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April 2 , 2010
Thirty-two seed industry representatives fly into D.C. to advocate for the industry
The American Seed Trade Association hosted its second D.C. Fly-in March 23-24 to help connect the seed industry with members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal departments and agencies. "This is an opportunity for the seed industry to present the realities of a very dynamic industry," said Andy LaVigne, ASTA president and CEO. The workshop, a partnership between ASTA and the state and regional seed associations, was divided into two different focus areas, conservation and advocacy. Twenty members from ASTA's Environmental and Conservation Seed Committee met March 23 with representatives from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Forest Service, Department of Navy, Agricultural Research Service, Bureau of Land Management and the Farm Services Agency at USDA's headquarters. They discussed issues concerning conservation programs implementation, research, bioenergy, seed procurement and seed purchases. The following day, ASTA members participated in an advocacy program, which included Congressional briefings on the House and Senate sides. As a result of the visits, the members of Congress can now associate a "face" to the seed industry and to their state and districts. The issues discussed included the importance of the seed industry, the vital nature of protecting intellectual property rights and funding for the National Plant Germplasm System. To prepare participants for their meetings on the Hill, ASTA staff discussed protocol for the appointments, gave an issues update, and a special presentation was made by long-time D.C. political consultant David Crow of DC Legislative & Regulatory Services, Inc. As part of the agenda, attendees had the opportunity to meet with the staff of the House Minority Ag Committee; the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands; and the Senate Ag Committee. The group ended the day with a private meeting with Chairman of the House Ag Committee Collin Peterson (D-MN). Participants were well-received and noted that the leaders are interested in learning more about the seed industry, Miller said. The Fly-in was sponsored by Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences and Simplot. Be sure and check out photos from the Fly-in on Facebook and Flickr.
ASTA research develops tools for U.S. corn breeders Recently published American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) research helps provide the corn breeding community with practical guidelines to help determine if a variety is essentially derived and aids in resolving concerns relating to this issue. The concept of an essentially derived variety (EDV) was introduced by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in their 1991 revisions, but didn't include definitive parameters; thus these revisions have been subject to interpretation. It is a violation of plant variety protection laws to copy or plagiarize protected varieties, but the laws do not prevent others from breeding with those varieties. ASTA has taken a proactive approach to provide a practical understanding and bring clarity to what might qualify as an EDV in corn, said Stephen Smith, a co-author of the study and research fellow at Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. The published information provides a genetically based measurement tool to help make that determination. ASTA's proactive research resulted in the identification of 285 publicly available simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers which can be used for variety identification and to help determine whether a corn variety may be an essential derivation. "The markers act like a genetic fingerprint," said Ron Ferriss, a co-author of the study who heads product clearance and license compliance at Syngenta Seeds. "To use this tool, one would essentially fingerprint the two inbred lines with this marker set and then compare fingerprints to measure the similarity of the two varieties." The research, "North American Study on Essential Derivation in Maize: II. Selection and Evaluation of a Panel of Simple Sequence Repeat Loci," is published in the March-April 2010 edition of Crop Science and is available at http://crop.scijournals.org/content/vol50/issue2/. The table of markers with isozyme and SSR profiles of the publicly available inbreds that were used in the study are available on ASTA's Web site at http://www.amseed.org/news_srr.asp. "This research is important because it reinforces the understanding that plant breeders can protect the products in which they have invested their time, resources and research efforts," said Bernice Slutsky, ASTA vice president of international programs. "Guidelines for helping determine what constitutes an EDV create an awareness of plant variety protection laws and improve the research environment. This improved environment encourages breeders to generate new, more productive varieties, while contributing to improved stewardship of the corn genetic resource base." Few would be willing to invest in breeding efforts if ownership of a variety could be lost to others who made only small cosmetic changes to the initial parental variety and then marketed the product as theirs. The introduction of the EDV concept into Plant Variety Protection laws is designed to prevent such occurrences. It is not often that disputes occur, but when they do these tools should enable parties to more easily determine what constitutes an EDV in corn and help resolve the issue in a timely manner. The eight-member team of researchers who worked on this project are members of the Corn Variety Identification Subcommittee within ASTA. For questions and additional information about the research, contact Bernice Slutsky at 703-837-8140 or bslutsky@amseed.org.
Participate in sport shootin' event and benefit the First-the Seed Foundation
Attendees of the American Seed Trade Association's Annual Convention will have the opportunity to show off their shooting skills at the National Shooting Complex of the National Skeet Shooting Association of America June 26 in San Antonio, Texas. Tickets cost $125 per person and participants must be 18 years of age and older. All proceeds benefit the First-the Seed Foundation, which works to inform today's consumers and tomorrow's workforce about the importance of the seed industry. Register at http://www.amseed.com/mtg_2010ac_sport.asp. "It's a great opportunity for Annual Convention attendees to spend a day relaxing with friends and colleagues," said Ann Jorss, ASTA vice president of finance and administration. The National Shooting Complex will provide certified instructors, eye and ear protection, ammunition, loaner guns and water. Participants may also bring their own gun. Free transportation to and from the complex will be provided. At the end of the day, participants can look forward to a barbecue and beer reception. Located along the edge of the beautiful Texas Hill Country, the National Shooting Complex may appear to be nothing more than 671 acres of peaceful rolling hills and picturesque countryside, but to an ever increasing number of firearms enthusiasts throughout the United States and beyond, this multi-million dollar complex has become recognized as one of the most complete sport shooting facilities in the world. Sport Shootin' Saturday is made possible by INCOTEC, Integrated Coating and Seed Technology, Inc. Also, registration for ASTA's 127th Annual Convention is open and available online at http://www.amseed.com/mtg_2010ac_index.asp. For questions and more information, contact ASTA at 703-837-8140.
