Annual/Termination Reports:

[05/17/2007] [04/18/2008] [05/12/2009] [02/09/2010]

Report Information

Participants

Participants

* Ahrent, Debra, (dahrent@uark.edu) - Univ. of Arkansas
* Allen, Fred, (allenf@utk.edu) - Univ. of Tennessee
* Bourland, Fred,(fbourland@uaex.edu)- Univ. of Arkansas
* Bowman, Daryl,(daryl_bowman@ncsu.edu) - N.C. State Univ.
* Bruening, Bill, (bruening@uky.edu) - Univ. of Kentucky
* Curd, Ron, (rcurd@uky.edu) - Univ. of Kentucky
* Day, J. LaDon, (dday@griffin.uga.edu) - Univ. of Georgia
* Dombek, Don, (ddombek@uark.edu) - Univ. of Arkansas
* Doyle,Brad, (brad@eagleseed.com)- Eagle Seed Co.
* Doyle,Joyce, Eagle Seed Co., Weiner, AR 72479
* Egli, Dennis, (degli@pop.uky.edu) -Univ. of Kentucky
* Glass, Kathryn, (glasskm@auburn.edu) - Auburn Univ.
* Kelly, John, (jkelly@uark.edu) - Univ. of Arkansas
* Lacefield, Eugene, (elace0@uky.edu) - Univ. of Kentucky
* Lee, Chad, (chad.lee@uky.edu) - Univ. of Kentucky
* Malone, Monty, (monty.malone@deltakingseed.com) - Delta King Seed Co.
* Moore, Steven, (smoore@agctr.lsu.edu) - LSU Ag Center
* Pearce, William, (wpearce@uky.edu) - Univ. of Kentucky
* Rhodes, Roger, (rrhodes@uky.edu)- Univ. of Kentucky
* Sanders, Brent, (bsanders@terralseed.com) - Terral Seed Inc.
* Thomason, Wade,(wthomaso@vt.edu) - Virginia Tech
* Tutt, Charles, (charles.tutt@uky.edu) - Univ. of Kentucky
* Uniatowski, Bob, (BOBUNI@udel.edu) - Univ. of Delaware
* Watson, Clarence, (c.watson@okstate.edu) - Oklahoma State Univ.
* Whiting, Kelly, (kelly.r.whiting@deltaandpine.com) - Delta and Pine Land Co.
* Wilson, Allen, Juniper Systems, Inc.
* Wyatt, Donna, (dwyatt@griffin.uga.edu) - Univ. of Georgia
* Zhang, Lingxiao, (lzhang@drec.msstate.edu) - Mississippi State Univ.

Brief Summary of Minutes

Southern Coordinating Committee 33

Minutes of the 2007 Annual Meeting

The 2007 Annual Meeting of SCC-33 Information Exchange Group was held Wednesday and Thursday, January 31 and February 1 at the Ramada Key Largo (lodging), Holiday Inn Key Largo (meeting) in Key Largo, FL. Bill Bruening, University of KY and Kelly Whiting, Delta and Pine Land Co. served as co-chairs for the meeting. Debra Ahrent of the University of Arkansas handled pre-registration and registration. Debra also serves as treasurer of SCC-33. The Wednesday morning and afternoon breaks were sponsored by Delta and Pine Land Co. (Kelly Whiting, rep.) and the lunch on Wednesday was sponsored by Delta King Seed Company (Monty Malone, rep.). Twenty-seven registered members attended the meeting.

