Seed E-News

August 19, 2005

Future Seed Executives 2005 - Leading and Reacting to Change
ASTA's Future Seed Executives (FuSE) initiative is pleased to announce its third Educational Unit to be hosted by GroAlliance Cuba City, WI on Friday, September 16, 2005 (8:00 am - 3:30 pm). During the first part of the day, senior management from GroAlliance 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 Wisconsin will lead participants through an interactive discussion and analysis of a case study focusing on the developing and expanding niche markets.

Cost for attending this event is $100 for ASTA members and $150 for participants who are not members of ASTA. Click here to download a registration form for the September 16 event.. 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, September 15th.

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. The next FuSE Educational Units will be held October 14, 2005 at Monsanto in St. Louis, MO. 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
• Kincannon & Reed
• Fontanelle Hybrids
• Heartland Hybrids
• Jung Seed Genetics
• Landec Ag
• Purdue University
• University of Nebraska

ISTA Accreditation of Laboratories on the Detection of Specified Traits in Seed Lots
On August 19, 2005, the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), voting delegates representing 34 national governments supported the inclusion of Rules for the testing of specified traits (including the detection, identification and quantification of Genetically Modified Seed) into Chapter 8 of the ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing. Follow this link to read the Press Release which includes links for downloading the relevant ISTA accreditation documents free of charge.

EU Faces Busy GMO Timetable But No End to Deadlock
EU governments face a slew of decisions in the next few months on whether to allow more imports of genetically modified (GMO) foods but nothing is expected that might break Europe's deadlock over biotechnology. With EU institutions mostly closed in August, ministers and national experts will be asked to process a backlog of applications for new GMO approvals in four crammed months. That doesn't necessarily mean they will be able to agree.

In fact, although the EU ended its six-year unofficial biotech ban in May 2004, the last time national governments could agree on authorizing a new GMO product was back in 1998. Since then, many meetings end in deadlock as "pro" and "anti" camps balance each other out and more and more countries sit on the fence, undecided on the benefits of biotech foods. Three new GMO approvals have been issued since the ban ended, all by a European Commission rubberstamp — a default process that kicks in when EU states repeatedly fail to agree. Agriculture ministers will resume their monthly meetings from September, when they should discuss whether Greece should lift its ban on 17 types of a Monsanto GMO maize seed. Full Story.

GMO Debate Comes to Lake County, California
The Lake County Coalition for Responsible Agriculture (LCCRA), coalition of several groups and numerous individuals, is proposing a moratorium on the planting of GM seeds to give the county time to learn more about the "benefits and hazards". Lake County supervisors will consider the moratorium, focused on a single crop, alfalfa, during an August 23 board meeting. District 1 Supervisor Ed Robey said he wasn't entirely sure why the moratorium was strictly on a single crop. "If we're going to pass an ordinance on alfalfa, why not on all GMOs, including alfalfa?" he asked. Robey said he isn't interested in an outright ban on GMOs — as neighboring Mendocino County put into effect — but he suggested that the single crop moratorium might not be enough. Full Story.

USDA-ARS National Program for Plant, Microbial and Insect Genetic Resources, Genomics and Genetic Improvement
The USDA-ARS National Program for Plant, Microbial and Insect Genetic Resources, Genomics and Genetic Improvement (NP 301) will be holding a National Program Assessment and Customer Workshop October 31 - November 1, 2005. The initial workshop for this Program occurred in April 2000. It is now time to assess progress over the previous five years and to establish directions for the research to be conducted during the next 5-year cycle. For more information on this program and the states where there are related projects, click Here. The draft agenda for the workshop is:

The workshop will be held at the BWI Airport Marriott, 1743 West Nursery Road, Baltimore, MD. A block of rooms has been reserved until October 15, 2005 at the government rate of $133.00/night plus tax under the name AU.S. Department of Agriculture. Please call the hotel directly at (410) 859-8300 or register online. Please let USDA know by September 15, 2005, whether you can or cannot participate in this Workshop by e-mailing Valorie Butler at vjw@ars.usda.gov. If you have any questions, please contact

Almost Safe to Say Rust Won't Drop in on Ohio Beans
Worries over soybean rust are now behind Ohio growers. Evaluations of Ohio's 45 sentinel plots two weeks after remnants from Hurricane Dennis dumped rains through the Midwest in July have found no hints of soybean rust infections. Ohio State University Extension educators will scout the plots one final time for any spores that would have ridden on the coattails of the storm system before declaring Ohio officially out of the woods. 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
• North Carolina State University's Soybean Rust Forecast Center
  (updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week).
• ASTA member Syngenta Crop Protection
• Syntinel(TM) RustTracker system, www.soybeanrust.com.
• Purdue Agriculture Soybean Rust Page

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 August 19, 2005.

Industry and People

Matt Foley to Head Up Kaystar Seed
The Pannar Group has confirmed the appointment of Matt Foley as General Manager of Pannar Seed Inc. d.b.a. Kaystar Seed operating out of Huron SD, USA. Announcing the appointment, the International Director of Pannar, Andrew Jarvie, first paid tribute to Ken King, founder of Kaystar Seed and a very well known and respected seed business personality who has devoted many years of his life to Kaystar Seed and also to the Midwest seed industry in general, and who will be retiring from Kaystar this month.

