Dr. Bryan R. Savoy, formerly Mississippi Extension Agronomy Specialist for Cotton at the Delta
Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, has joined Stoneville Pedigreed Seed Company as production manager.

Based at the corporate headquarters in Memphis, Savoy will be responsible for directing Stoneville's field seed production operations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Arizona. He will also be the field site representative for the company's Mid-South facilities in Stoneville.

As an Extension specialist, Savoy was an outspoken proponent of maintaining a pragmatic and profitable approach to cotton production in the face of exploding technology. "When evaluating transgenics, growers must first make sure the variety is adapted to their farms," he said often. "Then if the value added trait is economically beneficial, they can make the decision to plant it." The fact that Stoneville's top managers share that philosophy was one of Savoy's key incentives to accept his new position.

"I have known some of the Stoneville people for a long time," he says. "I've been impressed with their commitment to a strong genetic base in addition to value added traits. Stoneville's commitment to yield performance is evident in the results of the 1997 public variety trials."

With this strong grounding in the basics, Savoy is excited about continuing the commercialization of transgenic traits that add value to a grower's production program. "That will be my priority--leading the production team that will bring BXN and Bollgard--and in the future other traits--to the marketplace in the desired varieties and necessary quantities. It's an operational challenge, especially in the Freedom to Farm environment that allows growers to wait until the last minute to decide what crop, let alone what varieties, they will plant. The supply side becomes
challenging, and I thrive on challenge."

Savoy holds a Ph.D. in Agronomy with an emphasis in crop physiology from Texas A&M and an M.S. in agribusiness-marketing and B.S. in agriculture-industry from Arizona State. He also completed a post-doctoral program in weed science at Texas A&M.

Stoneville Pedigreed Seed Company is the second largest breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seeds in the United States, with seed production facilities in Arizona, Mississippi and Texas and research and development sites in Arizona, California, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and South Africa. Stoneville has been breeding cotton since 1922 and is respected worldwide for its contributions to the cotton industry, including introduction of the world's first genetically engineered cotton seed.

Company news release
N2204