Wednesday Program: Bill Bruening served as the moderator for the Wednesday session and Kelly Whiting served as the Thursday program coordinator. Following brief announcements and self-introductions by the members present, Clarence Watson, Administrative Advisor for SCC-33, made a few remarks on issues that were pertinent to the group. He stated that since our 2006 meeting, he had retired from Mississippi State University and taken a position as Associate Director of the Oklahoma State University Agricultural Experiment Station. Dr. Watson stated that he would continue as the Administrative Advisor for SCC-33, in his current position. He also stated that Mississippi Agricultural & Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) had agreed to continue to maintain the SCC-33 website. Dr. Watson discussed the continued pressure at the federal level to reduce federal formula funding that comes to the State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES) and move more of those monies into competitive grant pools. Such reductions would have a financial impact on regional committees such as SCC-33, since a portion of HATCH funds go to support multi-state research. For the past two years the OMB and Presidents proposed reductions have been staved off because of the concerted lobbying efforts in all states of their congressional senators and representatives. Bill Bruening gave an overview of the KY Small Grains Variety Testing Program, including the specific website that is devoted to posting of variety trial results as well as details about the program and links to other states websites that contain related information. Bill Pearce gave a presentation on the KY Corn Hybrid testing program. He mentioned that in addition to the regular hybrid tests that they conduct each year, in 2006 they (Pearce, Ron Curd and Chad Lee) conducted a test on 32 corn hybrids for seed yield and ethanol yield. They plan to continue to test corn hybrids that might be best for ethanol conversion. The third presentation was by Eugene Lacefield who presented an overview of the KY Soybean Variety Testing Program. He also highlighted some of the equipment his program was using in planting and harvesting. Lingxiao (Ling) Zhang from Mississippi State University gave a presentation regarding the importance of soybeans in China, imports and export figures and soybean variety testing in China. Variety testing is handled quite differently in China as compared to the U.S. Dr. Zhang reported that in China soybean breeding, variety testing and variety releases are handled as a national program under the control of the Chinese government. It is somewhat similar to our USDA-ARS system. The Chinese system of variety classification is different from the U.S. maturity group classification. The Chinese distinguish varieties as spring, summer, or autumn types and they are different in different regions of the country. Next, Dennis Egli from the University of Kentucky, whose specialty is soybean physiology and seed technology, made a presentation on soybean yield trends in high and low yield environments in different soybean producing states for the purpose of determining whether a yield plateau had been reached. Dr. Egli concluded that there was no evidence in the data examined that a yield plateau had been reached in high yield environments. However he stated that there was some evidence that yield plateaus had been reached in some of the low yield environments. Daryl Bowman, NC State University, raised several issues relating to variety testing: (1) how to handle large numbers (>50) of wheat or corn entries (or other crops) in a single yield trial. Dr. Bowman indicated that he used spatial analysis to handle large tests in which there was a lot of field variation. Fred Allen, University of Tennessee, indicated that he routinely used incomplete blocks in the SAS analyses to reduce error caused by field variation. Others mentioned that large field variations were not a problem in their test sites. (2) inquires about contact information regarding Gleaner combine dealer in NC. Dr. Bowman provided the name and address as: Forrest Oakley, 4201 Highway 96, Oxford, NC 27565 (919-693-4367). (3) Dr. Bowman expressed concern that at least one major seed company had chosen not to participate in the university yield testing program in one or more states, and whether this would be an increasing trend in the future. In Kater Hakes absence, Kelly Whiting presented an overview of some of the input traits of the future. Some of the crops covered were corn, soybeans, cotton, wheat, vegetables, fruits, some grasses, and alfalfa. Traits will come from companies such as DuPont/Pioneer, Monsanto, Syngenta and others. Some of the traits covered were herbicide tolerance, drought tolerance, high and low temperature tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, insect and disease resistance. Allen Wilson, a Juniper Systems/HarvestMaster Inc. representative, presented information on the HarvestMaster hardware and software available for field plot work. Chad Lee, Grain Crops Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky gave a presentation on the preliminary results that KY has on corn hybrids evaluated for ethanol production. Dr. Lee stated that their results indicate a positive relationship between starch content and ethanol yield, and a negative relationship between grain protein and oil and ethanol yield. They found differences among the 32 hybrids evaluated for ethanol yield per bushel of grain. Dr. Lee and colleagues Bill Pearce and Don Curd plan to continue a corn ethanol yield test in 2007. Fred Bourland, University of Arkansas, made a presentation on COTVAR  a computer program for comparing performance of cotton varieties in state variety tests from multiple states. The five states currently involved are AR, MO, TN, MS, and LA. Dr. Bourland stated that the program is in the final stages of development but the first version should be released in March, 2007. The program allows the user to compare selected varieties across the states, or across a state or region within or across the states. Ron Curd, University of Kentucky, made a presentation on equipment modifications that he had made for the purpose of planting, harvesting and processing sweet sorghum. His KY collaborators in those efforts have been Morris Bitzer and Todd Pfeiffer. Wade Thomason, Virginia Tech gave an update on the on-going work on hulless barley product and market development taking place in VA. He indicated that market development had been slow but there still may be niche opportunities in the future. In the final presentation on the Wednesday program, Kelly Whiting discussed the results of the survey that he conducted among the variety test coordinators for both university and industry programs. The results of the survey will be posted on the SCC-33 website. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 5:40 p.m.

