No “Cure-All”
The IL Crop Seed Lab continues to grow in the number of samples and crop species tested during the past year. We anticipate the number of samples and species tested to grow over the next testing season. The IL Crop Seed Lab has been adding equipment and supplies as needed to handle increases in testing volume. The Seed Lab purchased a new Kolpak 8×8 walk in chamber in July 2018. We received the chamber mid-August and put it into service. This is our third 8×8 chamber in our fleet of walk in germination chambers. In December 2018, we purchased a used Kolpak 11×12 walk in cooler. We have the unit in the warehouse pending conversion completion. We expect to have the bigger chamber up and running mid-June 2019. This spring we were able to acquire a used VWR water jacketed chamber that is used for Accelerated Aging and a commercial size refrigerator that will be used as a prechill chamber for samples that require prechilling prior to germination. The equipment additions will help us be prepared for additional samples as they arrive into the lab for testing.
Lori Lauchner was hired in May 2019 as a Data Entry Clerk to start learning the process of sample check-in. Mary Jo Edmison, our current sample check-in clerk has plans of retirement in the near future. Lori moved to IL in 1991. She has held various positions throughout her career such as field Technician with Syngenta Seeds in Clinton, IL, Molokai, HI and Kauai, HI. She has also held administrative positions in personnel, retail, office, and property management. Lori worked part time in the IL Crop Greenhouse last fall. In her free time, Lori enjoys cooking, hiking, gardening, outdoor activities and most of all spending time with her family and grandchildren.
The Seed Lab currently has 11 full time employees. We have 3 Registered Seed Technologists, 4 Seed Analysts, 2 Seed Technicians, 2 Data Entry Clerks, and several part time employees.
In conclusion the Seed Lab strives to:
- provide customers with timely, accurate, and repeatable results.
- continually look for opportunities to improve laboratory efficiency.
- participate in meetings, workshops, webinars, and referees as they are available.
We appreciate your business and support.