Experience Class members toured the corn and soybean plots at Corteva’s headquarters in Johnston. These demonstration plots feature commercial varieties being used by farmers.
A tour of Flynn Wright, Inc. gave the Experience Class a look at a full-service agency. They learned about the Annual Farmer Survey conducted in cooperation with the Iowa Soybean Assocation.
CORTEVA
FLYNN WRIGHT
Experiencing Iowa’ A
three-day tour in the western half of Iowa showed participants in the Iowa Soybean Association’s (ISA) Experience Class how their checkoff investments are being used in education, promotion and research efforts. Here’s where they went:
Corteva Agriscience, Johnston Corteva Agriscience is the only major agriscience company completely dedicated to agriculture. The company combines the strengths of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection, and Dow AgroSciences for a combined lifespan of over two centuries. Experience Class members visited the Genotyping Lab, where plant materials, including whole seeds, leaf and root tissue, are sampled from across the globe for trait confirmation. “It is nice to have the understanding to know the traits that go into a bag of seed are confirmed,” says Paul Kassel, ISA District 1 director and soybean farmer near Spencer. They also got a sneak peek into the future of Corteva seed in their crop genome engineering lab, where scientists are working on developing traits for higher yields, and pest and
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weed resistance. Before visiting commercial plots, the group looked inside Corteva’s greenhouse, which is the second link in the chain after the lab. The greenhouse spans four acres, and everything that will be in a Corteva seed bag in 10 years will have been tested in the facility. Corteva regularly sponsors the American Soybean Association’s Corteva Young Leader Program, the Iowa Soybean Research Center (ISRC) at Iowa State University and advertises in the Iowa Soybean Review. These investments leverage soybean checkoff dollars to strengthen programming and research efforts.
Flynn Wright, Inc., Des Moines Established in 1984, Flynn Wright, Inc. is headquartered in Des Moines. They are a full-service advertising agency that offers marketing, advertising, public relations and more. Media partners, such as Flynn Wright, Inc., help in ISA’s Communications Squad programming, offering participants tips on better presenting themselves and their farms to nonfarming audiences. The Experience Class saw a behind-
the-scenes look at how Flynn Wright, Inc. works for its clients, including ISA. ISA works with Flynn Wright, Inc., to conduct the Annual Farmer Survey to explore opportunities that support farmer profitability, productivity and sustainability efforts. “The survey provides valuable farmer insights to the board of directors to help make decisions on how they will allocate checkoff dollars. It also guides the program and priorities of focus for ISA staff and gives the organization a better understanding of on-farm behaviors and characteristics,” says ISA Public Relations Manager Brock Johnston. The survey also gauges producer satisfaction with the soybean checkoff and familiarity with ISA. The survey is sent via email and text to all active and non-activated Iowa farmers who’ve certified they grow at least 250 bushels of soybeans annually.
Iowa State University Field Extension Education Laboratory (FEEL), Boone With more than 400 demonstration plots, FEEL offers a wide range of educational opportunities. The field lab has provided hands-on diagnostic