Business Meeting: The business meeting was called to order at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, January 31, 2007 by the moderator, Bill Bruening. A motion was made by Don Day, seconded by Kelly Whiting to accept the 2006 Minutes as distributed via email to the group. The motion passed without dissent. The 2007 SCC-33 Outstanding Service Award was presented to Debra Ahrent, University of Arkansas, for her years of excellent service to our group. Treasurers Report: Treasurer, Debra Ahrent reported that the SCC-33 account balance was $740.72 as of January 26, 2007. Bill Bruening made a motion, seconded by Chad Lee, to approve the Treasurers report. Motion passed. New Business: After some discussion about the SCC-33 web page, Roger Rhodes made a motion, seconded by Bill Pearce, to eliminate the Discussion Group icon on the web page and to change the Message Center icon to List Serve. All attendees were asked to encourage their colleagues who are involved in variety testing to attend the SCC-33 annual meeting, especially representatives from industry. Bill Bruening pointed out the necessity of having a minimum of $1000.00 in the treasury in order for the co-chairs to pay, prior to the annual meeting, for incidental expenses and meeting rooms associated with the annual meeting. Based on that discussion, a motion was made by Eugene Lacefield, seconded by Monty Malone and passed by the group to charge $100 for pre-registration in 2008 and $125 for on-site registration in 2008. Election of New Officers: Steve Moore from LSU was elected as the 2008 co-chair representing the public sector and Brent Sanders, Terral Seed Co. was elected as the 2008 co-chair representing the industry sector. Some discussion was held regarding the 2008 meeting site and a tentative plan was established to hold the meeting, Jan. 23-25, 2008, in San Antonio, TX. The plans could change and will be left to the discretion of the co-chairs for 2008. A motion to adjourn was made by Kelly Whiting, seconded by Brent Sanders and passed. The business meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.

Thursday Program: Kelly Whiting was the coordinator for the program on Thursday, February 1, 2007. The group toured 27 Farms located in Homestead, FL. Steve Moore introduced Robert Bishop, the general manager of 27 Farms, who gave the group an overview of their operations and explained that part of their business was conducting winter nurseries for university and commercial plant breeding programs. The other part of their operations is commercial production of vegetables and fruits. Steve Moore also discussed the corn and soybean population increases that LSU has contracted with 27 Farms. Afterwards the group departed for Pennecamp State Park in Key Largo. The group participated in a glass bottom boat tour of nearby coral reefs. The tour ended the official functions associated with the 2007 SCC-33 meeting.

Minutes recorded by Fred Allen, University of Tennessee.

Accomplishments

Publications

Publications for particpating institutions and organizations available at: <br /> <br /> <br /> http://www.mafes.msstate.edu/scc33/iegpubs.html<br /> <br />

Impact Statements

Back to top

Report Information

Participants

Bruening, Bill -- University of Kentucky;
Buckley, Blair -- LSU AgCenter;
Sanders, Brent -- Terral Seed Company, Inc.;
Deloach, Christopher -- LSU AgCenter;
Arnevik, Cindy -- Monsanto;
Lanclos, David -- LSU AgCenter;
Walker, David -- USDA-ARS, Illinois;
Ahrent, Debra -- University of Arkansas;
Mulitze, Dieter -- Agronomix Software;
Boquet, Donald -- LSU AgCenter;
Lacefield, Eugene -- University of Kentucky;
Seck, Frank -- Wintersteiger;
Mason, Howard -- University of Missouri;
Hayes, James A. -- LSU AgCenter;
Thomas, James D. -- Hornbeck Seed;
Hegstad, Jeff -- Pioneer Hi Bred;
Kelly, John -- University of Arkansas;
Taff, John -- Southwest AgriSearch;
Glass, Kathryn -- Auburn University;
Zhang, Lingxiao -- Mississippi State University;
Hughes, Mike -- Pioneer Hi Bred;
Deloach, Millie -- Dean Lee Research;
Malone, Monty -- Hornbeck Seed;
Mascagni, Rick -- LSU AgCenter;
Curd, Ron -- University of Kentucky;
Norton, Shawn -- Noble Foundation;
Harrison, Stephen -- LSU AgCenter;
Moore, Steve -- LSU AgCenter;
Grabert, Terry -- Hornbeck Seed;
Watson, Clarence -- Oklahoma State University;

Brief Summary of Minutes

The 2008 SCC33 Variety Testing meeting was held at the San Antonio Holiday Inn Riverwalk, January 22-24.

