Seed E-News

April 22, 2005

ASTA to sponsor Scholarship
Following a proposal from an Ad Hoc Committee that was established in September 2004, ASTA has decided to proceed with a scholarship program whereby ASTA matches funds provided by member state seed associations. For the 2006 fiscal year which commences July 1, 2005, ASTA has earmarked $10,000 in matching funds, which will be sufficient for up to 10 sponsored scholarships. Initially, ASTA will work with the ten associations which indicated an interest in working with ASTA on the scholarship program.

To qualify for ASTA matching funds, the state seed association must be an ASTA member in good standing and have a scholarship program. No more then ten percent of the funds can be used for administrative purposes or overhead. Individuals may be awarded scholarships more than once. For more information on scholarships, contact Ann Jorss at the ASTA offices on (703) 837-8140 or at ajorss@amseed.org.

Future Seed Executives 2005 - Leading and Reacting to Change
ASTA's Future Seed Executives (FuSE) initiative is pleased to announce its second Educational Unit to be hosted by Fontanelle Hybrids in Freemont, NE on Friday, May 20, 2005 (8:00 am - 3:30 pm). During the first part of the day, senior management from Fontanelle will provide an overview of their history and activities and lead participants on a brief tour of its facilities. They will also hold a question and answer session for participants. During the second part of the program, faculty from the University of Nebraska will lead participants through an interactive discussion and analysis of a case study.

Cost for attending this event is $100 for ASTA members and $150 for participants who are not members of ASTA. A registration form for the May 20 event is at the end of this week’s ASTA E-News. Space is limited to the first 25 paid participants, so register soon (see registration form)! For participants joining from out of town, FuSE will organize an optional cash-bar social event on Thursday evening, May 19th.

FuSE Educational Units target individuals with less than seven years of seed industry experience. These units complement programs offered by the ASTA Management Academy and are designed as regional opportunities to expand learning, promote networking and improve general understanding of the seed industry. Participants from the first FuSE Educational Unit, held at Landec Ag, provided great reviews:

• "I highly recommend the program for young people looking to move up in their organization." - Scott Brolsma, Corporate Marketing Manager, AgReliant Genetics
• "This session was a great opportunity to learn about a completely different business model (and a company) that thinks outside the box." - Jim Wolf, VP of Administration, iCorn
• "We don't take enough time from our present jobs to discuss industry topics; the session stimulated very good interaction among participants." - Wade Wiley, Regional Sales Manager, JGL, Inc.

For more information about other programs offered by FuSE, contact Alexis Ellicott at (703) 837-8140. Future FuSE Educational Units will be held:

If you are interested in hosting a FuSE Educational Unit at your facility, please contact David Nothmann at (314) 694-6957.

A special thanks to all FuSE sponsors:

• Monsanto
• Syngenta
• Gro Alliance

ASTA Annual Convention 2006
The first opportunity to register for ASTA’s 122nd Annual Convention, being held June 18-22, 2005 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers, is now open on ASTA’s web site. Featuring a top-notch line up of general session speakers, a variety of special events, fun sporting events, and a host of exciting optional tours, this year’s Annual Convention continues to raise the bar on the ASTA convention experience. Some sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are also still available. Registration for the conference, hotel rooms, sponsorships, and exhibits, as well as an updated convention schedule and description of all special events can be found on the 2005 Annual Convention section of ASTA’s website at http://www.amseed.org/. Follow this link for Registration. Early registration closes on May 13, 2005, on which date fees will increase. Register now and take advantage of the lower registration fees.