Miller briefs about state legislative bills The Tennessee legislature has been the center of focus for American Seed Trade Association state affairs during the past couple of weeks because of two bills filed that would be onerous for agriculture in general and the seed industry specifically, explained one ASTA staff member. "HB 3858, if passed, would require the labeling of plants sold in Tennessee to indicate whether they are open pollinated, genetically modified, or hybrids," said Pat Miller, ASTA director of state affairs. "The fiscal note associated with the enforcement of this bill kept it from gaining too much momentum, but it was still recognized as high-profile." ASTA filed testimony in opposition. The second bill of interest, HB 3738, would prohibit the sale of seeds containing the so-called "terminator gene." This refers to the Technology Protection System (TPS), developed through the efforts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and Delta and Pine Land Company (D&PL) in the late 1990's. ASTA testimony noted that banning this technology in Tennessee would be a most unfortunate roadblock for future genetic research and that the use of such gene has the potential for many beneficial uses. The bill passed out of the House Ag Committee, but failed to gain enough votes in the Senate Ag Committee, thus dooming it for this session, Miller reported. ASTA coordinated efforts with industry representatives, the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Southern Crop Production Association to defeat both pieces of legislation. "We also owe a special thank you to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce for their assistance," Miller said. Meet Bob Yaklich
Bob Yaklich, currently employed by Nunhems, has worked in the seed industry for nearly 12 years and has been involved with the American Seed Trade Association for the majority of this time. Located in Parma, Idaho, Yaklich serves as the business development manager for seed technology. In this position, he works with different sales teams to identify and access various seed technology opportunities. "ASTA is a great organization and helps individuals learn more about all aspects of the seed industry, while creating lifelong relationships," Yaklich said. In 2009, Bob was elected to serve as vice-chairman of ASTA's Future Seed Executives (FuSE) program and he jumped at the opportunity to become more involved with helping young professionals learn more about ASTA and the seed industry. During the Corn & Sorghum and Soybean Seed Research Conference held in Chicago, Ill., last December, Yaklich became chairman of the FuSE program and has focused his efforts on organizing specific sub-committees that will enable the group to be more effective. Yaklich has planned several educational units to bring the group together and expose young industry professionals to many different aspects of the seed industry. The first educational unit will be held April 21 at BioDiagnostics Inc. in River Falls, Wis. For more information about the educational units, visit http://www.amseed.com/mtg_fuse_edunits.asp. "It's critical for young professionals in the seed industry to participate in a group like ASTA and FuSE," Yaklich said. "These kinds of groups help keep you informed and provide networking opportunities where you can meet other individuals with similar interests." Cultivar Seed to publish a directory for the World Seed Congress; don't be left out Cultivar Seed will publish a directory of seed companies for the International Seed Federation's 2010 World Seed Congress in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Don't miss out on a free opportunity to help improve company visibility. Visit their Web site at http://www.cultivarseed.com/ to be included and update company information. Cultivar Seed is a leading communications partner for congresses including ISF, European Seed Association, Asian Pacific Seed Association and African Seed Trade Association.
ASTA thanks Bill Kunzelman for historic donation Thanks to Bill Kunzelman of Seed Solutions, a part of WinField Solutions, for sending several annual meeting proceedings of American Seed Trade Association history. While cleaning up his office, Kunzelman came across historic ASTA documents: Annual Convention Proceedings from 1911, 1912, 1920 and 1932; Executive Sessions from the 53rd Annual Convention, 1935; and the 33rd Annual Report, 1905. If you have any historic documents you would like to donate to ASTA, please send them to 225 Reinekers Lane, Ste. 650, Alexandria, VA 22314. USDA sees year to year rise in corn and soybean acreage According to USDA, corn planting should hit 88.798 million acres, up 3% from both 2008 and 2009 on expectations for increased ethanol use. Before the report, expectations ranged from 87.000 million to 90.150 million acres, with an average estimate of 88.941 million. Soybean planted area is pegged at a record 78.098 million acres, up less than 1% on the year on projections for strong biodiesel and export demand being somewhat offset by expectations for increased global production, including a record South American crop. Pre-report estimates ranged from 77.430 million to 79.500 million acres, for an average of 78.550 million acres. Total wheat area is seen down 9% at 53.827 million acres. Out of the total, winter wheat area is down 13% from 2009 at 37.698 million acres, while spring wheat is up 5% from a year ago at 13.906 million acres and durum is down 13% at 2.223 million acres. Prior to the report, total wheat was pegged at 53.325 million acres, with winter at 37.319 million, spring wheat at 13.558 million and durum at 2.470 million acres. For more details, visit Brownfield.
Seed Web site revamped to help analysts and industry specialists identify seeds The Web site, SEED IMAGES, contains more than 1,700 full color images of native, crop and weed seeds to help seed analysts and anyone in the industry identify unknown or questionable seeds. It serves as a virtual seed herbarium and a valuable resource for seed technologists, conditioners, company managers, educators and related research institutions. Features of the updated Web site include:
Species included in SEED IMAGES are agricultural grain, forage, vegetable, tree, shrub, herb, flower and state and federal noxious weeds. The Web site, established by the Seed Technologist Educational Program (STEP) at Colorado State University, is available via five different subscription options. The most cost effective is the 24-month subscription for $200. Other subscription options are: three days for $10; three months for $35; and six months for $65. Visit the SEED IMAGES Web site at http://www.seedimages.com/ for more information. For questions and additional information, contact Karen Allison at 970-491-6295 or Karen.Allison@colostate.edu. ASTA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact ASTA at (703) 837-8140.
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129th Annual Convention • 2011 Farm & Lawn Seed Conf. • CSS 2011 & Seed Expo • 51st Vegetable & Flower Seed Conf. |