Seed E-News

April 8, 2005

ASTA Committee Assignments 2006
Member companies are invited to assign committee representatives for the 2006 fiscal year which starts on July 1, 2005. Company ASTA representatives should have received a company profile detailing current committee assignments and related individuals and are requested to make committee assignments to Peter Patterson, Director, Member Services no later than May 13, 2005. This will ensure that the committee membership can be updated before July 1. Company representatives are also invited to review the other information held in the membership database about the company and related individuals and provide any corrections or deletions to Peter at ppatterson@amseed.org or by fax to (703) 837-9365.

ASTA Seed Divisions
Currently, membership of ASTA's five Seed Divisions — Corn & Sorghum, Soybean, Farm Seed, Lawn Seed and Vegetable & Flower — is restricted to a member company's nominated ASTA representative who is the first point of contact on issues related to the Division(s). It is recognized, however, that, with an issue such as Asian Soybean Rust, the ASTA representative may not be able to devote the necessary time and effort to address it. As a result, ASTA has decided to expand membership of the Seed Divisions to include interested individuals. ASTA representatives are requested, therefore, to assign individuals to the Division(s) to which their company belongs. These new members will be added to the Divisions' e-mail address list. If you are uncertain about which Division(s) you belong to, please contact Peter Patterson. Please seek the advice of the Divisions' staff liaisons as necessary in considering the assignment. It should be noted that a company will still have only one vote at Division meetings.

Registration Now Open for ASTA's 122nd Annual Convention
The first opportunity to register for ASTA's 122nd Annual Convention, being held June 18-22, 2005 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers, is now open. Featuring a top-notch line up of general session speakers, a variety of special events, fun sporting events, and a host of exciting optional tours, this year's Annual Convention continues to raise the bar on the ASTA convention experience. Some sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are also still available. Registration for the conference, hotel rooms, sponsorships, and exhibits, as well as an updated convention schedule and description of all special events are available.

APHIS/ASTA Workshop
Please mark you calendar for this important event. The next APHIS/ASTA Workshop is scheduled for April 21, 2005 at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Headquarters in Washington, DC. Following the format of the Fall 2004 workshop, company representatives will have another opportunity to address seed-related issues on international trade, biotechnology, bioterrorism, and more, through presentations by APHIS officials and open discussion. The program for the workshop, which will last the whole day, is still being developed. More information on the workshop will be provided as soon as it is available. In the meantime, anyone interested in attending, or seeking more information, should contact Alexis Ellicott on (703) 837-8140 or at aellicott@amseed.org.

USDA to Establish User-Fee Schedule for Quality Systems Verification Program
WASHINGTON, April 7, 2005 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that it will publish a proposed rule to revise fees for administering Quality Systems Verification Programs (QSVP).

The proposed rule would establish a separate user-fee schedule for the QSVP and expand the scope of the QSVP to include all agricultural products and services within the responsibility of the Livestock and Seed Program which include livestock, meat, meat products, seed and feedstuffs, as well as processes involving the production of these products, agricultural product data storage, product traceability and identification. The services are voluntary, audit-based user-fee programs authorized under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. The proposed rule sets forth a fee of $108 per hour to cover the costs of providing these services.

The proposed rule was published in the April 7, 2005, Federal Register. Comments must be received by close of business May 9, 2005. Comments may be sent to the following address:

James L. Riva
Chief, Audit, Review, and Compliance Branch
AMS Livestock and Seed Program
USDA STOP 0294
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250-0248

Comments can also be made via e-mail to ARCBranch@usda.gov or via fax to (202) 690-1038. Comments should reference the data and page number of the Federal Register issue in which the proposed rule appears. Comments will be posted at http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/rulemaking.htm and will be made available for public inspection during normal business hours of 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at the above address. Details of the proposed rules can be found here in PDF or here in TEXT.

USDA Grants Protection to Eight New Plant Varieties
WASHINGTON, April 7, 2005 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of eight new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bermudagrass, cotton, pea, ryegrass, tobacco and wheat. The eight certificates are being issued under the Plant Variety Protection Act. The certificates require that the varieties be new, distinct, uniform and stable. The owners will have the exclusive right to reproduce, sell, import and export their products in the United States for the duration of protection. The eight certificates are:

• the Wrangler variety of bermudagrass, developed by Johnston Seed Company, Enid, OK;
• the JAJO 8190 variety of cotton, developed by Jack E. Jones, Baton Rouge, LA;
• the SW Greenback* and SW Prodigy* varieties of field pea, developed by Svalšf Weibull AB, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada;
• the Jumbo variety of annual ryegrass, developed by Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, Gainesville, FL;
• the RGH51 variety of tobacco (F1) developed by F.W. Rickard Seeds Inc., Winchester, KY; and
• the Saturn* and Polaris* varieties of common wheat, developed by Dr. Peter Franck, SchwŠbisch Hall, Germany.

