Seed E-News

February 18, 2005

3rd Annual USDA/ASTA Conservation Workshop — Spaces Still Available
The 3rd Annual USDA/ASTA Conservation Workshop will be held in the South Building of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. on March 17 and 18, 2005. The meeting room has yet to be determined. The workshop will run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on March 17 and from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on March 18. The workshop, for ASTA member companies, is being held to discuss current and future Farm Bill programs, to identify opportunities for seed companies to work with USDA agencies and to discuss ways to more effectively communicate and coordinate programs affecting the sale and use of conservation seed.

ASTA has arranged a special group rate of $153.00 per night single/double under the name "ASTA Conservation Workshop" at:

The Doubletree Crystal City Hotel at National Airport
300 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, VA 22202-2891
Tel: +1-703-416-4100
Fax: +1-703-416-4126

Reservations can be made from Saturday, February 5. The deadline for reservations at the group rate has been extended to Friday, February 25.Call 703-416-3886 to make a reservation. The Doubletree Crystal City is conveniently located just minutes from the Pentagon City and Crystal City Metro Stations on the Blue and Yellow Lines. The hotel has a complimentary shuttle to Pentagon City, which has a Metro stop and a mall. Just around the corner from Pentagon City is Pentagon Row, featuring a number of specialty shops and restaurants offering all types of international cuisine. The hotel also offers a complimentary shuttle to Reagan National Airport. The airport is only 2 miles away and the shuttle runs every half hour. Inside the hotel, dining options include the Cafe, Lobby Bar and Skydome. A long-standing Washington D.C. favorite, the rotating Skydome offers cocktails and appetizers along with a breathtaking view of the city.

USDA Headquarters is located at 14th and Jefferson Streets. The closest Metro stop is "Smithsonian." To get to the Smithsonian station from either the Crystal City or Pentagon City Metro stop, take the Blue Line towards Largo Town Center. The trip takes approximately 16 minutes and costs $1.35 during peak hours each way. Please feel free to contact the ASTA office at (703) 837-8140 if you would like to notify us of your intention to attend or have further questions about the ASTA Conservation Workshop.

APHIS/ASTA Workshop
The next APHIS/ASTA Workshop is scheduled for April 21, 2005. No information is yet available on the program or venue. Watch this space.

Monsanto Company to acquire Emergent Genetics, Inc.
Monsanto Company announced in St. Louis on February 17, 2005 that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Emergent Genetics, Inc., for $300 million. The addition of the Emergent Genetics brands completes a strategic cotton germplasm and traits platform modeled on the company's leading corn and soybean strategy, according to Hugh Grant, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Monsanto. To read the complete statement, follow this link Monsanto.

Ukraine Represents a Promising Market for U.S. Planting Seeds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reports that Ukraine's market provides rewarding opportunities for U.S. corn, sunflower seed, non-GM soybeans, sorghum, tomatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, sweet corn, watermelon and other planting seeds. The sharp appreciation of the Euro relative to the dollar and the need to improve the assortment of crops offered to Ukrainian farmers increase the competitive advantage of U.S. suppliers. This report provides information on the Ukrainian seed market and market entry requirements. To access the complete report, which is 23 pages long (including appendices) follow this link Ukraine.

Technology Offers Complete Resistance to Soybean Cyst Nematode
A soybean pest responsible for an estimated $1.4 billion dollars in U.S. crop losses each year will soon go hungry, thanks to Purdue University research. A technology offering complete resistance to soybean cyst nematode, developed by a team of Purdue scientists and their colleagues at the Indiana Crop Improvement Association, consistently produced higher soybean yields than conventional nematode-resistant varieties in a series of field trials completed last fall. To read more, follow this link Soybean Pest.

GPS Units Could Track Soybean Rust
Precision agriculture, which can aid growers in tracking the development and progression of crop insects and diseases, may also prove to be an effective tool when it comes to soybean rust. "Hand-held GPS units are used in the field to scout for diseases like head scab and insects like the soybean aphid," said Harold Watters, an Ohio State University Extension educator for Miami County who helped coordinate the program lineup. "This same technology can effectively be used to scout for and map fields infected with soybean rust." The hand-held units operate by using GPS satellites to plot locations in a field, right down to the geographical coordinates. The data is then transferred to a central computer system, where a host of information can be created — from statistics of incidences to maps of fields throughout entire counties. The technology, specifically in the form of hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) units, will highlight the Ohio Agricultural Technologies Association (OATA) program during the Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference, Feb. 24-25 at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. To read more, follow this link GPS.

