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Seed E-News
September 23, 2005
ASTA Announces Third Workshop with APHIS
During the 2004 ASTA Annual Convention, it was agreed that efforts
would be made to hold two APHIS-ASTA workshops each year. The third
workshop in this series is now scheduled for November 15, 2005 at
USDA in Washington, DC This workshop will serve as an opportunity
for ASTA members to interface with APHIS officials and decision
makers on phytosanitary issues. Past workshops included issues such
as: APHIS Permitting Process; seed, pests and pathogens; soybean
rust, pest risk analyses (PRAs) for Brazil & China; issues on the
movement of seed in Mexico, Korea and Argentina; ASTA - APHIS communications;
National Seed Health System and the National Plant Diagnostic Network/Homeland
Security. If you are interested in attending this meeting with representatives
from APHIS, please contact Barb Surian at (703) 837-8140 or by email
at bsurian@amseed.org. Information
on hotels and logistics will be announced.
Future Seed Executives "Round Table Discussion Group"
Future Seed Executives is continuing the "Round Table Discussion
Group," a series of quarterly conference calls moderated by
senior industry members and aimed at educating future seed executives
on recent major events and happenings in the industry. Each one-hour
long conference call will focus on one major topic and holding true
to the roundtable format, new topics can be introduced for discussion
by those on the call and interaction will be highly encouraged.
At the beginning of each call, a FuSE representative will introduce
the moderator, call participants will introduce themselves and the
round table discussion will begin.
The second Round Table Discussion Group call will be held on September
30, 2005 at 9 a.m. CST and will be moderated by Bill Cook of
Neco Seeds focusing on developing and expanding niche markets in
the seed industry. In order to facilitate interaction, the calls
will be limited to 12 participants, so early registration is encouraged.
The cost to participate on the call is $10 per person and upon registration,
the call-in number and passcode will be issued. You can click
here for a registration form and contact Jim Schweigert at jim.schweigert@groalliance.com
with any questions.
USDA Finalizes Fee Increase for Plant Variety Protection Certificates
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2005 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced that it is
finalizing a fee increase for its Plant Variety Protection Office.
The final rule will increase the general fees for application,
search, and certificate issuance by approximately 20 percent. In
addition, other fees and services listed in the general fee schedule
will also be increased. Supplemental fees, which were established
in May 2005, will not be affected by this rule. The current general
fees, last increased in February 2003, are no longer adequate to
cover current program obligations. The PVP Act of 1970, as amended,
requires that reasonable fees be collected in order to maintain
the program.
This final rule will amend regulations related to voucher seed
samples. The rule will permit seed samples to be submitted directly
to the public repository thus allowing for electronic submission
of applications. A list of the revised fee schedule and direct seed
deposit procedures may be found at http://www.ams.usda.gov/science/pvpo/pvpindex.htm.
The final rule will be published in the September 16 Federal Register
and can be accessed here in HTML
or here in PDF. The new fee schedule will be effective on Oct. 17,
2005. For further information, contact Paul Zankowski, Commissioner,
Plant Variety Protection Office, Room 401, National Agricultural
Library Building, 10301 Baltimore Blvd., Beltsville MD 20705, or
via e-mail at: Paul.Zankowski@usda.gov.
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/pvpindex.htm.
USDA Announces Open Meeting of the Plant Variety Protection
Board
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2005 ö The U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced that it will
hold a meeting of the Plant Variety Protection Board on Thursday,
Oct. 6, 2005 at the National Agriculture Library Building in Beltsville,
Md. The meeting is open to the public.
The board consists of 14 individuals who are experts in various
areas of varietal development. These individuals are appointed by
the Secretary of Agriculture, and include representatives from the
private or seed industry sector, the public or government sector,
and farmer representatives. The function of the board is to advise
the secretary about rules and regulations needed to facilitate proper
administration of the PVP Act; to make advisory decisions on all
appeals from the examiner; and to advise the secretary on questions
related to section 44 of the PVP Act on public interest in wide
usage of a protected variety.
Minutes of the meeting will be available for public review 30 days
following the meeting and will be posted on the website, http://www.ams.usda.gov/science/pvpo/pvpindex.htm.
The meeting notice and proposed agenda will be published in the
Sept. 16 Federal Register and can be accessed here in HTML
or here in PDF.
For further information, contact Paul Zankowski, Commissioner, Plant
Variety Protection Office, Room 401, National Agricultural Library
Building, 10301 Baltimore Blvd., Beltsville MD 20705, or via e-mail
at: Paul.Zankowski@usda.gov.
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/pvpindex.htm.
USDA Grants Protection to Twenty-Three New Plant Varieties
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2005 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture
has issued certificates of protection to developers of 23 new varieties
of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bean,
bentgrass, bermudagrass, cotton, lettuce, peanut, potato, rice,
safflower, and wheat. The 23 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
23 certificates are:
- the RedKanner* variety of field bean, developed by Donald H.