* In the United States, seed of this variety (1) shall be sold by variety name only as a class of certified seed and (2) shall conform to the number of generations specified by the owner of the rights (84 STAT. 1542, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2321 ET SEQ). USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service administers the Plant Variety Protection Act, which provides time- limited marketing protection to developers of new and distinct seed- reproduced and tuber-propagated plants ranging from farm crops to flowers. For additional information contact the Plant Variety Protection Office at telephone (301) 504-5518, fax (301) 504-5291 or the Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/science/PVPO/pvpindex.htm.

USDA requests Nominations to Fill Upcoming Vacancies on National Organic Standards Board
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2005 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking nominations to fill six upcoming vacancies on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns will appoint persons to serve five-year terms of office to commence Jan. 24, 2006, and run until Jan. 24, 2011.

The NOSB is a 15-member board responsible for developing and recommending to the Secretary a proposed National List of Approved and Prohibited Substances, as required by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. The National List identifies synthetic substances that may be used, and the nonsynthetic substances that cannot be used, in organic production and handling operations. The NOSB also advises the Secretary on other aspects of the National Organic Program.

USDA is asking for nominations to fill the following six upcoming NOSB vacancies: organic producer (two positions), consumer/public interest (three positions), and USDA accredited certifying agent (one position). To serve on the NOSB, an individual must be an owner or operator of an organic production operation, an individual who represents public interest or consumer interest groups or an individual who is a USDA accredited organic certifying agent. USDA will follow equal opportunity practices in all appointments to the NOSB.

Written nominations, accompanied by resumes, must be postmarked on or before July 15, 2005, and sent to Katherine E. Benham, Advisory Board Specialist, National Organic Program, USDA-AMS-TMP-NOP, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Room 4008-S, Mail Stop 0268, Washington, DC 20250. For more information, contact Katherine Benham at (202) 205-7806; e-mail: Katherine.benham@usda.gov; or fax: (202) 205-7808.

Important Notice to U.S. Exporters of Corn Seed and Sunflower Seed to the EU
EXCERPT has been recently updated (as indicated below) to reflect slight changes in wording of additional declarations on phytosanitary certificates as required by the European Union for corn seed and sunflower seed imports from the United States. As of April 5, 2005 additional declarations for corn seed and sunflower seed must be written EXACTLY as they now appear on EXCERPT. Please work with your local APHIS inspector to make sure that the correct language is reflected on the phytosanitary certificate.

CORN SEEDS ----plant part----
Phytosanitary Certificate is required. Seeds must be free from Erwinia stewartii (corn bacterial wilt, stewart's disease) and other harmful organisms listed in this summary. Additional Declaration that, "The seeds originate in areas known to be free from Erwinia stewartii (Smith) Dye." OR "A representative sample of the seeds has been tested and found free from Erwinia stewartii (Smith) Dye in this test."

SUNFLOWER SEEDS ----plant part----
Phytosanitary Certificate is required. Must be free from Plasmopara halstedii (downey mildew of Asteraceae). Additional Declaration that, "The seeds originate in areas known to be free from Plasmopara halstedii (Farlow) Berl and de Toni." OR, AD that, "The seeds (except those seeds that have been produced on varieties resistant to all races of Plasmopara halstedii (Farlow) Berl and de Toni present in the area of production), have been subjected to an appropriate treatment against Plasmopara halstedii (Farlow) Berl and de Toni."

If you have any questions concerning this, please contact Mark Condon at mcondon@amseed.org or on (703) 837-8140.

Vermont Senate Advances GMO Liability Bill
On Friday, April 1, the Vermont Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would make seed manufacturers rather than farmers liable for damages from genetically modified crops. The bill applies so called "strict liability" to seed manufacturers, making them responsible for damages their products cause even if they are found to be not at fault. Opponents, including Agriculture Secretary Steve Kerr, who said he would urge the governor to veto the bill in its current form, say strict liability is inappropriate for GMOs. Full Story.

Subsequently, it was reported on Wednesday, April 6, that the Senate passed the bill 26-1. The bill is strongly opposed by Governor James Douglas' administration and it now moves to the House for consideration.

Soybean Rust Web Sites
The following links will be maintained through October 2005. Those interested, should bookmark them. USDA's interactive soybean rust web site Soybean Rust Information Site provides timely information on the extent and severity of soybean rust outbreaks in the United States, Caribbean basin and Central America. It will give users up-to-date forecasts on where soybean rust is likely to appear in the United States, reports where the disease exists by county, refers growers to county extension agents nationwide, lists the National Plant Diagnostic Networks laboratories and links to other web sites to give producers effective disease management options. North Carolina State University's Soybean Rust Forecast Center will be updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week.

