Seed E-News

August 20, 2010

Welcome to the electronic newsletter of the American Seed Trade Association(ASTA) for members, allies and stakeholders. Please feel free to forward the Seed E-News to others you believe might wish to receive news about the seed industry. Questions, comments and your industry news are welcome — contact Julie Douglas at ASTA. Past issues can be viewed here .

In This Issue • ASTA News • New ASTA member

ASTA News

ASTA's Dunkle Hits the Road

Ric Dunkle, American Seed Trade Association's senior director of seed health and trade, hit the road and attended the American Phytopathological Society's annual meeting, visited a U.S. Department of Agriculture Ag Marketing Service laboratory and participated in a working group. During APS's annual meeting, held in Charlotte, N.C., Dunkle gave a presentation to APS's Public Policy Board on international seed movement issues. The presentation also identified specific areas where APS can become more involved, such as risk assessment, pathway analysis, developing a list of science/technical experts for seed diseases, and participating on technical working groups for international standards development.

"The presentation was well received," Dunkle said. "We've already made arrangements to schedule a conference call to follow up on these opportunities."
Afterwards, Dunkle stopped in Gastonia, N.C., to tour a lab and meet with Dr. Richard Payne, USDA AMS seed regulatory and testing branch chief.

Dunkle shared ASTA's concerns about AMS developing an accredited trait testing program as part of their process verified program, refuge-in-a-bag, perennial and annual ryegrass testing issues, and prospects for harmonizing AMS and the National Seed Health System accreditation systems for seed sampling for export certification and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development seed tags. He also recently participated in the Widely Prevalent Fungi Working Group, a group designed to determine which pathogens should not require permits from USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for use in research and breeding programs.

"There is a lot of controversy about which pathogens need to continue to be regulated," Dunkle said. "Based on my previous experiences, I was able to help guide the group on how to determine and justify to APHIS which pathogens should be deregulated."

ASTA hopeful of increased coordination with FAO to further international efforts

Bernice Slutsky, American Seed Trade Association vice president of science and international affairs, welcomed the opportunity to meet with a representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Dr. Kakoli Ghosh of FAO recently sat down with Slutsky to learn about ASTA's international efforts. Ghosh is the new team leader of the Plant Genetic Resources and Seeds Group within FAO's Plant Production and Protection Division. Slutsky shared that this is a new FAO division combining the areas of plant genetic resources, plant breeding and seed systems.

"Dr. Ghosh was interested in what issues we are working on and how we participate with other seed associations," Slutsky said. "We also talked about how we can better coordinate our efforts in the future."

Ann Marie Thro, Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources national program leader for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute for Food and Agriculture, also attended. Thro said the visit was constructive and valuable.

Registration is open for ASTA's Farm and Lawn Seed Conference

Seed industry representatives involved with farm and lawn seed are encouraged to attend the conference held in conjunction with the Western Seed Association's annual meeting Nov. 6-9 at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo. The American Seed Trade Association will conduct their 56th Farm and Lawn Seed Conference programming Nov. 7-8 and focus on a variety of issues. Andy LaVigne, ASTA president and CEO, will discuss issues critical to the industry and ASTA's position. Also onsite will be Anita Hall representing the Association of Official Seed Analysts; Tony Claxton, Missouri's seed control official; and Ken Vogel with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. Hall, Claxton and Vogel will discuss seed testing, regulatory issues and the latest research, respectively. The 2012 Farm Bill and its impact on the seed sector, particularly farm and lawn seed, will also be discussed. The Invasive Species Working Group will meet from 1-2 p.m. and the Environmental and Conservation Seed Committee will meet from 2-5:30 p.m., Nov. 7. The following day, the Farm Seed Division will meet from 8-9:30 a.m. and Lawn Seed Division will meet from 10:15-11:45 a.m. After lunch, a session focusing on the wheat industry will be held from 1:30-3 p.m. A registration form is available at http://www.amseed.com/mtg_farm10_index.asp. All registration is done through the Western Seed Association. There are no discounts for ASTA members. Registration costs range from $85-$130 per person.

For questions and more information, contact Susan Smart at 309-664-0606, sa.smart@verizon.net. WSA has reserved a room block at the rate of $122 per night. Rooms are available at this rate by calling 816-474-4400 by Sept. 29. Also, five companies have the opportunity to exhibit at this conference. For more information about exhibiting, contact Pat Miller at 512-259-2118, pmiller@amseed.org.