Protected Seed Varieties Require Proper Labeling
Picking up a load of elevator-run seed wheat used to be a common practice, but today it could be a costly one — and not just for the producer. That's because the Plant Variety Protection Act is being enforced. An elevator can't sell multiple protected varieties of wheat mixed together as bin-run seed without violating the act, said Dr. Gaylon Morgan, Texas Cooperative Extension small grains specialist, speaking at the Texas High Plains Grain Elevator Workshop on February 8, said anyone — from the producer to the seed cleaner to the marketer — can be brought into a civil suit. To read more, follow this link PVP.

Asian Interest Provides Opportunities for U.S. Hard White Wheats
The United States could sell 1 million metric tons of hard white wheat to Asian countries now if the wheat was available, said Texas Agricultural Experiment Station state wheat breeder. Dr. Jackie Rudd, associate professor at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Amarillo, attended a two-week Wheat Quality Improvement Team trip to Asia. The trip was hosted by U.S. Wheat Associates and sponsored in part by the Texas Wheat Producers Board. To read more, follow this link White Wheats.

US Grains Council Global Update
The weekly global update is provided at the request of the Corn & Sorghum Division. Follow the links for update for week ending February 17, 2005.

Industry and People

Athenix and Iowa Corn Promotion Board announce Research Cooperation to benefit the Corn Industry
ASTA member, Athenix Corp., a leading biotechnology company developing novel products, technologies, and processes for agricultural and chemical applications, and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, an organization promoting Iowa's corn industry, announced a research cooperation which will explore opportunities of applying innovative technologies to corn, and provide information regarding potential future benefits to the industry. The results of this research will be applied and commercialized in ways that are compatible with the goals of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. Full Story.

If your company or organization has any personnel changes or other developments that you would like to see included in the ASTA E-News, please send details to ppatterson@amseed.org.

ASTA Conferences and Activities

February 28-March 3, 2005
18th ASTA Management Academy
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN

March 17-18, 2005
3rd Annual USDA/ASTA Conservation Workshop
Washington DC (venue to be advised)

April 21, 2005
APHIS/ASTA Workshop
Venue to be advised.

June 18-22, 2005
122nd ASTA Annual Convention
Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Tower
Seattle, WA

November 5-8, 2005
ASTA 51st Farm & Lawn Seed Conference
Westin Crown Center
Kansas City, MO
(held in conjunction with the Western Seed Association)

December 7-9. 2005
ASTA 60th Corn & Sorghum and
35th Soybean Conferences and
Seed Expo 2005
Hyatt Regency
Chicago, IL

January 2006
Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference
Amelia Island Plantation
Amelia Island, FL

Upcoming Events

March 2005
Symposium on “Plant Breeding and the Public Sector”
Michigan State University will be conducting a symposium March 9-11, 2005 to address the issue of who will train plant breeders in the U.S. and around the world. The keynote speakers will be:

• Dr. P. Stephen Baenziger (Eugene W. Price Distinguished Professor, University of Nebraska) – Plant Breeding Training in North America
• Dr. Fred Bliss (Senior Director, R & D Special Projects, Seminis Seeds and former Will W. Lester Endowed Chair at The University of California) – Plant Breeding in the Private Sector
• Gurdev Khush (Former Head of Plant Breeding at IRRI and World Food Prize 1996) – Plant Breeding Training in the International Sector

During the symposium, the participants will discuss:

• What kind of training do plant breeders need?
• What is the most effective balance between classical and molecular training?
• Should the training differ between domestic and international students?
• How will we provide improved varieties of subsistence crops?
• How can the private and public sector most effectively partner to train new generations of plant breeders

The number of participants will be limited to about 100 people to facilitate discussion. You can find more information and a registration form here Plant Breeding Symposium.

2005 Annual Congress of the African Seed Trade Association
The 2005 Annual Congress of the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) will take place March 15-18, 2005 in Yaounde, Cameroon. Last year over 200 delegates from 41 countries participated in the meetings and events of this growing and effective Association representing the interests of the African seed industry.