Nominations for ASTA Officers
At the Executive Committee meeting in Alexandria, VA on April 15-16, 2005, the nominating committee slated the following for election at the Annual Convention in Seattle in June:

• ASTA Chairman – Jim Tobin, Monsanto (currently ASTA First Vice Chairman)
• ASTA First Vice Chairman – Gary Arthur, Beck’s Superior Hybrids (currently ASTA Second Vice Chairman)
• ASTA Second Vice Chairman – Mike Peterson, Peterson Genetics
• Southeastern Region VP – Harry Collins, Delta & Pine Land Company
• Central Region VP – Tim Johnson, Seed Genetics, Inc.
• Northwestern Region VP – Kevin Turner, The Scotts Company

ASTA Seed Divisions
Currently, membership of ASTA’s five Seed Divisions – Corn & Sorghum, Soybean, Farm Seed, Lawn Seed and Vegetable & Flower – is restricted to a member company’s nominated ASTA representative who is the first point of contact on issues related to the Division(s). It is recognized, however, that, with an issue such as Asian Soybean Rust, the ASTA representative may not be able to devote the necessary time and effort to address it. As a result, ASTA has decided to expand membership of the Seed Divisions to include interested individuals. ASTA representatives are requested, therefore, to assign individuals to the Division(s) to which their company belongs. These new members will be added to the Divisions’ e-mail address list. If you are uncertain about which Division(s) you belong to, please contact Peter Patterson. Please seek the advice of the Divisions’ staff liaisons as necessary in considering the assignment. It should be noted that a company will still have only one vote at Division meetings.

Georgia Senator named Bio Legislator of the Year
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 20, 2005). The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) named Senator Saxby Chambliss (R, GA) as a “Legislator of the Year” for 2004-2005. “BIO commends Senator Chambliss for his leadership as Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry,” BIO President Jim Greenwood stated. “The Senator has demonstrated his strong commitment to agricultural biotechnology in the House and the Senate. His advocacy for the expansion of trade opportunities for agricultural biotech products serves his constituents and farmers across the country, well.” Full Story. Senator Chambliss received his award from Pete Siggelko, Vice President, Dow AgroSciences and ASTA Director-at-Large. Photo.

EU may allow first GMO Crop for growing since 1998
EU environment experts may take a watershed vote in June on whether to allow a new genetically modified (GMO) crop to be grown in Europe's fields, the first such attempt since 1998, officials said on Friday, April 22. While the EU has now lifted its six-year ban on allowing imports of new GMOs, there have been no approvals since 1998 on any new gene-spliced crop that could be planted in Europe -- and the EU's 25 governments are deeply divided on the issue. A handful of GMO crops, mainly maize types, were authorized for growing across the EU shortly before the moratorium began. No new crop has been allowed for planting since then. Full Story.

Soybean Rust Web Sites
The following links will be maintained through October 2005. Those interested, should bookmark them. USDA's interactive soybean rust web site Soybean Rust Information Site provides timely information on the extent and severity of soybean rust outbreaks in the United States, Caribbean basin and Central America. It will give users up-to-date forecasts on where soybean rust is likely to appear in the United States, reports where the disease exists by county, refers growers to county extension agents nationwide, lists the National Plant Diagnostic Networks laboratories and links to other web sites to give producers effective disease management options. North Carolina State University’s Soybean Rust Forecast Center will be updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. On April 21, ASTA member Syngenta Crop Protection launched its Syntinel(TM) RustTracker system, www.soybeanrust.com, an early-warning Web-based system that provides growers with tools to obtain information regarding outbreaks of Asian soybean rust and assess their potential for risk associated with the disease.

US Grains Council Global Update
The weekly global update is provided at the request of the Corn & Sorghum Division. Follow the link for the update for week ending April 22, 2005.

Industry and People
Sortex Celebrates Fifth Queen’s Award
Winning a Queen’s Award is the ultimate accolade for any British manufacturing company. London based Sortex Ltd, a world leader in optical sorting machinery for the food processing industry, has now achieved this distinction five times after gaining a Queen’s Award for International Trade 2005. The company’s California operation is an ASTA member and a frequent exhibitor at the December Seed Expo. Full Story.

If your company or organization has any personnel changes or other developments that you would like to see included in the ASTA E-News, please send details to ppatterson@amseed.org.

