KWS Group

We had the pleasure of hosting Professor Steven Penfield from the John Innes Centre (JIC) in Norwich, UK, at KWS! 🌱 Steven Penfield, renowned for his groundbreaking work in Crop Genetics, leads a strategic programme focused on plant reproductive development. His research delves into how the mother plant's environmental experiences impact spring vigour, fruit and seed development, as well as seed yield and quality. During his visit, Steven delivered an insightful talk titled, "The role of the mother plant in the control of seed yield, seed quality, and genotype by environment interactions." We are grateful for the engaging discussions and the opportunity for our scientists and breeders to interact with such a distinguished expert. Thank you, Steven, for sharing your knowledge and inspiring our team at KWS! #CropGenetics #PlantScience #SeedQuality #AgricultureInnovation #KWS In the photo: Viktor Korzun, Global Lead Scientific Affairs at KWS, Professor Steven Penfield, and Sebastian Förster, Head of Seed Quality Control at KWS.

Closeness is one of our core values. That's why we always look forward to events like the field days with our customers 👩🌾🌱. Recently, one of the biggest events in this area took place in Germany with the "DLG Field Days". Exhibitors from 18 countries presented innovations in plant cultivation and agricultural technology to around 17,000 visitors. Under the motto "Seeding diversity. Harvesting success", we presented a range of products we use to help farmers in the areas of conserving resources, seeding innovations and promoting growth. This encompassed a wide range of crops and topics: Oilseed rape varieties with improved resistance to the rapeseed flea beetle 🪲, corn 🌽varieties that can be used to lower emissions by less drying efforts, sugarbeet with improved genetics against weeds and fungi or a digital tool for determining 🧑💻biomass. Thanks to everyone who was part of these three intense and eventful days! #seedingthefuture #futureoffood

What does meaningful data have to do with sustainability? Everything, if you ask Dr. Sophie Winter, our Sustainability Manager. Precise data will help us to track, if we are heading in the right direction with our sustainability goals and to make the best decisions regarding our planet and society in line with the long-term success of the company. 🤝🌱 Her work is very multi-faceted: “We look at all environmental, social and governance issues and then decide how to tackle them: How do we want to position or strategically align our company in a way that is consistent with our values, goals and strategy? What is our focus and which projects do we want to support?�� 🍃 🔜Find out more about our sustainability ambitions 2030 and how Sophie’s work is helping us achieve them in our insideKWS magazine: https://ow.ly/eoYy50So0i5 #insidekws #sustainability #seedingthefuture

“Boa tarde, Uberlândia!”👋 Our vegetables business unit keeps growing: Following the good news from Andijk, where a new R&D center will be built by early 2025, KWS has officially inaugurated a new research and breeding station in Uberlândia, Brazil, this week. The station will be the main hub for our activities for the tropical and subtropical segment in the Brazilian and South American vegetable market. The 13-hectare sized site includes warehouses, greenhouses and open field area. Our team will mainly take care for tomato, melon and watermelon 🍈🍉🍅– some of the most relevant vegetable crops that KWS breeds for. Read more about our business unit and the new breeding station➡️ https://ow.ly/BhMp50SlFXW #seedingthefuture #futurewithheritage #thinkingingenerations

Our first R&D Conference united nearly 300 colleagues to network, discuss, and ignite new ideas for innovation. By bringing together external and internal perspectives, we found inspiration in the boundless opportunities that curiosity brings to our research organization. We actively prepared for the topic New Work, and the changes and opportunities it brings to our (work)lives. We looked into the impacts of climate change and how to deal with environmental data now and in the future, and explored the upcoming advancements in predictive breeding and genome editing with our in-house experts. 🔬 🌟Our first R&D Conference – a joint success: a heartfelt thank you to the organizers and contributors, and to all colleagues for creating an impactful experience to build on! 👏 #seedingthefuture #innovation

More space, more trials: At our location in Andijk, The Netherlands, a new R&D center for vegetables breeding is taking shape 🏗️🫑 On a 10,000 square meters site, a state-of-the-art greenhouse will be built, as well as a preparation and research area for outdoor vegetables including an office and a laboratory 🔬 “The newly gained space will enable our R&D colleagues to carry out more and higher quality trials for spinach, beans, red beet, Swiss chard, cucumber and pepper”, explains Frank Hollenberg. “As a result, we can accelerate our innovative vegetables varieties that respond to the current challenges growers and value chain partners are facing.” Since its entry into market for vegetable seeds in 2019, KWS has been building a global network of sites to expand its breeding activities. The location in Andijk in the heart of Seed Valley serves as a central hub for the business unit🌍 Read more 👉 https://ow.ly/Ksvv50SiEM1 #seedingthefuture #futurewithheritage #plantbreeding #eatyourvegetablesday #vegetablesquad

A great honor at the “Week of the Environment”: We and our project partners (Foundation of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Brand Qualitätsfleisch) were selected to present our joint sustainable, low-emission feeding concept “rye in pig feeding” at the invitation of the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt), in the Schloss Bellevue Park in Berlin. The Week of the Environment is held every four years and hosts exhibitors from business and technology, research and science, and civil society, all presenting their innovative solutions 💡 for shaping change responsibly. KWS and its partners applied with the project “The Heide straw pigs from the Brand company – a contribution to sustainable livestock farming and food” 🐖🧑🌾. The expert jury was impressed by how the regional marketing of pork, combined with a low emission feeding concept with a high proportion of hybrid rye, is helping make food production more sustainable. The fact that rye – and oilseed rape as a source of protein – are regional products, and that farmers can use them to grow their own feedstuff significantly contributes to reducing emissions in animal feed. It has been proven scientifically that feeding pigs a rye-rich diet can reduce CO2 emissions by around 20 to 30 percent up until slaughter. This is due to the resource-efficient agricultural properties of the crop 🌱. Emission-reduced pig feeding makes an important contribution to offering feasible added value for farmers, safeguarding livestock farming in Germany and Europe, and to reducing the environmental footprint of food production. #seedingthefuture #futureoffood #ryevolution #WocheDerUmwelt

🌾⚽ The field is our world! When younger generations dream of being out on the field, it could be the football pitch or the farm. Just like the teams striving to win the European Championship, farmers bring a dedicated passion to nurturing their crops. With our support, this love and knowledge have been passed down through generations since 1856🚜✨ #ThinkingInGenerations #SeedingTheFuture

Exploring Research and Development On-Site: TalentCampus@KWS 🌱🔬 The R&D TalentCampus on June 7th in Einbeck was truly an inspiring event! Participants and KWS colleagues alike had a fantastic time. Elke Hilscher, Head of Chemical Analytics at KWS, shared her thoughts: "The participants were highly interested and eager to discuss various aspects of our work with our team. This curiosity really impressed us. At the same time, the guests were enthusiastic about the many opportunities that KWS offers as one of the leading plant breeding companies." For the first time, KWS showcased all areas of R&D involved in developing new plant varieties at the TalentCampus. The photos capture the inspiring moments and vibrant atmosphere of the event. #KWSTalentCampus #ResearchAndDevelopment #Innovation #FutureScientists

🌱 TalentCampus@KWS: A Day of Inspiration and Innovation! 🌱 Today, we welcomed nearly 400 guests from universities and institutes across Germany and the Netherlands to the KWS campus. Our colleagues from Research & Development offered exciting excursions, lectures, and tours of our labs and greenhouses, sparking great interest in the various areas of plant breeding. A thoroughly successful day, with more to come! #KWS #TalentCampus #Innovation #Research #PlantBreeding #FutureOfAgriculture