AMES, Iowa ‒ The Seed Technology and Business Graduate Program at Iowa State University will launch their first Seed Business Management short course February 5-9.
The weeklong short course will focus on the business aspects of the seed industry. As part of the event, faculty from Iowa State’s Ivy College of Business will discuss business-to-business marketing strategies, managing supply chains, business strategy and finance to help participants develop skills in the areas of leadership, teamwork and negotiation.
The short course is a companion course to the Seed Science and Technology short course held at Iowa State last November and attended by seed industry professionals from across the United States.
“We had extremely positive feedback from our first Seed Science and Technology short course,” said Gary Munkvold, Iowa State Seed Technology and Business Graduate program director and professor of plant pathology and microbiology. “We are excited to build on that momentum as we offer this second opportunity for leaders in the seed industry to examine in-depth the business aspects of the equation.”
Anna Rief, DuPont Pioneer sales support coordinator, took the short course in November and said the information provided by seed industry experts is a good career investment.
“The short course was a great overview of the science behind the processing of parent seed and the process it takes to get to the farmer. The amount of valuable information I received in one short week was well worth it,” Rief said.
The short course will kick-off with guest speakers Mike Gumina, a CEO with RiceTec, Inc., and Jim Schweigert, president, of Gro Alliance, LLC., who will share their perspectives on the evolution, challenges and opportunities facing today’s seed industry. Other seed industry experts will share their experience in research management, industry regulation, intellectual property, policy and trade.
The short course is the first of its kind to be offered through the Seed Science Center at Iowa State. The center houses the most comprehensive public seed testing laboratory in the world and is recognized globally as a leader in seed research, testing and education.
For more information, or to register for the Seed Business Management short course, visit: https://www.seedgrad.iastate.edu/sbm-short-course/ or contact us at stbshortcourse@iastate.edu, 515-294-6947. Seating is limited.