There was a lot of good information presented along with good discussion. Titles and speakers are listed in the program but a few choice comments are made here. Dr. David Walker warned that certain diseases have years in which they are a much more major problem than others, and that Asian Rust may be such a disease. Dr. David Lanclos made some down to earth comments on how growers are using or not using variety testing data. A lot of the time a grower plants what his seed source is promoting. A continuation of thoughts from this presentation carried over into the business meeting. A good question is how should variety testing programs respond to the way varieties are actually being selected? Also, what is the educational challenge? Dr. Don Boquet made a very informative presentation on bio-fuels, including possible bio-fuel crops and implications on variety testing programs. Dr. Clarence Watson made the point that new computing power now allows using statistical tools or designs that were more time consuming in the past. The use of nearest neighbor analyses was emphasized in the industry talk by Dr. Dieter Mulitze. The presentation by Kincaid equipment Manufacturing was not made. Due to the low level of sound, an audio-Power Point presentation on ARM was not continued.

As noted in the minutes of the business meeting, Kathryn Glass of Auburn was elected public sector co-chair and James Thomas of Hornbeck Seed Co. was elected private sector co-chair for the 2009 SCC-33 Annual Meeting. A discussion of possible meeting locations for 2009 included Gulf Shores, Gulf Port, and Nashville. Debra Ahrent provided original minutes from the business meeting, the treasurer's report, and a list of attendees who filled out registration slips. Some attendees were added later.

AGENDA
2008 SCC33 Variety Testing Meeting
San Antonio Holiday Inn Riverwalk
January 22-24

Tuesday, January 22

Registration and Visiting

3:00-5:30pm, Foyer


Wednesday, January 23
8:00am, Bolero 2

Welcome and Introduction

Welcome
Mr. Brent Sanders, Agronomist, Terral Seed Company

SCC-33 Administrative Update and Comments
Dr. Clarence Watson, Associate Director
Oklahoma State University Agricultural Experiment Station

Overview of Meeting and Program
Dr. Steve Moore, Professor, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

Special Topics*
Chair: Steve Moore


Update on GAT Technology
Dr. Jeff Hegstad, Soybean Director, Pioneer/Dupont

Asian Rust in the Southeast Region
Dr. David Walker, USDA

On Farm Variety Research in Soybean and Feed Grains
Dr. David Lanclos, Specialist, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

Break

The Implication of Adopting Bio-Fuels on Variety Testing Programs
Dr. Don Boquet, Professor, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

On Farm Variety Research in Soybean and Feed Grains
Dr. David Lanclos, Specialist, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

LSU AgCenter Wheat Breeding Program and Sun Grains Update
Dr. Stephen Harrison, Professor, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

Review of Southeast Region and LSU AgCenter Variety Testing Programs
Dr. Steven Moore, Professor, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

*All presentations are allotted 20 minutes.


Lunch OYO


Variety Testing Protocol*
Chair -- Brent Sanders

Statistical Designs for Reducing Size and Conducting Variety Performance Trials
Dr. Clarence Watson, Associate Director
Oklahoma State University Agricultural Experiment Station

Field Protocol for Conducting Variety Performance Trials
Dr. H. 'Rick' Mascagni, Professor, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

Update on Roundup RReadyRR2Yield Technology
Ms. Cindy Arnevik, Project Lead, Roundup RReady2Yield, Monsanto


*All presentations are allotted 20 minutes.


