. 

For more than 100 years, the Seed Lab and the Seed Science Center at Iowa State University have provided training for seed industry professionals covering topics ranging from seed testing and cleaning, gravity separation, color sorting, and seed treatment. Summer 2025 workshop registration is now open. For more information, visit Workshops & Events – ISU Seed Lab.

Platinum

Silver