Warning: You’re going to hear the word SEED a lot in the next half hour or so, because our guest this episode is Josh Kirschenbaum, the seed supply manager at Ball Seed Company. He’s a seed guy all the way. In previous roles, Josh was PanAmerican Seed’s business and portfolio manager for the company’s vegetable lineup and before that was product development director at Territorial Seed Company in Oregon.   Here’s what you can expect from host Bill Calkins and Josh this episode:   Their shared fascination with the new OPEX Perfect Pick machine Ball introduced earlier this year. Josh describes it as a climate-controlled vending machine for seed packets that can pull 20 orders at a time, resulting in speedy service and increased accuracy in order fulfillment. (Check out the video and article link in the resources below to see the machine in action.)   Bill challenged Josh to come up with three reasons why seed solves problems and why it’s still a preferred way to produce crops. Josh explains the economic benefits, why flexibility and efficiency are optimized when starting from seeds or plugs and finally the amazing innovation and quality of genetics available from seed.   Throughout the conversation, Bill and Josh touch on many more aspects of seed crops that have been at the core of Ball’s business for more than a century. Josh discusses the global nature of our industry, how innovative breeding drives our future, the importance of quality seed in large-scale plug production and the legacy seed has in horticulture.   Resources:   Ball Seed Company Website: https://ballseed.com/   Ball Seed Product Forms & Premier Line Seed List: https://ballseed.com/Products/Seed   OPEX Perfect Pick—From Grocery Store to Vending Machine (Article): https://www.growertalks.com/Article/?articleid=27411   OPEX Perfect Pick (Facebook Video): https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19SiAULR35/