Atlantic Seed Association to host annual convention in Philadelphia

The 58th Annual Convention of the Atlantic Seed Association, featuring a mixture of fun and business, will be held Oct. 16-19 in Philadelphia, Penn. Anyone with an interest in the seed industry is welcome to attend. The convention will be held at the Loews Philadelphia, located at 1200 Market Street. Hotel rooms are available at the rate of $179 per night through ASA's room block until Sept. 24. Call 215-627-1200 for reservations. Registration costs for individuals who register before Sept. 3 is $295 for members and $420 for non-members. For more information about registration and a brochure, contact Carrie Bohrer, ASA executive director, at 240-631-6946, execdir@atlanticseed.org. A panel discussion will focus on "Seed Industry Dynamics: Focusing on the Future."

Panelists include:
· Dr. Gary Whiteaker, Verdant Partners LLC director
· Dr. Bill Meyer, director of Turfgrass Breeding Project at Rutgers University
· Kevin Morris, National Turfgrass Evaluation Program executive director
· Dr. Peter Landschoot, Penn State resident Extension turfgrass management specialist

Attendees can take in a Temple football game, participate in a scavenger hunt in the city or play a round of golf. Attendees are asked to participate in a silent auction to help fund the Dr. John Baylor grant program by donating items to auction off and by bidding on items. The Baylor grant program offers assistance to those who are working to find better ways to advance our industry through technologies and research that might otherwise be delayed or even abandoned. Contact Bohrer at 301-785-9613 for questions and more information about the silent auction.

Conference will focus on sustainable feedstocks for advanced biofuels

The Soil and Water Conservation Society will host the "Sustainable Feedstocks for Advanced Biofuels" conference, Sept. 28-30 in Atlanta, Ga. The conference is designed to identify real and perceived production barriers for all potential biofuel feedstock materials prior to delivery at a processing facility in either a centralized or distributed production model. Biofuel feedstock materials include perennial crops, cover crops, crop residues, municipal waste and woody species. During the conference, participants will work to develop regional specific roadmaps for sustainable feedstock production and delivery.

A conference agenda is online at http://www.swcs.org/documents/filelibrary/roadmap/Roadmap_Agenda_3910_Designed_D72317672D0F5.pdf. There will be a number of discussions, poster presentations and technology demonstrations. This conference brings together industry, government agencies and university research to help draw a roadmap for producing sustainable feedstocks for advanced biofuels. Early registration ends Sept. 12. More information about the conference is available at http://www.swcs.org/index.cfm?nodeID=23416&audienceID=1. Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities exist. For more information about these opportunities, contact Dewayne Johnson at dewayne.johnson@swcs.org, 515-289-2331, ext.114.

Please Remember

Andrew "Andy" Garret Blodgett
Andy Blodgett died unexpectedly Aug. 8 at the age of 52 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Blodgett grew up in Kalamazoo, Mich. and attended Western Michigan University. He landed a job as a sales representative for the Joseph Harris Company. Blodgett's charisma, charm and quick wit made him a natural salesman, and his career in the seed industry was well underway selling vegetable and flower seed to growers in the Great Lakes region. More recently, he held positions with Sakata Seeds, Colegrave and Waller Genetics. Full article.

Thelma Lucille Curtis
Mother to Blake and Tye Curtis, Thelma Lucille Curtis passed away Aug. 5 at the Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis, N.M. She was 85 years old. The American Seed Trade Association extends heart felt thoughts and prayers to Blake, Tye and the Curtis family on the loss of their mother. Full article.

Leland Stratton
Leland Stratton, 94, who was a World War II veteran, a successful businessman and a civic-minded individual who cared for his neighbors and friends of Stuttgart, died Aug. 9 in his adopted home of Stuttgart. Stratton was born Jan. 12, 1916 in Minot, N.D. and his family moved to Arkansas in 1926 where he lived the remainder of his life, except during World War II while he served with the United States Army Air Corps. "Mr. Leland was a pioneer in the seed industry and as well as in the agriculture industry in this area of Arkansas," said Marianne Maynard, Stuttgart mayor. Full article.

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.