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Member's Meeting
Change in research fees
Centennial Celebration of the Rice Experiment Station
Scholarships
Field Days and Meetings
Staff Focus - Catalina Oramas
History of the CCIA - part 2
SBC Educational Opportunities
Member's Meeting
All members are invited to attend the annual CCIA member’s meeting on May 24, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. in the Prato Room of the Parsons Seed Certification Center on the UC Davis campus. Directions to the site are available on the CCIA website; parking permits must be purchased in the parking lot for $7. If you plan to attend, please contact Kitty Schlosser by email at meschlosser@ucdavis.edu or phone 530-752-6979. There is no registration fee; travel and lodging expenses are the responsibility of the member.
Change in research fees
The January issue of Seed Notes reported the following change to research fees effective April 1st :
Beans - increase from $0.15 to $0.20/cwt
Small grains - increase from $0.22 to $0.25/cwt
(barley, oats, triticale, wheat)
Check the CCIA web site for the full schedule of fees.
The CCIA provides scholarships to students attending the major agricultural universities in California. These students must indicate an active interest and participation in the seed industry, crop improvement, crop science clubs, seed packaging, seed and plant judging contests and/or activities related to seed production.
Each university sets their own due dates and application specifics. For more information please contact the College or Department at each school — Chico State, Fresno State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona, or UC Davis — or Robert Stewart at the CCIA, phone (530) 752-9826 or email rfstewart@ucdavis.edu.
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Centennial Celebration of the Rice Experiment Station
The UC/USDA Rice Experiment Station will be celebrating their centennial on August 29, 2012 at their annual field day. The sttion is located in the Sacramento Valley near Biggs. More information will be available in July. Contact Kent McKenzie for more information at ksmckenzie@crrf.org or 530-868-5481.
Field Days and Meetings
May 2
Seed Industry Conference
Location: Harvest Hall, Modesto
This one day conference focus on current issues of importance to those involved in all aspects of the seed industry. The meeting is co-sponsored by the CCIA and the California Seed Association. Registration is $60. More information is available on the CSA web site.
May 9
Small Grains & Alfalfa Field Day
Location: Agronomy Fieldhouse, UC Davis campus, Hutchison Road
The morning agenda (pdf) will focus on small grains; information about alfalfa (pdf) will be provided in the afternoon. There is no fee and pre-registration is not required. Coffee, donuts, and a hamburger lunch will be served.
Staff Focus - Catalina Oramas
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Catalina Oramas began work at the CCIA April 1st. She will conduct field inspections and provide support for grow-outs and the seed lab. Catalina received a B.S. in Agronomy and a minor in Animal Sciences from the University of Cauca in Popayan, Colombia. She then moved to the United States and began work at Pioneer Hi-Bred International focusing on plant pathology and corn breeding. |
Previous to joining the CCIA, she worked with Monsanto as part of the Trait Field Solution group in drought corn research. Her responsibilities included data collection and regulatory compliance. In her free time she enjoys traveling, going to the movies and spending time with family and friends.
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History of the CCIA - Part 2
This is the seond in a continuing series documenting the history of the CCIA.
The state committee guiding the Approved Seed Plan, which by 1936 had become known as the California Farm Bureau Approved Seed Plan, became more formally organized in 1936. Five districts were formed in the state, each of which elected a grower representative. In addition to this there were appointed representatives from the Extension Service, Department of Agronomy, and the Farm Bureau. J. E. Coke remained the guiding light in the program through 1934. Mr. B.J. Jones succeeded Mr. Coke in 1935, and continued to provide the leadership of the Agricultural Extension Service. Coke and Jones, throughout the period of the state office function being with the Agricultural Extension Service, worked closely with members of the Department of Agronomy at Davis. Individuals in that department who played a prominent part in guiding the program were F. N. Briggs, G. A. Wiebe, and C. A. Suneson. The crops of primary interest still remained the small grains. However, the certification of light red kidney beans got under way in 1932 and became successful due considerably to the efforts of M. C. Collins, then Farm Advisor of Yuba County. As a result of his enthusiastic participation, seed growers in the Marysville area began to develop a market for their certified light red kidney beans in the State of New York, which found that the California seed was free of diseases particularly bacterial blight.
The interest in certification expanded rapidly during the 30's. It became obvious that the program could not be operated indefinitely as an incidental part of the extension agronomists' activities. This was indicated in a letter Mr. Alex Johnson of the Farm Bureau sent to the University of California on February 24, 1936. He referred to a resolution by the Farm Bureau asking the College of Agriculture to assign a separate man to the Calapproved Seed Program. The program which had started in 1931 with 1,265 acres had become by 1935 a program with 7,233 acres and 113 growers participating.
More to come in future issues of Seed Notes...
Educational Opportunities
Seed Business 101 Field Crops
Attracting and retaining talented new employees is a critical challenge for the seed industry. The Seed Business 101SM course was created with input from industry executives to accelerate the careers of promising new employees and young managers. The course has been attended by more than 100 people since its launch in fall of 2010.
The course also offers invaluable insights and perspective to seed dealers and companies offering products and services to the seed industry, including seed treatments, crop protection, seed enhancement and technology, machinery and equipment, etc.
Seed Business 101 is one week course designed to expose the participants to the five functional areas of a seed company (R&D, production, operations, sales and marketing; and administration). By creating a virtual seed company and case studies for each functional area, the course content is delivered in a very interactive way. The course gives employees that are new to the seed industry a broad understanding of the major aspects of a seed company’s operations and cross-departmental knowledge of best practices for profitability. The course is taught by widely respected industry executives with additional help of industry experts participating as guest speakers.
Registrations are now being accepted for the Seed Business 101SM Field Crops, June 11-15, 2012, in Minneapolis. Register before April 16th, 2012 to take advantage of the early registration discount. For course details, testimonials and registration please visit SB 101 or contact Jeannette Martins at jmartins@ucdavis.edu.
Plant Breeding Academy in United States begins September 2012
The UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy is a postgraduate program that teaches the fundamentals of plant breeding, genetics and statistics through lectures, discussion, and field trips to public and private breeding programs. Employers appreciate the opportunity to provide their valued employees advanced training without disrupting their full-time employment. Participants attend six 6-day sessions at UC Davis. The instructors are internationally recognized experts in plant breeding and seed technology.
The UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy 2012 Class begins in September. It will include new topics that reflect the most recent developments in plant breeding theory and practice. Applications are now being accepted. For more information on the UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy visit the PBA website or contact Joy Patterson, jpatterson@ucdavis.edu.
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