ASTA Conferences and Activities

June 18-22, 2005
122nd ASTA Annual Convention
Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Tower
Seattle, WA
Registration

November 5-8, 2005
ASTA Farm & Lawn Seed Meeting
Westin Crown Center
Kansas City, MO
(held in conjunction with the Western Seed Association)

December 7-9. 2005
60th Corn & Sorghum and
35th Soybean Research Conferences
Seed Expo 2005 (December 7-8, 2005)
Hyatt Regency
Chicago, IL

January 2006
45th Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference
Amelia Island Plantation
Amelia Island, FL

Other Upcoming Events

May 2005
Seed Technologist Training Workshop
The annual seed technologist training sessions hosted by Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. will be held May 16-20, 2005 in Brookings, S.D. This week of workshop training teaches germination, purity, seed identification and tetrazolium testing theories and methods. New for 2005 is a one-day session lead by Ken Stoner, Canadian Seed Institute explaining the Canadian grading system.

Sessions are designed for seed analysts, seed technologists, genetic technologists, quality assurance personnel and others interested in traditional and seed testing analysis. They are particularly helpful for those planning to take future seed technologist examinations. The workshop format is comprised of both lecture and hands-on experience. Speakers include Dr. Loren Wiesner, recent retiree from the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Ft. Collins, Colorado; Dr. Denis McGee, Iowa State University; Sharon Davidson, RST and owner of Agri Seed Testing in Salem, Oregon; and various MWSS staff.

For more information or to register please visit www.mwseed.com/workshops.htm or contact Mid-West Seed Services, Inc at workshops@mwseed.com.

International Seed Federation Congress 2005
The ISF World Seed Congress 2005 will be held in Santiago, Chile, May 30-June 1, 2005. The web site can be accessed here.

July 2005
Colorado State University Seed Analyst Workshops
Two five-day Seed Analyst Workshops will again be held at Colorado State University (CSU), in Fort Collins, Colorado, July 11-22, 2005. Each will be restricted to 10-20 students. The July 11-15 workshop, "Seed Identification and Purity Analysis," provides an extensive hands-on experience with seeds of legumes, cereals, grasses, revegetation species, vegetables and flowers. The emphasis will be on grass species identification and the use of blowing points and multiple unit factors for determining pure seed. Noxious weeds common to these groups are also emphasized. Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to collect seeds of many different grasses and legumes. The July 18-22 workshop, "Seed Viability," offers lectures and practical experience in viability testing, including germination dormancy, vigor and tetrazolium. The emphasis will be on the use of tetrazolium when testing seed viability of native species. An educational tour of regional seed labs and a visit to the Denver Botanical Gardens are included with this workshop.

The workshops are an excellent preparation for taking the qualifying exams to become a Registered Seed Technologist (RST) or a Certified Seed Analyst. The workshops provide a review of fundamentals of seed anatomy, identification, purity, physiology, and viability testing. The fee for each workshop, including materials, is $200 ($350 if both workshops are taken). Reasonable accommodations are available at nearby motels. The workshops are offered in conjunction with the Seed Analyst Training Program offered by CSU through its Division of Educational Outreach. This program introduced in early 1998, is comprised of the following courses, some of which may be prerequisites for the workshops, depending on the studentās training and experience:

These courses may be taken throughout the year, anywhere in the world. To date, over 350 students have enrolled representing 24 states and 7 countries. The courses are recommended by AOSA/SCST for beginning and experienced seed analysts. Credits apply towards points needed to take the RST accreditation examination. To register for the courses and workshops, contact:

Colorado State University
Division of Continuing Education
1040 Campus Delivery, Spruce Hall
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1040
Phone: 1-877-491-4336 OR 1-970-491-5288
E-Mail: info@learn.colostate.edu
Website: www.learn.colostate.edu

For information or questions on the courses and workshops, contact Carissa Schow (970-491-6295) or Jim Bruce (970-495-3246).

November 2005
Soybean Rust Workshop
The American Phyto-Pathological Society has scheduled a workshop in conjunction with USDA and the American Soybean Board for November 15-16, 2005 to discuss soybean rust. This will be a national level workshop based on science. There is no venue yet for the meeting.