Break


Riverwalk Boat Ride and Sponsored Dinner at Las Margaritas


4:00pm, Meet in Bolero 2



Thursday, January 24
8:00am-Noon, Bolero 2

Variety Testing Equipment and Software*
Chair -- Brent Sanders

Almaco Product Line, Shad Mallady, Marketing Associate, ALMACO

Wintersteiger Product Line, Frank Seck, Wintersteiger

Kincaid Equipment Manufacturing, Ryan Bluebaugh

Agrobase Variety Testing Software, Dr. Dieter Mulitze, President, Agronomix, Inc.

(ARM Variety Testing Software - PowerPoint Presentation)


*All presentations are allotted 30 minutes.


Business Meeting
Chair -- Steve Moore

Call to Order
Minutes from Previous Meeting -- Mr. Bill Bruening
Finance Report -- Ms Debbie Ahrent
New Business
SCC33/NCCEC Joint Meeting -- Mr. Bill Bruening
Officer Election
Discussion of 2009 Meeting Site and Time


Dismiss after Close of Business Meeting

SCC-33 Business Meeting

24 January 2008
The business meeting was called to order by Steve Moore, LSU.

Bill Bruening presented the minutes of the 2007 meeting. The minutes were accepted as written by unanimous vote. The 2007 SCC-33 Outstanding Service Award was presented to Steve Moore, LSU.


Treasurer's Report:

Treasurer Debra Ahrent presented the Financial Statement reporting a balance of $1,514.72. Motion made to accept the Treasurers Report was accepted and passed.


New Business:

Bill Bruening reported the University Crop Testing Alliance (formerly called North Central Crop Evaluation Committee) was an active group meeting in August. The next UCTA meeting will be held August 5 and 6, 2008 at University of Illinois. It was suggested by Bruening that SCC-33 and UCTA conduct a joint meeting, possibly every two years. Motion passes that SCC-33 will offer to host the 2010 joint meeting with UCTA. SCC-33 will coordinate the location and time and collect receipts. Both groups will organize the program. In 2012, UCTA may host a meeting, coordinating the location and time and collecting receipts. Again, in 2012, both groups would organize the program.


New Officer Election:

Kathryn Glass of Auburn was elected public sector co-chair for the 2009 SCC-33 Annual Meeting.
James Thomas of Hornbeck Seed Co. was elected private sector co-chair for the 2009 SCC-33 Annual Meeting.

Next Meeting:

Possible meeting locations discussed were Gulf Shores, Gulf Port, and Nashville.


Meeting adjourned.

Accomplishments

Publications

Impact Statements

Back to top

Report Information

Participants

Bruening, Bill -- University of Kentucky;
Pearce, William -- University of Kentucky;
Lacefield, Eugene -- University of Kentucky;
Curd, Ron -- University of Kentucky;
Kalberg, Kolter -- University of Kentucky;
Hayes, James -- Louisiana State University Ag Center;
Sanders, Brent -- Terral Seed, Inc.;
Arnevik, Cindy -- Monsanto;
Wilson, Allen -- Juniper Systems/HarvestMaster;
Allen, Fred -- University of Tennessee;
Ahrent, Debra -- University of Arkansas;
Dombeck, Don -- University of Arkansas;
Kelly, John -- University of Arkansas;
Pryor, Rheta -- University of Arkansas;
Mason, Howard -- University of Missouri;
Koger, Trey -- Mississippi State University (MSU-ES);
White, Bernie -- Mississippi State University;
Zhang, Lingxiao -- Mississippi State University;
Burgess, Brad -- Mississippi State University;
Nail, Jerry -- Mississippi State University;
Thomas, James -- Worldwide Soytechnologies;
Malone, Monty -- Worldwide Soytechnologies;
Glass, Kathryn -- Auburn University;
Monks, Dale -- Auburn University - Extension;
Hughes, Mike -- Pioneer Hi-Bred;
Sick, Steve -- Syngenta Seeds;
Fischer, Jon -- Bayer CropScience;
Bowman, Daryl -- North Carolina State University;
Ashlock, Lanny -- Ciullum Seeds;
Esgar, Ralph -- University of Illinois;
Watson, Clarence -- Oklahoma State University;

Brief Summary of Minutes

SCC-33 Business Meeting
28 January 2009


The business meeting was called to order by James Thomas, WorldWide SoyTechnologies.


Debra Ahrent presented the minutes of the 2008 meeting. The minutes were accepted as written by unanimous vote.


