ASTA's 127th Annual   Convention

  CSS 2010 & Seed Expo

  ASTA's 128th Annual   Convention

  50th Vegetable & Flower
  Seed Conference

  First-the Seed Foundation

  Future Seed Executives
  (FuSE)

  American Seed
  Research Summit

  National Council of
  Commercial Plant
  Breeders

  Member Classifieds

  Featured Books

Opening General Session
Monday, June 22
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Carlos Gutierrez
Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and former CEO of Kellogg’s

ASTA is proud to announce the addition of Carlos Gutierrez, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and former CEO of Kellogg’s, as keynote speaker for the 126th Annual Convention.

Few people have lived out the American dream with as much success as Carlos Gutierrez. The son of Cuban immigrants who began his career selling Kellogg’s cereal to small grocery stores in Mexico City, he eventually rose to become the youngest CEO in the 100-year history of Kellogg Company. In 2005, he was tapped by President George W. Bush to be the 35th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. With firsthand experience in the vast opportunities America has to offer, Carlos Gutierrez has a rich range of perspectives on the world of business. He provides the point of view of the salesman just starting out, the immigrant forging a career in a new country, the corporate executive steering a company with a household name, and the government official working to advance American business around the world.

In this session, Gutierrez will address the challenges facing American business and the ways in which leadership, diversity, innovation, values, and education will ensure that America will continue to lead the world in the 21st century.

Michael Swanson - Speaker
Vice President and Agricultural Economist for Wells Fargo

Don’t miss this timely presentation by Mike Swanson of Wells Fargo, who will discuss current agricultural credit markets and how the seed industry can protect their businesses during these trying economic times.

Michael Swanson, vice president and agricultural economist for Wells Fargo, the largest agricultural lender in the United States, works to analyze and forecast key agricultural commodities (wheat, soybeans, corn, and cotton) and livestock sectors (cattle, dairy and hogs), including macroeconomic and international analysis and the impact of energy on agriculture. The bank maintains a multi-billion dollar portfolio of loans involving these and other agricultural products. Prior to working at Wells Fargo, he supervised a portion of the Land O’ Lakes supply chain for value added cheese. Before working in the dairy processing business, Dr. Swanson worked for Cargill Cafetera de Manizales S.A., the Colombian subsidiary of the agri-business giant Cargill in Colombia, South America, overseeing services for grain imports and value-added sales to feed producers and flour millers.

Intellectual Property Rights Education Session
Monday, June 22
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

The protection of intellectual property is critical to the innovation of any industry. The same is true in the seed industry. Intellectual property rights (IPR) are a fundamental tool used by developers, both private and public,  to allow and promote research to bring further innovation.  This session will feature the latest research by Dermot Hayes, an economist with Iowa State University, on the relationship between IPR, reinvestment and value - value for the seed company, value to the grower, and ultimately, value to the consumer.  A panel will follow, where panel members from different segments of agricultural research and production will respond to Dr. Hayes’ findings and provide their respective viewpoints on IPR. Panel members will include June Blalock from USDA’s Office of Technology Transfer out of the Agricultural Research Service, Patrick Schnable, a professor with Iowa State University, and Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association.

General Session III:
The State of Agribusiness Panel Discussion
Tuesday, June 23
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Greg Duerksen - Moderator
Kincannon & Reed, LLC

This special panel discussion returns after its popular debut last year, bringing together leaders from a variety of perspectives in agriculture to discuss the current trends as they interact with each other to both impact and be impacted by the seed industry. This year’s panel includes four of today’s agricultural leaders: Fred Luckey of Bunge Limited, Jim Sullivan of the International Ingredient Corporation, Theo Frye of the CLAAS Group, a major equipment manufacturer, among others to be announced.

Fred W. Luckey
Executive Vice President — Bunge North America

Fred W. Luckey was named Executive Vice President of Bunge North America in October 2006 and is responsible for milling and oils operations, procurement and the industrial management organization. Since joining Bunge in 1982, Mr. Luckey has held various trading and management positions in the company’s oilseed processing and grain units in several locations in the United States.

Theo Freye
Group Executive Vice President Marketing and Strategy, CLAAS group

Theo Freye is Speaker of the Executive Board and Executive Vice President with world wide responsibility for marketing and strategy for the CLAAS group. He is also the Chairman of the North American CLAAS operations. He joined CLAAS in 1980 and has served in several management positions including engineering, marketing, product management and international sales, and as managing director of the CLAAS German distribution company. Since 2005 Freye has been a Member of the Executive Board and was named Speaker of the Board in 2007.

