The start of a
new journey

The conditions for activities in the field at KWS’ breeding stations are changing more and more: Technology-based approaches are replacing manual work steps. This change is a great advantage for our station team because data is available faster, the quality of field trials is increased, and occupational safety is enhanced. Yet it also means that the station’s staff needs additional qualifications so as to be able use all the technologies and machines safely, securely and efficiently.

The current strategy of stepping up the use of technology at the stations will also be retained in future and will have an even greater impact on everyday work there. The Global Heads of Breeding & Research Services have therefore responded by establishing a new unit: the Regional Multicrop Experts (REX). They advise and support the breeding stations on technology and its development, implementation and maintenance – worldwide.

The REX team will not only provide technological support to our breeding stations, but also to other research & development and breeding departments. Departments such as Global Field Research Equipment or Digital Field Services, as well as the Agro Service or Production, also obtain assistance from the new team. The initial objective is to record the needs of the stations, special local circumstances and general legal conditions in the countries and to provide technological solutions and products for work in the fields.

Some of the areas REX is currently working on include:

• Field equipment
• Field Explorer
• Phenotyping
• Environmental data
• Process automation

The new team has been assembled over the past months: Six Regional Multicrop Experts have already started working in various regions within the breeding station network. Valéria Dlugosz has led the team since October 2020.

In order to enable faster and more efficient solutions in the team, the Regional Multicrop Experts are assigned to regions and complemented with a local structure: Employees at the stations, such as station experts, support the Regional Multicrop Experts in their native language and with in-depth know-how of the processes in their own organization. They can also offer first-level support for their local network. “We believe that harmonization and synergies between stations, cultures and functions can make that crucial difference. We’re here to support that,” says Valéria Dlugosz.

Using this approach, REX has helped expand rollout of the Field Explorer in the South America region this year. The services are now also available in Peru besides Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

In addition, the Regional Multicrop Experts played an important part in implementing it in Eastern Europe. Apart from installing the hardware and software for the Field Explorer, they also trained and advised local users at the station level.

Greater efficiency at the breeding stations

The team’s mission is to drive the rollout of new technologies in work in the field using a multicrop approach. The Regional Multicrop Experts thereby aim to enable proper use of such technologies and create benefits for KWS. The team’s goal is to increase efficiency at the breeding stations and, backed by its regional approach, to act as a binding element that pools experience and makes practical examples available to the entire network. |