The 2008 SCC-33 Outstanding Service Award was presented to Brent Sanders. Brent has successfully served as chairman of two SCC-33 Annual meetings.


Treasurer's Report:
Treasurer Debra Ahrent presented the Financial Statement reporting a balance of $1,962.66. The Treasurer's Report was accepted and approved.


New Business:
Discussion opened of consultant's ability to receive credits for attending SCC-33 Annual Meeting. We must have a specific number of accredited speakers at the meeting in order to qualify. Kathryn Glass agreed to look into the requirements to see if the meeting qualifies.


A request was made to publish our guest speakers' programs on the SCC-33 website. The reason was to be able to access the good information provided and to allow those who were unable to attend the opportunity to learn some of the information shared. It was suggested that not all information is cleared to publish by the private companies and therefore, they would probably not agree.


Daryl Bowman drafted a proposal in reference to discussion earlier in the meeting. The proposal would limit the number of experimental lines in an OVT to six (6). In the past, there has been no limit set. The draft needs a recommendation but is not binding. Daryl is to type a proposal to present to the group at the next business meeting.


New Officer Election:
Bill Bruening of University of Kentucky was elected public sector co-chair for the 2010 SCC-33 Annual Meeting.


Lanny Ashlock of Cullum Seed was elected private sector co-chair for the 2010 SCC-33 Annual Meeting. If Lanny is unable, Monty Malone agreed to serve in his place.


The 2010 SCC-33 Annual Meeting will include the University Crop Testing Alliance (UCTA). The SCC-33 and UCTA will have separate business meetings.
One possible meeting location discussed was New Orleans.

Accomplishments

Publications

Impact Statements

Back to top

Report Information

Participants

1. Bill Bruening -- University of Kentucky
   
2. Zhongjin Lu -- Arcadia Biosciences
   
3. Brent Sanders -- Terral Seed Company, Inc.
   
4. Tim Rainey -- U. of Arkansas
   
5. Teshome Regassa -- U. of Nebraska
   
6. Mark Antle -- Penn State
   
7. Richard Minyo -- Ohio State
   
8. Debra Ahrent -- University of Arkansas
   
9. John Shaffer -- Penn State
   
10. Donald Boquet -- LSU AgCenter
    
11. Eugene Lacefield -- University of Kentucky
    
12. Dick Todd -- Penn State
    
13. Bill Schelp -- University of Missouri
    
14. Bill Wiebold -- U. of Missouri
    
15. James D. Thomas -- Hornbeck Seed
    
16. Brian Yutzy -- Southwest Seed Research
    
17. John Kelly -- University of Arkansas
    
18. Greg St. Amour -- Direct Enterprises
    
19. Kathryn Glass -- Auburn University
    
20. Lingxiao Zhang -- Mississippi State University
    
21. Mike Hughes -- Pioneer Hi Bred
    
22. Tim Dietz -- Michigan State
    
23. Monty Malone -- Hornbeck Seed
    
24. Rick Mascagni -- LSU AgCenter
    
25. Scott Harkcom -- Penn State
    
26. Jim Breining -- Penn State
    
27. Brian Henry -- U. of Illinios
    
28. Lanny Ashlock -- Cullum Seed
    
29. Kolter Kalberg -- U. of Kentucky
    
30. Don Dombeck -- U. of Arkansas
    
31. Shad Mallady -- Almaco
    
32. Don Day -- U. of Georgia
    
33. Darrin Joos -- University of Illinois
    
34. Ralph Esgar -- U. of Illinois
    
35. Dale Logan -- SeedMatrix
    
36. Jane Lingenfelser -- Kansas State
    
37. Marcelo Carena -- North Dakota State
    
38. Daryl Bowman -- North Carolina State
    
39. Jim Rouse -- Iowa State
    
40. Joe Funk -- Seed Today
    
41. William Pearce -- U. or Kentucky
    
42. Kevin Scholl -- Syngenta
    
43. Jerry Johnson -- Colorado State
    
44. Phil Devillez -- Purdue U.
    
45. Don Jones -- Cotton Inc.
    
46. Mark Martinka -- U. or Wisconsin
    
47. Joe Lauer -- U. of Wisconsin
    
48. Allen Wilson -- Juniper Systems
    
49. Clarence Watson -- Oklahoma State University
    

Brief Summary of Minutes

The 2010 Annual Meeting of SCC-33 and the University Crop Testing Alliance (UCTA) Information Exchange Groups were held Wednesday and Thursday, January 27 and 28, at the Sirata Beach Resort and Conference Center, St. Pete Beach, FL. Bill Bruening, University of Kentucky and Lanny Ashlock, Cullum Seed, served as co-chairs for the meeting. Debra Ahrent of the University of Arkansas handled pre-registration and registration. Debra also serves as treasurer of SCC-33.