Jim Sullivan
President of International Ingredient Corporation (IIC)

Jim Sullivan is president of International Ingredient Corporation (IIC), a major manufacturer of specialty ingredients for use in the animal feed and pet food industries, such as milk powders, dried brewer’s yeast, dried cheese powders and sugars.  Jim has recently completed his term as Chairman of the Board of the American Feed industry Association and currently serves on the board of directors of the US Dairy Export Council. He has been with IIC for 23 years.

Trevor Thorley
C.O.O. and Executive Vice President at Amvac Chemical

Trevor Thorley is currently Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at Amvac Chemical based in Newport Beach, California. Amvac Chemical is a part of American Vanguard Corporation that is a diversified specialty and agricultural products company focusing on crop protection, turf and ornamental management, and public health and animal health.

This special panel discussion presents a number of views on this prominent topic, aiming to help demystify considerations that have potentially tremendous impact on the seed industry. Moderated by Robynne Anderson, co-head of the business and industry delegation at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, the panel brings speakers from the academic to the corporate world to examine what it will take to improve access to knowledge, policies, and agricultural inputs, such as seeds, to help guide businesses both large and small to operate in a sustainable manner. The panel discussion will highlight the call-to-action made by farmers, scientists, and business at the UN, OECD, and G8, and talk about some of the concrete measures and programs underway to further sustainability in agriculture, in the developed and developing world.  Anderson has worked extensively with the seed industry in North America and provides editorial direction to Seed World, in addition to her volunteer work on a project to teach agricultural skills to AIDS orphans in Zambia. Also featured on the panel are Global Director Plant Science and External Research for Mars Inc./Seeds of Change Howard-Yana Shapiro, a founder of the Keystone Project; and Joyce Cacho, chief sustainability officer for Novus International.

The following meetings are open to all attendees regardless of committee or division participation or membership. All attendees are encouraged to attend the meetings of these specialized groups for additional educational information on the various aspects of today’s seed industry. Featured speakers and programming in these breakout sessions are as follows:

Organic Committee
Sunday, June 21
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The Organic Committee will meet to discuss the recent ASTA activity in relation to the USDA- National Organic Program and National Organic Standards Board. The committee will focus the majority of the meeting time on an overview of the following working group priorities for the coming year: Accredited Certifiers Association/USDA training module, Seed Coating- Inputs- Material review , Sunset proposal , Seed Sourcing list/database.

State and Regional Association Strategic Issues Briefing
Sunday, June 21
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

The State and Regional Association Issues Briefing is designed from input received by the association leadership to address the issues that are most pressing for the seed industry at the state and regional level. The goal for the meeting is to ultimately provide to all the organizations involved the necessary information and tools to continue to serve our common members effectively.

Associates Division Meeting
Sunday, June 21
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

In this meeting an exciting opportunity for ASTA exhibitors will be announced regarding the new “ASTA Exhibitor Success Center” that the ASTA Associates Division is providing for all exhibitors in all ASTA conventions for the coming year. This online tool will help exhibitors analyze their current exhibition strategy, whether participating in ASTA shows or otherwise, to better formulate a game plan to ensure that pre-planning steps are being taken to promote your business, face time with trade show audiences is being maximized to its fullest potential, and that leads are being properly followed up. Now, more than ever, convention and trade show participation must provide its full return on investment and having targeted face time with others in your industry has never been more valuable! Don’t miss this important session.

National Council of Commercial Plant Breeders Annual Meeting
Sunday, June 21
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Peter Bretting will provide a presentation on developments in genomic and/or breeding research, including highlights from the recent U.S. Seed Research Summit and the GRIN database. Bretting, who has been USDA/ARS National Program Leader, Plant Germplasm and Genomes since 1998, was promoted to the rank of Senior National Program Leader in 2004. This position involves co-leadership, coordination, and direction of a national program of crop genetic research conducted at more than 50 locations nationally. He also serves as a USDA representative for the US government delegations, negotiating the UN-FAO International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and the UN-UNEP Convention on Biological Diversity.

