The Pannar Group has completed the transition it began when it acquired Kaystar Seed in 2001, with the renaming of Kaystar Seed as Pannar Seed, Inc. and the launching of the globally-respected Pannar brand in the U.S.A.

“The Kaystar Seed name and brand has undoubtedly served us well over the past five years.  We feel that now is an opportune time to move forward and benefit from a much wider exposure and growth that the Pannar name and brand can offer us and our customers.  Kaystar will still be with us this spring as a brand but will be completely phased out during 2006,” said Matt Foley, the new general manager of Pannar Seed, Inc.

While the privately-owned independent Pannar Group is a relatively new player in the U.S. seed industry, it is a well-known and respected player in the global seed industry, with seed companies in nine African countries, Argentina and Europe, as well as a world-wide network of distributors and licensees. Pannar’s commitment to research, quality, and customer service and its unique genetics has led to it making an increasingly significant contribution to the global seed trade, and more recently to the U.S. seed industry.

This spring, the Huron-based Pannar Seed, Inc. will launch its new corporate branding look and vision, featuring a new seed product lineup developed specifically for the upper and central Midwest.

“Pannar Seed is at the forefront of improved crop production in the Midwest because of its regional research and development centers strategically located right where our customers farm,” said Foley.

Pannar has achieved this through intense research and development that began in the U.S. in 1988 along with the 2005 acquisition of a well-established Midwest corn genetics company, Pau Seeds Inc., which was renamed Pannar Genetics, Inc. last year. Pannar has also expanded the scope of its U.S. research activities to include sunflower and sorghum.

Pannar Genetics, Inc. is at the heart of Pannar’s U.S. operation, with modern plant breeding and research facilities in Boone, IA; Brookston, IN; Huron, SD; Kenesaw, NE; and, Olivia, MN.

“Being able to tap into Pannar Genetics provides us with access to the latest crop technologies and traits, providing our growers with performance-tested hybrids and varieties suited to their specific needs and environment,” commented Foley.

Foley, who joined Pannar Seed in 2005, has been active in the U.S. seed industry for many years and has experience in all aspects, from plant breeding to production, marketing, and sales.

Under Foley’s leadership, Pannar Seed will go to the fields in 2006 with a new staff and an enthusiastic team of district sales managers in place. Covering the key corn and sunflower growing regions of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, the district sales managers all have solid agricultural backgrounds and are well-equipped to advise customers on appropriate seed choices and crop production aspects.

The company will debut its top-quality P3 seed - Pannar Preferred Products—to customers this spring. “We now have the products and team in place to take exceptional care of our customers and to fulfill their specific crop seed requirements,” said Foley.