Seed E-News

September 17, 2004

Chicago Registration On-Line You can now register on-line for ASTA’s Corn & Sorghum and Soybean Conferences in Chicago December 8-10, 2004. Simply follow this link Registration. Please note that pre-registration ends on November 15, 2004, after which date you can only register on site.

USDA grants Protection to 55 New Plant Varieties On September 13, 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of seven new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include Bermuda grass, bluegrass, celery, fescue, mustard and wheat. The seven 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 seven certificates are:

• the Savannah variety of Bermuda grass, developed by Pure Seed Testing Inc., Rolesville, NC;
• the Brilliant variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing Inc., Hubbard, OR;
• the Dutchess variety of celery, developed by Pybas Vegetable Seed Co. Inc., Santa Maria, CA;
• the Stonehenge variety of hard fescue, developed by Advanta USA Inc., Albany, OR;
• the Absolut* variety of white mustard, developed by P.H. Petersen Saatzucht Lundsgaard GmbH & Co. KG, Grundhof, Germany;
• the ORCF-101* variety of common wheat, developed by State of Oregon, by and through the State Board of Higher Education on behalf of Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR; and
• the Overley* variety of common wheat, developed by Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan, KS.

On September 14, 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of 11 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include corn and soybean. The 11 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 11 certificates are:

• the PH58C variety of corn, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Johnston, IA;
• the NP2276 variety of corn, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Minneapolis, MN; and
• the 96M20, 93M50, 93M11, 92M91, 92M40, 93M10, 93M30, 91M11 and 90M60 varieties of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Johnston, IA.

On September 15, 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of 13 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include cotton and soybean. The 13 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 13 certificates are:

• the Sure-Grow 150BR, Sure-Grow 521BR and DP 491 varieties of cotton, developed by D&PL Technology Holding Company LLC., Scott, MS;
• the FM 958* variety of cotton, developed by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Campbell, Australia;
• the HQ120CT variety of cotton, developed by Seed Sources Inc., Stoneville, MS;
• the Acala Summit* and ACALA SIERRA RR* varieties of cotton, developed by California Planting Cotton Seed Distributors, Bakersfield, CA;
• the PM 1560 BG and PM 1560 RR varieties of cotton, developed by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, LA;
• the 3282002 and 5091007 varieties of soybean, developed by D&PL Technology Holding Company LLC., Scott, MS; and
• the PHOUOYV and 90M20 varieties of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Johnston, IA.

On September 16, 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 corn, sorghum 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 PH77P, PH6HR, PH183, PHB5R, PHBAB, PHB18, PH87P and PH9AR varieties of corn, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Johnston, IA;
• the PHB4ROFYI variety of sorghum, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Plainview, TX; and
• the 92M92, 93M92, and 93M93 varieties of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Johnston, IA.

On September 17, 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 bermudagrass, fescue, ryegrass 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 Blackjack variety of bermudagrass, developed by Cascade International Seed Company, Aumsville, OR;
• the Intrigue variety of Chewings fescue, developed by Turf Merchants Inc., Tangent, OR;
• the Wrigley variety of Chewings fescue, developed by Advanta USA Inc., Albany, OR;
• the Dominion variety of tall fescue, developed by Pure Seed Testing Inc., Rolesville, NC;
• the SR 8250 variety of tall fescue, developed by Advanta USA Inc., Albany, OR;
• the Exacta variety perennial ryegrass, developed by Lebanon Seaboard Corporation, Huntsville, UT;
• the Prowler variety perennial ryegrass, developed by Advanta USA Inc., Albany, OR;
• the Jim* and Traill* varieties of soybean, developed by NDSU Research Foundation, Fargo, ND; and
• the 2386009, DP 6926 S and DP 4748 S varieties of soybean, developed by D&PL Technology Holding Company LLC., Scott, MI.

* 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.

Agriculture Secretary Announces Plants Variety Protection Board Appointments
In Washington DC on September 17, 2004, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced 14 appointments to the Plant Variety Protection Board. Appointees will serve 2-year terms. Appointed members include Dick Crowder, ASTA CEO and Larry Svajgr from Lafayette, IN, who is the Indiana Crop Improvement Association’s ASTA representative. Re-appointed members include Harry Collins of Delta & Pine Land Company, Scott, MS, who is ASTA Southeastern Regional Vice President and Chair of ASTA’s Intellectual Property Rights committee and Gary Whiteaker, of Sakata Seed America, Inc., Morgan Hill, CA. For the full list, follow this link, PVP Board.