An informal meet and greet reception was help from 6-8pm on Tuesday 1-26-10 at the Compass Grille at the Sirata Resort. The event was well attended and facilitated early registration and provided an excellent opportunity to meet meeting attendees.


Wednesday January 27, 2010

8:00am The meeting was called to order by Bill Bruening, University of Kentucky, Wheat Variety testing. Attending members introduced themselves. Bruening presented the background on how and why SCC-33 and UCTA decided to have a joint meeting, and an overview of the agenda, surveys & folder contents, and topics prepared for presentation for 2010.

8:20 Clarence Watson, Oklahoma State, presented "Cooperative Variety Testing Programs in the Southern Region" outlining the history, objectives, milestones and a few previous topics set forth through SCC-33 meetings. Some topics included preliminary data, statistical practices, experimental design, intellectual property issues, internet and electronic media sources, new and ongoing issues dealing with seed treatments, and the advancements in agriculture and varieties.

8:40 Joe Lauer, Wisconsin, presented Overview of the University Crop Testing Alliance (UCTA) a brief history, function, and goals with topics that included the establishment of an idea exchange meeting, for cultivar testers across states, to collaborate on topics of uniformity, legitimacy, standardization and advancements to improve methods for increasing the value of variety testing programs in the mid-west. The question of How can we serve growers, industry and science? Led discussions of contract testing with private companies, pricing of entries and tests, the use of variance as a parameter in evaluating uniformity of test sites. Also presented and discussed test site selection, statistical criterion for environmental biological and physical disturbances addressing abandoning field experiments and dropping problem reps. Joe finished with Corn Agronomy Programs and Getting the Word Out, a rundown of the corn silage testing program in Wisconsin and working with media sources to publish results.

10:20 Daryl Bowman, North Carolina State, led a discussion Wide vs. Narrow ROW Soybean Plots talking about the interaction of yield and row spacing. Daryl also presented "Throwing Out Plots" covering criteria such as the Dixon test for outliers, in addressing the question of when to discard plots or entire tests.

1:30pm Marcelo Carena presented "Production Challenges in North Dakota", an overview of North Dakota's breeding and variety testing programs, outlining the unique agricultural, spatial and environmental factors of the state presenting issues of uniformity with cooperators and location.

2:00 Jim Dietz, presented "Michigan State Variety Testing" a brief history of the state's agriculture and breeding heritage, with an overview of all the many crop variety testing programs.

2:30 Don Day presented "University of Georgia Statewide Variety Testing" outlining the agricultural commodities, land usage, and the value of crop production, with a look at variety testing programs and objectives.

3:00 Jim Rouse, Iowa State, introduced "Differences in Alpha Level among Programs and Companies" reviewing the effects of different alpha level to the types of error that can occur and the potential costs of those error types. A constructive debate of alpha levels followed.

3:50 Bill Bruening, Don Dombek, and Fred Allen presented "Systemic Insecticide Seed Treatment" summarizing studies that tested yield boost of insecticide treated seed, giving a layperson look at the potential danger of the chemicals used in the treatments and the requirements personal protection equipment. A talk on testing the genetic potential of the seed vs. the seed package as a whole concluded the day's topics.

5:30 meeting adjourned








Thursday January 28, 2010

8:00am The meeting was called to order by Lanny Ashlock, presenting "Cullum Seed LLC: Company Profile and Overview" a brief history from startup as a rice seed supplier to the company's expansion partnerships and land increases of present.

