News
From the world of KWS
Overview
Cem Özdemir
Federal Minister on a visit
In May, we welcomed Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, to KWS.
During a campus tour, he discussed the importance of plant breeding for sustainable agriculture with Felix Büchting and Thomas Ehrhardt. A look at wheat plants from the PILTON project provided the basis for an exchange on new breeding methods such as genome editing.
The second part focused on the development of organic varieties and the balance between conventional and organic agriculture. The cereal breeding gardens on the organic farm in Wiebrechtshausen provided the ideal "tangible" basis for this.
Hackathon
A KWS Hackathon will be held in Berlin at the end of September in cooperation with the experts from Bots & People. The focus will be on KWS processes that can be simplified through automation. Can you suggest a process we could address as part of this event? Then join in!
More on the intranet |
Low input, high yield
By 2030, more than a quarter of all KWS’ varieties are to be suitable for low-input farming. KWS is thus doing its bit to help achieve the goals under the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy to promote more sustainable agriculture in Europe.
Low-input varieties deliver stable yields with little application of fertilizer, limited water availability, or reduced use of chemical pesticides. They are tested specifically for performance under tougher cultivation conditions. An article on the subject can be found in KWS’ World of Farming. |
Responsible for the World of Farming:
PowerPoint Kit
There is another new version of the PowerPoint Building Kit, which is a great aid in creating KWS PPT presentations. The templates have been updated and expanded. There are 140 slides with refreshed basic layouts, new graphics, flags, maps, new icons and illustrations, as well as important tips for designing brand-compliant presentations. You can access the file either by downloading it from KWS’ BrandNet or directly in the PowerPoint app, where the templates can be found in the KWS folder. Simply open PowerPoint, go to File > New > KWS SAAT SE > PowerPoint and then select the desired tab. |
If you have queries about using the kit, please contact:
Staff at various locations had the opportunity to participate in the International Cereals Meeting by means of public viewing.
Strategic topics in a hybrid format
This year’s International Cereals Meeting (ICM) of the BU Cereals had “Sustainability as a product and how to sell it!” as its theme. Numerous online guests and almost 50 in-person participants at KWS Benelux’ location in Nagele in the Netherlands worked on and helped advance KWS’ strategic projects.
To kick off the event, the projects were presented in a live session before being tackled in smaller working groups.
The idea of this hybrid way of working arose from feedback from the past ICM, in which colleagues expressed the desire for more interaction for online and in-person participants, public viewing at various KWS locations and transparent feedback for everyone.
A completely new concept with new formats was created for developing strategic topics. “In my view, the concept of hybrid workshops at the ICM was a best practice example,” says Kristof Stolze, Global Portfolio Manager. “We benefited from KWS’ wealth of international and cross-BU experience in the workshops. The Process Excellence Team from Berlin provided excellent support, allowing us as Team Leads to focus on the substantive work.”
After this February’s ICM, the organizing team again received a lot of feedback, which will be incorporated in planning the next event.
Anyone interested can view a recording of the event on the intranet. |
Please send feedback and wishes for the next ICM to:
KWS Surftipp
Submit your questions on S4/Integrated Flow
S4/Integrated Flow is KWS’ global multi-year transformation initiative that will prepare us for our future business needs. We will implement the new platform in 85 KWS subsidiaries and 70+ countries worldwide. Core aims are improved efficiency, automation, data quality, and harmonization. As the rollout of the initiative proceeds with new features, user feedback is collected for adaptive improvement.
The initiative’s new SharePoint site will provide a one-stop-shop for information and links – including an area for in-country success stories. There is also a Q&A section awaiting your valuable input: Submit your questions on the site and help us produce content that best suits your needs!
If you have any queries, please contact:
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