National Invasive Species Council
Last week’s link to the National Invasive Species Council’s Stakeholder Bulletin may have been faulty. The link to their September 2, 2004 bulletin is repeated here NISC.

Monsanto donates 30 Soybean Varieties
ASTA member Monsanto donated 30 soybean varieties to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Germplasm Collection. These will be used to aid the global soybean breeding and research efforts where scientists are trying to develop new varieties that can resist pests, diseases, and environmental stresses. The varieties donated are widely grown or have been used as a parent in the development of newer seed varieties. The Soybean Germplasm Collection contains 20,000 different types of soybeans, or relatives of the soybean. The seeds are shared with some 400 scientists in 35 states and foreign countries.

U.S. Grains Council Global Update
At the request of the Corn & Sorghum Division, ASTA E-News will in future include a link to the U.S. Grains Council’s weekly Global Update.

Industry and People

Industry and People ASTA member, Seminis Inc., has opened a seed conditioning and packaging center in Beijing, China, the first foreign vegetable seed company to build an operations facility in this nation of 600 million farmers. To read more, follow this link Seminis.

ASTA member, National Starch and Chemical Company, has expanded its crop identity-preservation program and implemented a broader, documented identity-tracing program to verify the non-GMO status of the company's food ingredients. The program, named TRUETRACE(TM), provides customers with traceability for National's food ingredients at all stages of their development, from seed to crop, to production and distribution. The program covers all the company's food ingredients made from corn grown in the United States. For more information, follow this link National Starch.

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

ASTA Conferences

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

Upcoming Events

August – November 2004
Public Seed Initiative Workshops
A series of workshops aimed at small-scale growers in the northeastern United States are being run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) over the next three months. The first workshop was held on August 14 but others are planned for September, October and November:

• Sept. 24 and 25 at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine;
• Oct. 7 at Lockwood Farm in Hamden, Conn.;
• Oct. 22 at Peacework Organic Farm in Newark, N.Y.; and
• Nov. 8 at Gorzynski's Ornery Farm in Cochecton Center, N.Y.

The Public Seed Initiative is an on-farm breeding and seed-production project involving the ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU) in Geneva, N.Y.; Cornell University's departments of plant breeding and horticulture; the Cooperative Genome Project of the nonprofit organization Oregon Tilth; and the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) of New York. For more information and to register on-line, check out http://www.plbr.cornell.edu/psi/calendar.html.

November 2004
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 Indiana Seed Trade Association web site at www.indianaseed.com.

ISTA Workshop on Statistical Aspects of GMO Detection
The International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) is organizing a workshop with the aim of helping laboratories address the test planning, and the use of results, on GM detection in seeds. The objective of the workshop is to give and exchange information on matters that have been mentioned by laboratories which already participated to the ISTA proficiency tests, or intend to join. The workshop will run November 17-19 at Monsanto, St Louis, MO. The number of participants is limited to a maximum of 20, so register early. For more information and to register, follow this link ISTA.

March 2005
Symposium on “Plant Breeding and the Public Sector”
Michigan State University will be conducting a symposium March 9-11, 2005 to address the issue of who will train plant breeders in the U.S. and around the world. The keynote speakers will be:

• Dr. P. Stephen Baenziger (Eugene W. Price Distinguished Professor, University of Nebraska) – Plant Breeding Training in North America
• Dr. Fred Bliss (Senior Director, R & D Special Projects, Seminis Seeds and former Will W. Lester Endowed Chair at The University of California) – Plant Breeding in the Private Sector
• Gurdev Khush (Former Head of Plant Breeding at IRRI and World Food Prize 1996) – Plant Breeding Training in the International Sector

During the symposium, the participants will discuss:

• What kind of training do plant breeders need?
• What is the most effective balance between classical and molecular training?
• Should the training differ between domestic and international students?
• How will we provide improved varieties of subsistence crops?
• How can the private and public sector most effectively partner to train new generations of plant breeders

The number of participants will be limited to about 100 people to facilitate discussion. You can find more information and a registration form at http://www.hrt.msu.edu/PBSymp/.