The 2005 AFSTA Congress will be preceded by a full-day workshop on UPOV and intellectual property rights. The Workshop is designed to provide African seed company representatives and government policy makers the opportunity to increase their understanding on subjects such as the protection afforded plants under the 1991 UPOV Convention and how the UPOV Convention is not in conflict with the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The program will also provide the opportunity for attendees to learn more about the critical issues affecting African private seed sector development and trade. Technical sessions are organized to present and discuss important topics such as vegetable seed trade in Africa, IPR, FAO and material transfer agreements, industry accreditation under international regulatory schemes, biosafety regulations and stewardship, coexistence, arbitration and many more.

Trade between companies is also expected to be very active as every year the AFSTA Congress draws increasing numbers of company representatives from Africa and around the globe. Registration has commenced. Registration materials, the Congress program, as well as information on pre- and post-Congress tours can be accessed at www.afsta.org.

April 2005
PCR Workshops
The Society of Commercial Seed Technologists (SCST) and the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) are sponsoring a three part workshop for those interested in learning about Real-Time PCR and its purpose in seed testing. The workshop will consist of:

The first two parts will not require any traveling. However, you will need access to a computer and phone. In the first part, topics will include how Real-Time works and what it does. The 2nd part will involve how to design the primers and probes. Part three is the hands-on workshop at Iowa State Seed Science Center and will include running through hands-on sample processing and experiment from DNA isolation to data analysis. Quality-critical steps and the use of appropriate controls will be highlighted throughout the process, pointing out what the critical steps are, and what control to include in order to have interpretable results. Workshop participants will receive RGT/CGT continuing education points, one for each seminar attended and 3 for the hands-on workshop.

The Registration Form can be downloaded from the SCST website. www.seedtechnology.net. If you have any questions contact Anita Hall, SCST executive director: 607-256-3313, scst@twcny.rr.com.

To register, visit: got to: https://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/pcr/quickregister.html.

ISTA Ordinary Meeting 2005
At the invitation of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, ISTA will be holding its Ordinary Meeting 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand April 25-28, 2005. To register, follow this link ISTA Online. The meeting is aimed at discussing and deciding on proposals for changes to the ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing and business items of the Association, with the international participation of ISTA delegates and representatives from both the seed industry and governments, including experts in seed technology, scientific research and laboratory accreditation. The final program can be downloaded Here.

May 2005
International Seed Federation Congress 2005
The ISF Congress 2005 will be held in Santiago, Chile, May 30-June 1, 2005. The ISF Congress 2005 web site, which is under construction, can be found Here.

July 2005
Colorado State University Seed Analyst Workshops
Two five-day Seed Analyst Workshops will again be held at Colorado State University (CSU), in Fort Collins, Colorado, July 11-22, 2005. Each will be restricted to 10-20 students. The July 11-15 workshop, "Seed Identification and Purity Analysis," provides an extensive hands-on experience with seeds of legumes, cereals, grasses, revegetation species, vegetables and flowers. The emphasis will be on grass species identification and the use of blowing points and multiple unit factors for determining pure seed. Noxious weeds common to these groups are also emphasized. Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to collect seeds of many different grasses and legumes. The July 18-22 workshop, "Seed Viability," offers lectures and practical experience in viability testing, including germination dormancy, vigor and tetrazolium. The emphasis will be on the use of tetrazolium when testing seed viability of native species. An educational tour of regional seed labs and a visit to the Denver Botanical Gardens are included with this workshop.

The workshops are an excellent preparation for taking the qualifying exams to become a Registered Seed Technologist (RST) or a Certified Seed Analyst. The workshops provide a review of fundamentals of seed anatomy, identification, purity, physiology, and viability testing. The fee for each workshop, including materials, is $200 ($350 if both workshops are taken). Reasonable accommodations are available at nearby motels. The workshops are offered in conjunction with the Seed Analyst Training Program offered by CSU through its Division of Educational Outreach. This program introduced in early 1998, is comprised of the following courses, some of which may be prerequisites for the workshops, depending on the studentâs training and experience:

These courses may be taken throughout the year, anywhere in the world. To date, over 350 students have enrolled representing 24 states and 7 countries. The courses are recommended by AOSA/SCST for beginning and experienced seed analysts. Credits apply towards points needed to take the RST accreditation examination. To register for the courses and workshops, contact:

Colorado State University
Division of Continuing Education
1040 Campus Delivery, Spruce Hall
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1040
Phone: 1-877-491-4336 OR 1-970-491-5288
E-Mail: info@learn.colostate.edu
Website: www.learn.colostate.edu

For information or questions on the courses and workshops, contact Carissa Schow (970-491-6295) or Jim Bruce (970-495-3246).