Dear readers,

KWS’ origins lie in farming and, like the families who own the company, our customers – farmers – think in terms of generations. Under the hashtag #ThinkingInGenerations, KWS aims to draw attention to the generational change in agriculture and emphasize its closeness to and deep bonds with farmers as partners who are on the same wavelength. Find out more about #ThinkingInGenerations and the various channels used to publicize the campaign.

Ferdinand von Lochow began breeding rye in Petkus, Brandenburg, in 1881. About a hundred years later – at the time when Germany was still divided in two – Brigitta Schmiedchen started her career at what was then our Institute for Plant Breeding. The Petkus station was added to KWS shortly after reunification. That also entailed the reunification of rye breeding material from the West with breeding material from the East. In the portrait of Brigitta Schmiedchen, you can learn how she experienced this time and what tasks are being performed today in the cradle of our rye breeding so that we can continue writing hybrid rye’s success story.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition of insideKWS!