Seed E-News

September 24, 2004

Chicago Registration On-Line
You can now register on-line for ASTA’s Corn & Sorghum and Soybean Conferences in Chicago December 8-10, 2004. Simply follow this link Registration. Please note that pre-registration ends on November 15, 2004, after which date you can only register on site.

USDA in Agreement to Make Nation’s Agriculture and Food Supply More Secure
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in partnership with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), signed a cooperative agreement with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) to further develop integrated federal-state response plans, in support of the National Response Plan, for food and agricultural emergencies. To read more, follow this link Agreement.

USDA Grants Protection to 32 New Plant Varieties
In Washington, DC, on September 20, 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 corn, cotton, soybean and triticale. The nine certificates are 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 nine certificates are:

• the PH3PR and PH5DP varieties of corn, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Johnston, IA;
• the DeltaPEARL variety of cotton, developed by D&PL Technology Holding Company LLC., Scott, MS;
• the FM 966* variety of cotton, developed by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Campbell, Australia;
• the D2429 variety of cotton, developed by Syngenta Seeds Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.;
• the Phytogen 33 Acala* variety of cotton, developed by J.G. Boswell Company Cottonseed Breeding, Corcoran, CA;
• the 91M51 variety of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Johnston, IA;
• the DP 5915 RR variety of soybean, developed by D&PL Technology Holding Company LLC., Scott, MS; and
• the NE422T variety of triticale, developed by Board of Regents, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE.

In Washington, DC on September 30, 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of 10 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include barley, bluegrass, fescue and ryegrass. The 10 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 10 certificates are:

• the Collins* variety of barley, developed by Busch Agricultural Resources Inc., Fort Collins, CO;
• the Rambo variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by J.R. Simplot Company, Post Falls, ID;
• the Blackstone variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing Inc., Hubbard, OR;
• the Picasso and Rembrandt varieties of tall fescue, developed by Lebanon Seaboard Corporation, Huntsville, UT;
• the Zanzibar variety of tall fescue, developed by Pure Seed Testing Inc., Rolesville, NC;
• the Minotaur variety of hard fescue, developed by Turf Merchants Inc., Tangent, OR;
• the Churchill and Affirmed varieties of perennial ryegrass, developed by Lebanon Seaboard Corporation, Huntsville, UT; and
• the Jet variety of perennial ryegrass, developed by Pennington Seeds Inc., Madison, GA.

In Washington, DC on October 1, 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of 13 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bluegrass, fescue, oat, rice, ryegrass, soybean and vinca. The 13 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 13 certificates are:

• the Apollo and North Star varieties of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, OR;
• the Rose variety of red fescue, developed by Advanta USA, Inc., Albany, OR;
• the Camilla variety of red fescue, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, OR;
• the OnCue variety of tall fescue, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Rolesville, NC;
• the LA604 variety of oat, developed by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, LA;
• the Horizon 474 variety of oat, developed by Florida Agricultural Experiment Station (FAES), and University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (UGARF), Gainesville, FL;
• the Yumeippai variety of rice, developed by Nakajima Yoshio Syouten, Shiga, Japan;
• the Transist variety of ryegrass, developed by Pickseed West, Inc., Albany, OR;
• the 94M90 variety of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, IA;
• the RG200RR* and RG405RR* varieties of soybean, developed by NDSU Research Foundation, Fargo, ND; and
• the Victory Red variety of vinca, developed by Sakata Seed Corporation, Yokohama, Japan.

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.

APHIS Enviromental Impact Statement for GM Bentgrass
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) intends to prepare an environmental impact statement relative to its consideration of a petition received from Monsanto Company and The Scotts Company for a determination of nonregulated status for a glyphosate-tolerant creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera). APHIS requests public comment. For more information on the proposal and how to submit or view comments, please follow this link for the HTML version or here for the PDF version.

USDA awards $4.5 Million in Grants for Organic Agriculture Projects
On September 29, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced that USDA is awarding $4,614,980 in grants for 11 projects in six states that will strengthen the Integrated Organic Program (IOP). To read more, follow this link IOP Funding.

U.S. Grains Council Global Update
At the request of the Corn & Sorghum Division, ASTA E-News includes a link to the U.S. Grains Council’s weekly Global Updates. Click on the links to read the updates for 09-24-04 and 10-01-04.

Community Seed Network builds International Model to preserve Biodiversity and protect Farmer Knowledge
This is the second article in series by Matt Dillon, executive director of the Nonprofit Organic Seed Alliance, covering the First World Conference on Organic Seed, which took place in Rome in July 2004. This installment focuses on the fledgling Community Seed Network (CSN), an international effort to preserve diversity, protect farmers’ rights and safeguard their knowledge and can be accessed here CSN. The first article, which asked if Organic and GM can coexist, can be accessed here Coexist.

Industry and People

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.

ASTA Conferences

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

Upcoming Events

August – November 2004
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. 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.

November 2004
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 Indiana Seed Trade Association web site at www.indianaseed.com.

ISTA Workshop on Statistical Aspects of GMO Detection
The International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) is organizing a workshop with the aim of helping laboratories address the test planning, and the use of results, on GM detection in seeds. The objective of the workshop is to give and exchange information on matters that have been mentioned by laboratories which already participated to the ISTA proficiency tests, or intend to join. The workshop will run November 17-19 at Monsanto, St Louis, MO. The number of participants is limited to a maximum of 20, so register early. For more information and to register, follow this link ISTA.

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 at http://www.hrt.msu.edu/PBSymp/.