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January 12, 2007
Welcome to ASTA's electronic newsletter for members, allies and stakeholders. Please feel free to forward Seed E-News to others you believe might wish to subscribe. ASTA respects your privacy and does not share its mail lists with other parties. If you have received this publication in error, you may unsubscribe at the end of this page. Questions, comments and your industry news are welcome — contact Lisa Dry. Past issues can be viewed here . Due to the holidays, the next issue of Seed E-News will be published January 5, 2007. Quick Links • (1) USDA AMS Grants Protection to 14 New Plant Varieties
Speakers Named for Vegetable & Flower Meeting
ASTA is gearing up for the 46th Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference in Tucson, Ariz., at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, February 3-6. The conference already boasts a record numbers of exhibitors and attendees. Today is the last day to register for the conference at advance rates, with all further registrations available on-site only. The Honorable Don Butler, Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture will join ASTA Chairman Harry Collins of Delta & Pine Land Company in welcoming meeting attendees during the opening session on Monday, Feb. 5, from 8-9:30 a.m. The session continues with Elizabeth Pivonka of Produce for Better Health, who will provide a presentation entitled “Understanding the Consumer: Building a New Brand for Fruits & Vegetables,” and discuss the “More is Better” campaign and public health. Pivonka will be followed by Matt McInerney, Executive Vice President of the Western Growers Association, who will discuss marketing challenges of the past year, including labor issues, and the spinach recalls associated with the e.coli breakout, and how the industry plans to move forward. The Sunday, Feb. 4, Super Bowl Reception will be sponsored by All-America Selections (AAS) and Syngenta Seed Care . The pool-side event will feature a live broadcast of the game, stadium-concession snacks, and a football-themed soundtrack. Guests are encouraged to wear sports-themed attire. During halftime, AAS will present a prize of two adult admission tickets to the Walt Disney World theme parks in Orlando, Fla. (In 2008 ASTA’s 125th Anniversary will be celebrated during the annual convention at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando.) For information about the conference or a list of nearby hotels, contact ASTA at (703)-837-8140.
AAS Keynote Speaker Former Disney Director
ASTA members attending the Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference are invited to join All-American Selections (AAS) in celebrating its 75th Anniversary during the AAS open meeting on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. in the Indigo Room, LaPosada Resort, Tucson, Ariz. The 2008 AAS Winners and the All-America Classics will be announced. Katy Moss Warner will be the keynote speaker. Warner served as Director of Walt Disney World’s Horticulture and Environmental Initiatives for 25 years. She is President Emeritus of the American Horticulture Society, a national, non- profit, member-driven organization dedicated to “making America a nation of gardeners, a land of gardens.” Warner is familiar with the AAS program and will provide her vision of AAS and the future of horticulture. For more information contact Nona Wolfram Koivula, AAS Executive Director.
ASTA Membership & Meetings Staff Update ASTA welcomes Nikki Clifford as the new Associate Director, Meetings and Services. Nikki joins ASTA from an association conference management firm and has a wide range of meeting, membership, conference and convention planning experience. She also runs a volunteer organization based in the Washington, D.C. metro area, which provides volunteers to local non-profits. Nikki succeeds Jason Laney who was recently appointed ASTA’s Director of Membership Services. Jason joined ASTA in April 2005. Before coming to ASTA, he interned in the Member Events office at the AARP in Washington, D.C. Jason hails from Ashville, N.C. and is a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, S.C.
ASTA Reaches Out to U.S. Farmers ASTA policy and public affairs staff attended the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 88th annual meeting in Salt Lake City earlier this week and participated in the exhibit Showcase which attracted 4,500 meeting registrants. As part of ASTA’s strategic priority to deliver education and outreach programs to stakeholders, staff used the meeting provide growers with information on the Market Choices (TM) program and Beyond the Seed (TM) grower intellectual property initiative. (From left, ASTA’s Bernice Slutsky and Leslie Cahill with Pioneer Hi-Bred’s Scott Hedderich) > Read and listen to convention news New Borlaug-Monsanto Chair Established at Texas A&M This week Texas A&M University Agriculture and Monsanto Company announced the creation of the Borlaug-Monsanto Chair for Plant Breeding and International Crop Improvement. The chair is named in honor of Dr. Norman Borlaug, who won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in plant breeding. Funding for the chair comes from a $2.5 million endowment from Monsanto. Of the endowment, $2 million will be used to fund the Borlaug-Monsanto Chair. Borlaug is a distinguished professor of international agriculture at Texas A&M. The remaining $500,000 will endow an assistantship fund to support graduate-level research by young scientists pursuing careers in plant breeding, cotton crop improvement and production. These assistantships will also be used to support cotton research focused on crop improvement and production systems in the U.S. > Read news releases (A&M and Monsanto)
Company News and People on the Move CropLife America (CLA) has named Jeffrey L. Case as government affairs leader joining a team responsible for federal and state industry issues. Case will be taking the lead on state affairs for the association and will report to Beau Greenwood, executive vice president of government relations and public affairs. Seed Consultants, Inc., schedules several seminars throughout the Eastern Corn Belt during January and February. The noon meetings will cover research results including performance trials, herbicide sensitivity and corn and soybean disease ratings.
Upcoming Industry Events Nebraska Seed Improvement, Nebraska Crop Improvement and Nebraska Seed Trade Association Joint Conference 18th IPSA Annual Meeting
Click here for a schedule of additional industry events
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Grain Handler's Database • Seed Quality Management • CSS 2008 & Seed Expo • 48th Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference • 125th Annual Convention |