Seed E-News

September 3, 2004

USDA Grants Protection to Nine New Plant Varieties
In Washington, DC on August 31, 2004 the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of nine new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include Bermuda grass, bluegrass, rice, soybean, and wheat. The nine certificates, which are issued under the Plant Variety Protection Act, require 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 nine certificates are:

• the Southern Star variety of Bermuda grass, developed by J.R. Simplot Company, Post Falls, ID;
• the Reveille* variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, TX;
• the Serene variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, OR;
• the Wells variety of rice, developed by University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Fayetteville, AR;
• the Pathum Thani 1 variety of rice, developed by Thailand Department of Agriculture, Bangkok, Thailand;
• the Hayate variety of rice, developed by Nakajima Yoshio Syouten, Shiga, Japan;
• the 94M30 variety of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, IA; and
• the Idaho 587* and Jerome* variety of common wheat, developed by Idaho Research Foundation, Inc., (representing the interests of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station and the University of Idaho), Moscow, ID.

* 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.

Agricultural Research Service Lab Promotes New Technologies
In Peoria, IL, at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency, the Agricultural Research Service, showcased innovative technologies that help create value-added markets for corn, soybeans, wheat and other crops. To read more, follow this link A.R.S..

USDA Announces First Conservation Security Program Contract Signings
In Washington, DC on August 26, 2004, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced that nearly 2,200 farmers and ranchers have been selected as the first participants in the Conservation Security Program (CSP). The privately-owned land impacted by the new program covers nearly 1.9 million acres in the 18 watersheds in 22 states selected for the fiscal year 2004 CSP sign-up. USDA expects to fully use the $41 million provided by Congress for this program. For more on this, follow this link CSP.

FDA Prior Notice Deadline for Imported Food Shipments
On August 12, 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol began full enforcement of the FDA’s interim final rule requiring electronic submission of prior notice of imports for food. For more information, check out the ASTA web site here, or contact Alexis Ellicott at aellicott@amseed.org or on (703) 837-8140.

Preserving Ancient Seed
On August 31, the Washington Post highlighted the work of the Seed Savers Exchange in preserving ancient varieties of vegetable, flower and herb seeds. To read more, follow this link Seeds from the Past.

EU to Debate New GMO Maize
During September, the European Union will debate whether to allow imports of a GMO) maize, potentially the EU's second GMO approval after lifting its biotech ban last May. The maize, MON 863, produced by Monsanto to protect against the corn rootworm insect, would be used in animal feed, but not for growing, or for human consumption. The EU's food safety agency gave MON 863 the green light in April, considering it safe for human and animal consumption. Approval is likely to fall foul of deadlock at Ministerial level. If the 25 EU states cannot agree after three months, the decision will be referred to the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. To read more, follow this link EU Debate.

WTO Delays Resolution of EU GM Ban
The Washington Post reported on August 27 that the U.S., along with Canada and Argentina, will have to wait until next year to see the fight with the European Union over biotech foods resolved. The World Trade Organization agreed to an E.U. request to allow expert testimony before deciding on the complaint filed last year. As a result, the WTO report, initially expected before the end of this year, now will be delayed until late March 2005, according to WTO documents. The U.S. argued that scientific advice was not needed because the case revolved around legal issues, while the E.U. sought to move the debate from trade rules to health and environmental protection. Follow this link to read the complete report WTO Delay.

Public Seed Initiative Workshops
A series of workshops aimed at small-scale growers in the northeastern United States are being run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) over the next three months. The first workshop was held on August 14 but others are planned for September, October and November:

• Sept. 8 at the Green Thumb in Water Mill, N.Y.;
• Sept. 14 at PGRU in Geneva;
• Sept. 24 and 25 at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine;
• Oct. 7 at Lockwood Farm in Hamden, Conn.;
• Oct. 22 at Peacework Organic Farm in Newark, N.Y.; and
• Nov. 8 at Gorzynski's Ornery Farm in Cochecton Center, N.Y.

The Public Seed Initiative is an on-farm breeding and seed-production project involving the ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU) in Geneva, N.Y.; Cornell University's departments of plant breeding and horticulture; the Cooperative Genome Project of the nonprofit organization Oregon Tilth; and the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) of New York. For more information and to register on-line, check out http://www.plbr.cornell.edu/psi/calendar.html.

APHIS Workshop on “Confinement of Genetically Engineered Crops During Field Testing”
USDA-APHIS BRS is planning a workshop, to be held September 13-15, 2004 at their Riverdale, MD Headquarters, to focus on confinement issues relative to PMP and PMIPs in corn, barley, rice, safflower, tobacco, as well as cotton. Mark Condon of the ASTA staff has agreed to serve on the workshop Steering Committee which will provide opinions on the organization of the Workshop as well as potential speakers, questions for discussion and references for a bibliography etc. The five main topics to be covered by the workshop are:

• Introduction to confinement and the principle of redundancy presented by APHIS
• Setting of isolation standards by AOSCA, scale and quality control measures (monitoring)
• Confinement analysis critical control points (CACCP) and quality control/monitoring
• Modeling tools
• Monitoring and sampling strategies to verify confinement (e.g., volunteers and geneflow)

To ensure that the seed industry has optimal participation in the workshop, ASTA members are encouraged to provide as soon as possible to Mark Condon at mcondon@amseed.org any recommendations for speakers, references, moderators, note takers, etc. More detailed information on this workshop will be provided to the ASTA membership in the coming months.

Indiana Seed Trade Association 2004 Corn Belt Seed Conference
Indiana Seed Trade Association will be holding its 2004 Corn Belt Seed Conference on November 11-12, 2004 at the Marriott East. Indianapolis. For more information, check out the ISTA web site at www.indianaseed.com.

Industry and People

The Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) is seeking a Chief Executive Officer to assume responsibility for the day-to-day management and ongoing business of the association, including member and industry outreach, finances and administration, program management and business development and fund-raising. AOSCA is a non-profit corporation whose members are 44 official seed certifying agencies in the U.S., with additional members in Canada, South America, Australia and New Zealand. AOSCA’s stated mission is to assist its members in providing certification, quality assurance, identity preservation and other services, thus enabling it to function as a world leader in facilitating the movement of seed, grain, plant and other agricultural products. AOSCA’s members have determined that the organization needs a dedicated professional staff to assist in fulfilling the mission statement, to build member and client relationships and to capitalize on new business opportunities that fit the members’ various resources. Individuals interested in this opportunity should submit a letter of application and résumé to: Allan B. Simons, AOSCA President, 2120 E. Allen Road, Tucson, AZ 85719. E-mail: absimons@ag.arizona.edu.

ASTA member AgVenture, Inc. of Kentland, IN has named Jim Groepper as Vice President Sales and Marketing. He has over twenty-five years experience in the seed industry with nineteen years of sales management leadership. He also has an additional seven years background in territory based seed sales and marketing working with farmers, dealers and the seed industry. Groepper will lead AgVenture in expansion of its sales and marketing efforts.

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

Upcoming Events

November 7-8, 2004
ASTA 50th Farm & Lawn Seed Conference
Westin Crown Center
Kansas City, MO

December 8-10, 2004
ASTA 34th Soybean & 59th Corn & Sorghum Conferences and Seed Expo 2004
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Chicago, IL
Tel: 1-888.890.7333

January 22-25, 2005
ASTA 44th Vegetable & Flower Conference
Grand Hyatt San Francisco
San Francisco, CA.

June 19-22, 2005
122nd ASTA Annual Convention
Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Tower
Seattle, WA

July 7-14, 2006
Joint ASTA-CSTA Annual Convention
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Chicago, IL