Intellectual Property Rights Committee
Monday, June 22
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

The ASTA Intellectual Property Rights Committee will address action items coming out of its last meeting in February 2009. The committee will consider a paper outlining options regarding seed deposition of inbred lines after a PVP certificate on the hybrid has expired. The committee will also begin consideration of revisions to the ASTA position paper on the use of molecular markers for DUS testing. Any action items related to the ISF Intellectual Property Committee will be addressed as well as the status of the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources in Food and Agriculture.

Phytosanitary Committee
Monday, June 22, 2009
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

The Associate Deputy Administrator of APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine, Paul Eggert, will be making a presentation on regulatory priorities and changes going on in the USDA that might impact the regulation and trade of seeds. In addition, Christian Dellis from APHIS will discuss the electronic permit system. Reports and updates will be provided on international activities and workshops that are being planned to address seed phytosanoitary issues. The second half of the meeting will be a mini workshop on seed re-export and efforts to develop a regional standard on re-export through the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO). In this workshop a draft concept for the standard will be presented to the group for input and discussion.

Biotechnology Committee
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

The biotechnology committee will be focusing on Adventitious Presence and Low Level Presence projects. The Committee will also hear about developments from the ISF GM Vegetable Working Group.

American Seed Research Foundation: The 50th Anniversary Annual Meeting
Tuesday, June 23
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Dr. Hiro Nonogaki, an Associate Professor specializing in seed biology at Oregon State University, presents a discussion on “enhancer trap,” a powerful approach to identify tissue- and stage-specifi c gene expression in plants and animals, which his team has applied for seed research. Nonogaki will discuss his recent cutting-edge study, which has significantly enhanced understanding of the molecular mechanisms of seed germination and the resulting knowledge it provides is being translated into crop species.

Seed Industry Relations Committee
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Perry Bohn and Dr. Richard Payne from USDA Ag Marketing Service will provide updates on the status of the user fee increase that occurred last year for implementing the OECD seed schemes, and on the OECD seed schemes annual meeting that will have occurred in Paris just prior to the ASTA convention. Jennifer Rashet (Monsanto Company and Tom Bockhaus (Pioneer Hi-Bred Int’l., Inc.) who will have participated as delegates, will also provide industry perspectives. In addition to reports from AOSA, SCST, and AOSCA, Ric Dunkle, ASTA’s senior director for seed health and trade, will provide a report of a meeting he attended recently in Des Moines, IA on labeling seed on the basis of count, which has recently become an issue of concern particularly for companies selling soybean seed on the basis of count versus seed weight.

Joint Meeting: Corn & Sorghum Division and Soybean Division
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

The Soybean Division will meet jointly with the Corn and Sorghum Divisions. In addition to the business portion of the meeting for both divisions, the main topic of the meeting will include speaker sessions and a discussion on biofuels and the role of the seed industry.

Vegetable & Flower Division
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

As a member of the Vegetable & Flower Seed Division, its important not to miss the opportunity to participate in one of two yearly meetings dedicated to issues related specifically to our sector of the seed industry. The division meeting will be held at the Annual Convention on Tuesday, June 23, from 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. The agenda will cover a range of issues that could impact the future of your business. Dr. Richard Payne, chief of the Seed Regulatory and Testing Branch of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will provide details of trueness to variety testing under the Federal Seed Act. Updates will be provided by ASTA representatives to the International Seed Federation on work related to GM vegetables and discussions on intellectual property protection in the international arena. In addition, officers for the division will be elected.

Farm Seed Division
Wednesday, June 24
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.

The Farm Seed Division meeting will include a number of presentations from industry professionals including a discussion on trends and comparison of summer annuals, a presentation on genetic code research for rice and corn at the University of Arizona, an update on farm seed research in the pipeline, including an RR alfalfa update, an introduction to ASTA’s Beyond the Seed program and its impact on the farm seed industry, and an outlook on grower decision-making for 2010.

Seed Treatment and Environment Committee
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

The Seed Treatment and Environment Committee will meet to discuss the recent outcomes of the International Seed Federation Seed Treatment and Environment Committee held in May 2009, receive industry updates from Syngenta, Bayer Crop Protection, Valent, NuFarm and Chemtura. Committee members will also be updated on the Container Triple Rinsing Issue as well as the Dust-off Issue and meeting with EPA regarding proposed language for Insecticide Seed Treatment Labels.