|
NCGA
Development Director Attends Annual Seed Professionals Conference (12-19-01)
The National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) was there when the American Seed Trade Association
(ASTA) recently held its annual conference recently in Chicago, Ill.
The event is the largest gathering of seed professionals in the world
and features the industry's largest trade show, Seed Expo 2001.
Tom Slunecka, director
of development for the NCGA was on hand for the event and said the meeting
was very productive. "There are a lot of great people at this event
every year," he said, "and NCGA has made a positive statement
to them about our involvement in seed issues."
The three-day event
included a soybean conference, a joint corn-sorghum and soybean conference
session, as well as a separate corn and sorghum session.
Slunecka also participated
in a discussion concerning pollen drift and gene flow studies. "While
we support further studies for pollen flow," he said, "the
real gap is gene-flow studies which will help to determine real-world
viability of live pollen and its ability to actively transfer biotech
genes.
"There was
lots of good information there," continued Slunecka. "I met
with a lot of people and discussed some biotech issues, such as universal
rules and safeguards."
It's important for
NCGA and ASTA to continue to have a strong relationship, Slunecka said.
"Individual growers need to be more aware of the technical aspects
of seed production. That's why programs like 'Know Before You Grow'
and Insect Resistance Management (IRM) are vital to both organizations."
More information
about NCGA's Know Before You Grow Program and Insect Resistance Management
is available here.
Last reviewed
December 19, 2001
|