Dear Readers,

There have been game changers throughout history – events or ideas that shift our life in a new direction. Agriculture is one of mankind’s oldest cultural achievements. In contrast, digitization is one of the most recent path-breaking developments. It’s a source of exciting topics for KWS, since digitization can give agriculture a vital new boost – in particular toward achieving sustainability. We present two examples in this issue. With the SEED2FEED concept, KWS and the start-up Farmdesk are helping dairy farmers use their fodder cultivation area to best-possible effect and optimize feeding for their livestock with the aid of IT. Robots might be used in future in sugarbeet fields as a sustainable, efficient and economical means of removing weeds.

KWS entered vegetable seed business two years ago. The seed markets in this field and the requirements vegetable varieties need to meet differ greatly from those for agricultural crops: The markets are highly fragmented, cultivation methods vary, and dealers demand vegetables that are easily stored and survive being transported without any damage. A prime criterion is consumer preferences, which likewise differ from country to country. Breeders tell us what counts when it comes to developing spinach, tomato and melon varieties.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition of insideKWS – and stay healthy!