Seed E-News

September 2, 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

ASTA News

New York State Seed Association joins state agribusiness association

As of Sept. 1, the New York State Seed Association (NYSSA) became a part of the New York State Agri-business Association (NYSABA).

NYSSA, comprised of about 30 members, will be represented as a committee within the agribusiness association.

"There is strength in numbers," says Ed Russell, former NYSSA president who helped lead the transition. "Teaming up with an association that has a strong voice in this state will only help us be more effective in state seed-related matters. This move will also aid in strengthening our efforts by having a centralized administration."

The board that was most recently serving the New York State Seed Association will continue to chair the seed committee until the first meeting is held and appropriate actions identified.

All current members of NYSSA are now members of NYSABA through Dec. 31. Membership dues are set at the same price for both associations, meaning there should not be a change.

The group plans to continue their annual meeting, held before the Cornell Seed School, to review the actions and plan for the future of the NYSABA Seed Committee.

NYSABA is a non-profit association representing the agricultural chemical and fertilizer industries. Members include dealers, distributors, basic manufacturers, fertilizer and lime suppliers, seed companies, feed suppliers, consultants and university researchers and educators. For more information about NYSABA, visit http://www.nysaba.com/index.htm.

Phytosanitary workshop will help seed movement between the Americas

A phytosanitary workshop, to be held Sept. 22-23 in Montevideo, Uruguay, will focus on the current trade environment in the Americas, what can be done to improve it and the future.

"The overall goal is to harmonize the phytosanitary import requirements, seed testing methods and phytosanitary regulatory programs throughout the Americas, which will provide a more predictable trade environment," says Ric Dunkle, ASTA senior director of seed health and trade.

The workshop, the second in a series, brings together regulatory officials and seed industry representatives from the Seed Association of the Americas member countries to work toward this overall goal, Dunkle explains.

"We know that to be successful, we need to develop an inventory of the various regulatory programs of the countries in the Americas; develop working relationships between the regulatory officials and the seed industry through the national seed associations and SAA; educate government officials on the international aspects of the seed industry including why it is so important to have harmonized regulatory programs to facilitate international seed movement; and obtain consensus and commitments to move forward with the development of bilateral and multilateral agreements and regional and international standards," he says.

For questions or information on how to get involved, contact Dunkle at rdunkle@amseed.org.

New Course Opportunity - Seed Business 101™

The Seed Business 101™ course was created with input from industry executives to accelerate the careers of promising new employees.

By selecting and sponsoring employees to attend this course, companies acknowledge past performance and invest in accelerated professional development. The course also offers invaluable insights and perspective to seed dealers and companies offering products and services to the seed industry, including seed treatments, crop protection, seed enhancement and technology, machinery and equipment, etc.
The goal of Seed Business 101™ is to enhance each participant's career performance and help them avoid costly mistakes. The course is designed to focus on optimum operations of the five major functional areas of a seed company:

• Research and Development        
• Production
• Administration
• Operations
• Sales and Marketing

Participants will acquire a broad understanding of the major aspects of a seed company's operations and cross-departmental knowledge of best practices for profitability.

This course will be offered in four locations in California and Idaho between November 2010 and February 2011. Each session will be limited to 30 participants.

For more information contact Jeannette Martins, jmartins@ucdavis.edu or Michael Campbell, mlcampbell@ucdavis.edu; or to register, visit http://sbc.ucdavis.edu/education/seed_business.html.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced Sept. 1 the agency's next steps in response to a recent court decision on Roundup Ready sugar beets.

"USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service must chart a course for compliance with its statutory authorities and environmental statutes, such as NEPA, while USDA works to create the environment where all types of producers can and do produce all types of crops," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The steps we have outlined today not only respond to the concerns of producers while complying with the court's ruling, but also further USDA's continuing efforts to enable coexistence among conventional, organic, and biotechnology production systems."

APHIS announced the following steps:

• APHIS has received applications from and is issuing permits to sugar beet seed producers to authorize "steckling" (i.e seedlings) production this fall under strict permit conditions that would not allow flowering of the stecklings. APHIS anticipates that issuance of such non-flowering permits can be completed in the next 2 weeks.
• APHIS has also received and is evaluating a request for a partial deregulation of Roundup Ready sugar beets. In connection with this evaluation, APHIS is developing an appropriate environmental analysis to inform its decision making regarding this request to authorize future seed and root crop plantings under a combination of permits, administrative orders, or other regulatory measures. Any regulatory measures taken would include mitigating restrictions consistent with those proposed to the Court as interim measures while APHIS completes the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the petition for determination of non-regulated status for GE sugar beets. APHIS anticipates making decisions on appropriate interim regulatory measures by the end of the year. There will be an opportunity for public comment on any environmental analyses developed.
• APHIS will continue to place a priority on the expedited completion of the EIS, a process that is anticipated to take 2 years.

The Court's ruling does return genetically engineered sugar beets to regulated status, but does not apply to genetically engineered sugar beet root and seed crops that were planted by Aug. 13, 2010. The genetically engineered sugar beet root crop that has already been planted may be processed and sold as sugar. The genetically engineered sugar beet seed crop that has already been planted may be harvested and stored. The Court's ruling does not preclude the appropriate exercise of APHIS' administrative discretion to authorize the future planting of Roundup Ready sugar beets pursuant to USDA's regulatory authority and biotechnology regulations.

Fungus-on-Fungus Fight Could Benefit Chickpeas
Released by USDA in the September issue of the Agricultural Research Magazine

The fungus Ascochyta rabiei threatens chickpea crops the world over. During the winter, the pathogen survives on chickpea leaves and stems left behind in the field after harvest and forms sexual spores called "ascospores." The ascospores, in turn, can infect springtime chickpea plantings and sometimes wipe out entire crops. But researchers identified and assessed 28 fungi that compete with A. rabiei and concluded that one of them-Aureobasidium pullulans-held the most promise as a biocontrol for A. rabiei. Au. pullulans has several attributes that enhance its potential, including its abundant natural populations, ready growth in culture, and safety to humans and other animals. Most important, Au. pullulans inhibits A. rabiei's ability to form or release ascospores in winter field stubble, which curbs the pathogen's subsequent infection of chickpea seedlings in the spring. In small-scale field trials, inoculating stubble with Au. pullulans spores reduced Ascochyta blight by 38 percent, a level that might be improved with the use of adjuvants and other standard ingredients often used in biocontrol formulations.

Frank Dugan, USDA-ARS Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research Unit, Pullman, Washington; 509-335-1783.

Gates retires; Wofford named new director of Seed Programs

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry announced the retirement of Eric Gates, director of Seed Programs Division. Gates served the department for 33 years. Kevin Wofford who has been with the department for 18 years and worked closely with the department's Seed Programs will step into the position. Wofford will continue to purse the commitment of maintaining high standards of quality seed in Louisiana.

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.