8:30 Zingxiao Zhang, Mississippi State, introduced "Efficiency of Data Presentation & Utilization in State Soybean Variety Trials." Using an overview and walkthrough of different variety testing program websites, Lingxiao presented a preliminary model using cross-state OVT data to launch a national database for variety selection, crop management scheduling, and related resources tooled to be used by grower as public benefit. Dr. Zhang requested that anyone interested in this project please email him at lzhang@drec.msstate.edu

9:00 James Thomas, Worldwide SoyTechnologies, presented "Recent Changes and Alliances within the Seed Industry" outlining the evolution of equipment, the shift from public to private varieties, and a few seed companies' history to lead into a current view of the industry from mergers, acquisitions, and alliances.

10:15 Shad Mallady presented "Almaco Product Update" giving a model by model overview of improvements made in Almaco's 2010 product line.

11:00 Bill Bruening presented "Budget Cuts & Sustainability of Variety Test Programs", in light of the economic state of most public universities, addressing the how OVT programs can stay financially afloat. The topic opened the floor for members to share the situation and methods of generating needed revenues or reducing or cutting draining cost, from outside VT testing to seasonally outsourcing technicians and employees to other projects in the University.

11:30 Allen Wilson showed "What's new for HarvestMaster in 2010" giving descriptions of the software updates, new products, field-tested equipment, to the many applications and jobs they serve.

1:00pm Dale Logan, SeedMatrix, introduced "Broad based Online Varietal Comparison Application" providing a personal background, Dale gave a brief history of the development of SeedMatrix and demonstrated the application's potential in comparing varietal differences.

1:30 Rich Mascagni presented "Louisiana State Variety Testing" a look at the background, statistical methods and structure of the OVT programs from the functions of the coordinator/ cooperator levels.

2:00 Stephen Guy introduced "Washington State Cereal Variety Testing - Providing Timely Information to Washington Growers" a glimpse into the wheat growers of the Pacific Northwest and the challenge of Washington's wheat testing program. Stephen shared the climatic and regional differences across locations in the state and the specialized wheat farming practices and a range of OVT data collection use for the wheat growers.

2:40 Lanny Ashlock presented "Inconsistent Performance of Duplicate Entries within a Test" showing the quality assurance checks the companies use for OVT data and the use of duplicates to help make varietal decisions. Lanny concluded using an assortment of OVT publications that overall OVT data is consistent between duplicate entries.

3:10 Bill Bruening led an open discussion. Topics included posting a used equipment forum of SCC-33 webpage, preparing a National or Regional publication addressing uniformity, consistency between OVT programs with a How to read OVT publications directions, and 2011 meeting topics, locations, and collaborations.

3:15 SCC-33 Business meeting


2009 SCC-33 meeting minutes were approved.

Awards: The 2009 SCC-33 Outstanding Service Award was presented to Clarence Watson. Clarence has served as SCC-33 administrative advisor for many years and is instrumental in SCC-33's success and annual operation.

Treasurer's Report: Treasurer Debra Ahrent presented the Financial Statement reporting as of 1-18-10, a balance of $3,438.44. The Treasurer's Report was accepted and approved. Bruening noted that this figure included all meeting expenses excluding approximately ~$1000 in final meeting costs. A carryover of at least $2000 can be expected.

Assessment of Joint Meeting -- Bruening noted that he was pleased with the Sirata meeting space, resort facilities and meals. The group felt that the National meeting was very successful and expressed an interest to continue having official joint meetings every other year. On the off years, the regular, less publicized SCC-33 meeting will continue as usual.

New Officer Election: John Kelley of University of Arkansas was elected public sector co-chair for the 2011 SCC-33 Annual Meeting.
Mike Hughes of Pioneer Hi Bred was elected private sector co-chair for the 2011 SCC-33 Annual Meeting. If Mike is unable, Greg St. Amour of Direct Enterprises agreed to serve in his place.

4:15 Adjourn

On Friday, 1-29-10, the group met at the Orange Groves Winery in St. Petersburg, FL. The group toured the wine making facility, viewed a video and participated in wine tasting. The event provided an interesting alternative use for citrus / tropical crops.

An informal lunch was held at the Friendly Fisherman Restaurant in St. John Pass, FL, followed by a sight seeing cruise. This event fostered continued information exchange on a more casual/personal basis. The social event capped off the 2010 SCC-33 meeting.

Accomplishments

Publications

Impact Statements

Back to top