International Seed Federation Congress — Seed Treatment Conference Scheduled
Following the ISF Congress in Chile, the Second Seed Treatment Conference will be held at the Hotel Sheraton Santiago on June 2. The objective of the conference is to update participants on the recent evolution of technical, regulatory and practical aspects of seed treatments, with a special focus on Latin America. The agenda for the conference includes:

• Innovative Seed Treatments
• Integration of Seed Treatments in Seed Businesses
• Seed Treatments as an Integral Part of Plant Protection Management
• Trends and Technologies
• Labeling of Treated Seed
• Registration of Seed Treatments

The full program can be accessed at http://www.worldseed.org/SeedTreatmentConference2005.htm.

Australia Develops Plants that Produce Omega-3 Oil
Australiaâs Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has developed plants that produce DHA, a healthy omega-3 oil component normally only available from fish sources, and vital for human health. "Showing that plants can produce DHA in their seeds is a remarkable scientific feat," says Dr Bruce Lee, Director of the CSIRO Food Futures Flagship responsible for the project. "It is an important first step towards improving human nutrition, reducing pressure on declining fish resources worldwide and providing Australian grain growers with new high-value crops." Full Story.

US Grains Council Global Update
The weekly global update is provided at the request of the Corn & Sorghum Division. Follow the link for the update for week ending April 8, 2005.

Industry and People

Barenbrug Adds New Production Manager to US Division
April 7, 2005 Tangent, ORÊÊ Barenbrug USA is pleased to announce the recent hiring of Blaise Boyle as Production Manager for the group. Boyle brings 23 years of experience from within the seed industry, having been involved in production management, research and development as well as sales/marketing. Boyle will oversee Barenbrug's North American grass seed production, its annual seed procurement requirements as well as the company's outside contract production in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Barenbrug USA is a well-established company with a tradition of providing high quality turf and forage seed to the market. "The growers we work with are truly some of the best in the business; I am looking forward to working with each of them as we continue to build on this tradition," said Boyle. "We continue to have a demand for new acreage to fill our needs and if you would like to discuss the possibilities of what we can do together please give me a call." Boyle can be contacted at Barenbrug USA located in Tangent Oregon. Tel; 541-926-5801 ext 218 / Cell; 541-619-0218 or via e-mail at bboyle@barusa.com.

Analysis of Current Biotechnology Regulatory System Published
Kent Bradford and Allen Van Deynze (University of California Seed Biotechnology Center), Neal Gutterson (Mendel Biotech), Wayne Parrott (University of Georgia) and Steve Strauss (Oregon State University) have published an article in Nature Biotechnology (2005, 23: 439-444) titled "Regulating transgenic crops sensibly: lessons from plant breeding, biotechnology and genomics."

The abstract states:

The costs of meeting regulatory requirements and market restrictions guided by regulatory criteria are substantial impediments to the commercialization of transgenic crops. Although a cautious approach may have been prudent initially, we argue that some regulatory requirements can now be modified to reduce costs and uncertainty without compromising safety. Long-accepted plant breeding methods for incorporating new diversity into crop varieties, experience from two decades of research on and commercialization of transgenic crops, and expanding knowledge of plant genome structure and dynamics all indicate that if a gene or trait is safe, the genetic engineering process itself presents little potential for unexpected consequences that would not be identified or eliminated in the variety development process before commercialization. We propose that as in conventional breeding, regulatory emphasis should be on phenotypic rather than genomic characteristics once a gene or trait has been shown to be safe.

The full article can be obtained at http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v23/n4/full/nbt1084.html or from the SBC website at http://sbc.ucdavis.edu.

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

April 21, 2005
APHIS/ASTA Workshop
U.S. Department of Agriculture
14th and Jefferson Streets
Washington, DC

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

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

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

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

Upcoming Events

April 2005
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
Seed Technologist Training Workshop
The annual seed technologist training sessions hosted by Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. will be held May 16-20, 2005 in Brookings, S.D. This week of workshop training teaches germination, purity, seed identification and tetrazolium testing theories and methods. New for 2005 is a one-day session lead by Ken Stoner, Canadian Seed Institute explaining the Canadian grading system.

Sessions are designed for seed analysts, seed technologists, genetic technologists, quality assurance personnel and others interested in traditional and seed testing analysis. They are particularly helpful for those planning to take future seed technologist examinations. The workshop format is comprised of both lecture and hands-on experience. Speakers include Dr. Loren Wiesner, recent retiree from the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Ft. Collins, Colorado; Dr. Denis McGee, Iowa State University; Sharon Davidson, RST and owner of Agri Seed Testing in Salem, Oregon; and various MWSS staff.

For more information or to register please visit www.mwseed.com/workshops.htm or contact Mid-West Seed Services, Inc at workshops@mwseed.com.

International Seed Federation Congress 2005
The ISF World Seed Congress 2005 will be held in Santiago, Chile, May 30-June 1, 2005. The web site can be accessed 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).

November 2005
Soybean Rust Workshop
The American Phyto-Pathological Society has scheduled a workshop in conjunction with USDA and the American Soybean Board for November 15-16, 2005 to discuss soybean rust. This will be a national level workshop based on science. There is no venue yet for the meeting.