Seed E-News

July 23, 2004

USDA Grants Protection to 27 New Plant Varieties
In Washington, DC on July 22, 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of 12 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bluegrass, fescue, flax, and soybean. The 12 certificates are being issued under the Plant Variety Protection Act. The certificates require that the varieties be new, distinct, uniform and stable. The owners will have the exclusive right to reproduce, sell, import and export their products in the United States for the duration of protection. The 12 certificates are:

• the Total Eclipse and Liberator varieties of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by J.R. Simplot Company doing business as Jacklin Seed, Post Falls, ID;
• the SR 2109 variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Seed Research of Oregon, Corvallis, OR;
• the Florentine and Badger varieties of red fescue, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, OR;
• the Endeavor variety of tall fescue, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Rolesville, NC;
• the Taurus* variety of flax, developed by CEBECO Seeds B.V., Vlijmen, Holland; and
• the DP 5414 RR, 3186004, DP 4909, SG 498 RR and SG 759 RR varieties of soybean, developed by D&PL Technology Holding Company, LLC., Scott, MS.

In Washington, DC on July 23, 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of 15 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include corn and wheat. The 15 certificates are being issued under the Plant Variety Protection Act. The certificates require that the varieties be new, distinct, uniform and stable. The owners will have the exclusive right to reproduce, sell, import and export their products in the United States for the duration of protection. The 15 certificates are:

• the PH54M, PH5HK, PH7JB, PH7JD, PH0GC, PH4CV, PH5FW, PH87H, PH8CW and PH86T varieties of corn, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, IA;
• the Stellar variety of common wheat, developed by Resource Seeds, Inc, Gilroy, CA;
• the AR 839* variety of common wheat, developed by University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Fayetteville, AR; and
• the 8302, 8308 and 8309 varieties of common wheat, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Windfall, IN.

* In the United States seed of this variety (1) shall be sold by variety name only as a class of certified seed and (2) shall conform to the number of generations specified by the owner of the rights (84 STAT. 1542, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2321 ET SEQ). USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service administers the Plant Variety Protection Act, which provides time limited marketing protection to developers of new and distinct seed- reproduced and tuber-propagated plants ranging from farm crops to flowers. For additional information contact the Plant Variety Protection Office at telephone (301) 504-5518, fax (301) 504-5291 or the Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/science/PVPO/pvp.htm.

GM and Biotechnology Essential to Double Global Food Production
Genetic modification and other biotechnologies are essential to increase food production and meet huge projected rises in the world's population, a leading expert on plant science warned at the Bioscience 2004 conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Professor Mike Gale of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, England, argued that with the worldâs population set to rise to 9 billion, global food production must double by 2050. For a report, follow this link, Scotsman.com News. To read the press release, follow this link, Bioscience2004.

European Union Governments Deadlocked on GM Corn
European Union governments were deadlocked Monday. July 19, on an application to allow imports of Monsanto's NK603 herbicide-resistant corn for human consumption, although the European Commission, the bloc's executive body, approved its use animal feed. This reflects continuing divisions on GM crops, despite the lifting last spring of Europe's de facto moratorium on new products. Officials reported that EU agriculture ministers failed to get a majority for or against allowing Monsanto Co.'s Roundup Ready corn, which is widely grown in the United States and elsewhere, to be imported for food or food ingredients. Roundup Ready corn received a clean bill of health from the European Food Safety Authority last year.

GM Soybeans Double Yields and Income for Romanian Farmer
"If one day our government says no more GMOs (genetically modified organisms), for me it's a disaster," said the general manager of several soybean farms in southeastern Romania. Although a candidate for membership of the European Union, Romania does not appear to share the resistance to GM crops. To read more, follow this link Romania.