He continued by saying: "Matt Foley is a career seedsman who has been active in the US seed business for over 15 years. Until recently he was a member of the Mycogen Seed Marketing Management team operating in the Midwest.Ê Matt holds an M.Sc. degree in Plant Breeding and is well experienced in all facets of crop seed production, conditioning and marketing in the Midwest. We are delighted to have him on board and are confident that he will capitalize on the solid base established by Ken and optimize the growth and contribution of Kaystar Seed to our overall US business."

Kaystar Seed of Huron SD, now Pannar Seed Inc., was acquired by the Pannar Group in 2001 and has since developed into a regional seed house supplying growers in the Midwest with corn, sunflower and sorghum hybrid seed as well as soybean and forage varieties under the Kaystar brand. The company operates from modern facilities in Huron and has marketing operations throughout the Midwest. Earlier this year the Pannar Group also acquired Pau Seeds Inc., a well established US corn genetics company, which recently changed its name to Pannar Genetics Inc. The South African owned Pannar Group was founded in South Africa in 1958 and has grown to become the largest seed group in Africa, covering a wide range of field crop and vegetable seeds. The Group owns seed companies in the US, EU, Argentina and several African countries, and operates in many other countries through an extensive network of distributors and licensees. For further information see www.kaystarseed.com or www.pannar.com.

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

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 (Dec. 7-8, 2005)
Hyatt Regency
Chicago, IL

January 28-31, 2006
Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference
Amelia Island Plantation
Amelia Island, FL

Other Upcoming Events

September 2005
New England Invasive Plant Summit
The New England Invasive Plant Summit will be held September 16-17, 2005 at Sheraton Framingham Hotel, Framingham, MA. Gather with scientists, land managers, policy-makers, educators, horticulturists, industry leaders and volunteers who are seeking and sharing information about how to work together to find solutions to the invasive plant problem in the region.

The preliminary agenda and registration information are now available online. Also available are instructions for submitting an abstract for a presentation or poster. The deadline for submitting an abstract has been extended to June 8, 2005. A limited number of Student Scholarships are available. For more information, go to www.ipane.org and follow the link to "2005 Invasive Plant Summit" in red at the foot of the home page. Information is also available from:

Cynthia Boettner, Coordinator
New England Invasive Plant Group
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
52 Avenue A
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Phone: (413) 863-0209 ext. 6
Fax: (413)-863-3070
Email: Cynthia_Boettner@fws.gov

October 2005
The USDA-ARS National Program for Plant, Microbial and Insect Genetic Resources, Genomics and Genetic Improvement (NP 301) will be holding a National Program Assessment and Customer Workshop October 31 - November 1, 2005 at the BWI Airport Marriot, Baltimore, MD.Ê See above for more information.

November 2005
National 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. The symposium will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, TN. Check out the APS web site http://www.apsnet.org/online/sbr/ for more information about the symposium and to subscribe to the mailing list for periodic updates.

Seed Sampling Training
Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. of Brookings, SD will be holding a Seed Sampling Workshop in Boise, ID, on November 29-30, 2005 just prior to the IEOSA meeting at the Doubletree Riverside. Participants who successfully complete the workshop are eligible to become an "authorized sampler" for ISTA Orange Certificates and would be recognized by Canada for sampling pedigreed seed. Some of the topics taught at these sessions include:

• AOSA, CFIA and ISTA Sampling Rules
• Proper Sampling Techniques and Methods
• Sample Intensities
• Sealing Seed Lots
• Subdividing Samples
• ISTA Certificates
• Appropriate Sampling Equipment
• Canadian Grading System

Registration fees are $250 per person. Early registration discounts are available. Further workshops are planned for 2006. See below for details. If you are interested in learning more about the workshops, contact Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. on (877) 692-7611 or visit www.mwseed.com and click on Workshops/Training.

January 2006
Fourth Biennial Organic Seed Growers Conference
The Organic Seed Alliance will be holding the Fourth Biennial Organic Seed Growers Conference on January 11 & 12, 2006 at McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, OR. On January 10, 2006, they will be holding a one day Seed Biology Short Course. You can register for the conference and the course Here. Contact Organic Seed Alliance info@seedalliance.org or (360) 385-7192 for additional information.

Seed Sampling Training
Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. of Brookings, SD will be holding a Seed Sampling Workshop in Lubbock, TX. Dates have yet to be set. If you are interested in learning more about the workshops, contact Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. on (877) 692-7611 or visit www.mwseed.com and click on Workshops/Training.

Spring 2006
Seed Sampling Training
Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. of Brookings, SD will be holding a Seed Sampling Workshop in Yuma, AZ. Dates have yet to be set. If you are interested in learning more about the workshops, contact Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. on (877) 692-7611 or visit www.mwseed.com and click on Workshops/Training.

June 2006
Seed Sampling Training
Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. of Brookings, SD will be holding a Seed Sampling Workshop at their facility in Brookings, SD. Dates have yet to be set. If you are interested in learning more about the workshops, contact Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. on (877) 692-7611 or visit www.mwseed.com and click on Workshops/Training.