Wallace, and Donald E. Halseth of Cornell University; and W. Larry
Hymes of Ithaca, NY;
- the Independence variety of creeping bentgrass, developed by
Lebanon Seaboard Corporation & Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey, Huntsville, UT;
- the Majestic* variety of bermudagrass, developed by RNB, LLC,
Yuma, AZ;
- the PHY 72 Acala* variety of cotton, developed by Phytogen Seed
Company, LLC, Corcoran, CA;
- the SG 215 BG/RR and DP 444 BG/RR varieties of cotton, developed
by D&PL Technology Holding Company, LLC, Scott, MS;
- the Platinum Pima* and Acala Fiesta RR* varieties of cotton,
developed by California Planting Cotton Seed Distributors, Bakersfield,
CA;
- the FM 960RR variety of cotton, developed by Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organization, Campbell, Australia; the
Coastal Star and Telluride varieties of lettuce, developed by
Enza Zaden Beheer B.V., Enkhuizen, The Netherlands;
- the Ponderosa variety of lettuce, developed by Enza Zaden Beheer
B.V., Salinas, CA;
- the Lighthouse variety of lettuce, developed by Paragon Seed,
Inc., Salinas, CA;
- the Mendoza variety of lettuce, developed by Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt
en Zaadhandel B. V., De Lier, The Netherlands;
- the Georgia-03L* and Georgia-04S* varieties of peanut, developed
by University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., Athens, GA;
- the FL 2048 variety of potato, developed by Frito-Lay North
America, Inc., Plano, TX;
- the Cybonnet variety of rice, developed by Arkansas Agricultural
Experiment Station, Fayetteville, AR;
- the Nutrasaff *variety of safflower, developed by Montana State
University, Bozeman, MT;
- the MEL* variety of club wheat, developed by General Mills Operations,
Inc., Minneapolis, MN;
- the Snowbird* variety of common wheat, developed by Cereal Research
Centre-Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada;
- the ClearFirst* variety of common wheat, developed by Northwest
Plant Breeding Company, Pullman, WA; and
- the Oklee* variety of common wheat, developed by Minnesota Agricultural
Experiment Station, St. Paul, MN.
* 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/pvpindex.htm.
California Lawmaker Wants to Nullify GM Crop Ban
A Central California legislator is pursuing a bill in the waning
hours of the 2005 state legislative session that would nullify Marin
County's voter-approved ban on crops that include genetically modified
organisms. Sen. Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield, this week revived a
bill attacking GMO bans in place in Marin, Mendocino and Trinity
counties, as well as the cities of Arcata and Point Arena. Full
Story.
Soybean Rust Web Sites
The following links will be maintained through October 2005, those
interested, should bookmark them:
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 September
16, 2005.
Industry and People
ASTA member Arcadia
Biosciences, an agricultural biotechnology company focused on
products that benefit the environment and human health, today announced
that it has secured a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense
(DoD), U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center, for $2.9 million to develop
longer-lasting fresh produce. Under the agreement, fresh tomatoes
and lettuce are the first products of focus. 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
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
45th Vegetable
& Flower Seed Conference
Amelia
Island Plantation
Amelia Island, FL
Other Upcoming Events
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 Marriott, Baltimore, MD.
An agenda for the workshop was included in the August 19, 2005 issue
of ASTA E-News.
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 at http://www.stayatmarriott.com/USDA/.
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 Rick Bennett at (301)
504-6252, e-mail rbennett@ars.usda.gov;
Peter Bretting at (301) 504-5541, e-mail pkb@ars.usda.gov;
John Radin at (301) 504-5450, e-mail jwr@ars.usda.gov;
Eric Rosenquist at (301) 504-4789, e-mail emr@ars.usda.gov;
Kay Simmons at (301) 504-5560, e-mail kws@ars.usda.gov;
or Rich Wilson at (301) 504-4670, e-mail rfw@ars.usda.gov.
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.
December 2005
A scientific meeting on "Crop Gene Flow and The Occurrence and Consequence
of Gene Introgression between Crops and Their Sexually Compatible
Relatives" will be held on December 13-14, 2005 in Kansas
City, Missouri. The purpose of the meeting is to bring together
academic, industry, government and other interested scientists for
comprehensive discussions on: 1) pollen mediated gene flow in crops;
and 2) the occurrence and consequences of hybridization and gene
introgression between crops and their sexually compatible relatives.
The program will consist of invited keynote addresses (1/2 day),
and one day of volunteer paper and posters, facilitated discussions,
and free time. More information can be found at the meeting web
page at http://www.ncwss.org/meeting/2005/GeneFlow05.htm.
Title submission instructions (September 26 deadline) for volunteer
posters and papers, as well as instructions to receive updates on
the meeting are available at the web site listed above. The gene
flow meeting will be held in conjunction with the North Central
Weed Science Society Meeting and participants are free to participate
in both meetings).
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.
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