Area Planted with GM Soybeans Could Double in Brazil in 2004-05
Planted area of GM soybeans in Brazil could double next season, despite uncertainty over its legality, the seed industry estimates. According to calculations by the Brazilian Seed Producers Association, or Abrasem, farmers could plant 6.4 million hectares of GMO beans, or around 30% of the crop. Last year, the seed industry estimated GMOs spread across three million hectares in the first year their use was allowed. A bill to permanently regulate GMO crops in Brazil is stuck in Congress and it is uncertain whether the government will issue another temporary decree to legalize them next year. "Planting is prohibited (as it stands for next year), but farmers will plant GMO soybeans, with or without a special decree," said Ywao Miyamoto, Abrasem's president. Abrasem is basing its figures on demand for official conventional seeds this season. Brazil is the world's No. 2 soybean producer and the only exporter to ban the use of transgenic technology. The Agriculture Ministry estimated GMO soybean area was 2.78 million hectares in 2003-04, or 13.2% of the crop.

USDA to Raise Soybean Rust Awareness in 7-City Tour
On July 16, 2004, U.S. the Department of Agriculture announced that officials will help inform soybean producers about early soybean rust detection and treatment during an education series. The USDA panel of experts will visit seven cities in July in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. The first information session will focus on "Soybean Rust; What is it, Why Should I Care and What are Government and Industry Representatives Doing to Address It?" "Combating Rust," "Application Facts" and government safeguards also will be covered. To help soybean growers identify and eventually manage the soybean rust disease, a panel of experts will start the education series in Raleigh, NC, July 21. USDA specialists will make presentations in the following cities:

Plain City, OH – July 22
Memphis, TN – July 23
Indianapolis, IN – July 27
Fremont, NE – July 28
Moline, IL – July 29
Mankato, MN – July 30

For details of where the meetings will be held, follow this link Soybean Panels to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection (APHIS) web site.

Soybean rust, a fungus that infects the leaves of soybean plants and has caused significant yield losses in other parts of the world, has not been detected in the continental United States. However, USDA officials and experts in the field say early detection and treatment could minimize the impact of the eventual introduction the disease in this country. According to scientific data, the disease is spread primarily by wind-borne spores and could arrive in the United States through wind currents.

Wet-Weather Diseases Should Not Raise Concerns About Soybean Rust
Following a workshop earlier this month, Iowa State University is advising producers not to confuse Asian Soybean Rust with common wet-weather soybean diseases. Soybean rust is not expected in the United States this year and has not been found north of the equator in South America. For more, follow this link Soybean Rust.

APHIS Workshop on "Confinement of Genetically Engineered Crops During Field Testing"
USDA-APHIS BRS is planning a workshop, to be held September 13-15, 2004 at their Riverdale, MD Headquarters, to focus on confinement issues relative to PMP and PMIPs in corn, barley, rice, safflower, tobacco, as well as cotton. Mark Condon of the ASTA staff has agreed to serve on the workshop Steering Committee which will provide opinions on the organization of the Workshop as well as potential speakers, questions for discussion and references for a bibliography etc. The five main topics to be covered by the workshop are:

• Introduction to confinement and the principle of redundancy presented by APHIS
• Setting of isolation standards by AOSCA, scale and quality control measures (monitoring)
• Confinement analysis critical control points (CACCP) and quality control/monitoring
• Modeling tools
• Monitoring and sampling strategies to verify confinement (e.g., volunteers and geneflow)

To ensure that the seed industry has optimal participation in the workshop, ASTA members are encouraged to provide as soon as possible to Mark Condon at mcondon@amseed.org any recommendations for speakers, references, moderators, note takers, etc. More detailed information on this workshop will be provided to the ASTA membership in the coming months.

Indiana Seed Trade Association 2004 Corn Belt Seed Conference
Indiana Seed Trade Association will be holding its 2004 Corn Belt Seed Conference on November 11-12, 2004 at the Marriott East. Indianapolis. For more information, check out the ISTA web site at www.indianaseed.com.

Industry and People

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Upcoming Events

November 7-8, 2004
ASTA 50th Farm & Lawn Seed Conference
Westin Crown Center
Kansas City, MO

December 8-10, 2004
ASTA 34th Soybean & 59th Corn & Sorghum Conferences and Seed Expo 2004
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Chicago, IL
Tel: 1-888.890.7333

January 22-25, 2005
ASTA 44th Vegetable & Flower Conference
Grand Hyatt San Francisco
San Francisco, CA.

June 19-22, 2005
122nd ASTA Annual Convention
Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Tower
Seattle, WA

July 7-14, 2006
Joint ASTA-CSTA Annual Convention
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Chicago, IL