History

Denver 1991

Chair: Steve Kresovich, USDA-ARS, North Eastern Regional Plant Introduction Station, Geneva NY.

Board Representative: A.B. Maunder, DeKalb Genetics, Lubbock TX.

Symposium: Identification and Introgression of Useful Traits: Enhancing Cooperation Among Researchers (Organized by ???).

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: Carlos M. Ochoa, National Agrarian University, La Molina, Lima, and the International Potato Center (CIP), Lima Perú.

Presentations at the

National meeting: 52 orals/posters

C-8 Papers Published in Crop Science: 2 (1991 calendar year)

Membership:  25 First Choice
41 Second Choice
39 Third Choice
105 Total

Other notes: The C-8 Division was established with provisional status with Steve Kresovich serving as first chair.

C-8 sponsored a field tour of the recently remodeled and expanded National Seed Storage Lab at Fort Collins CO.

Minneapolis 1992

Chair: James McD. Stewart, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Board Representative: A.B. Maunder, DeKalb Genetics, Lubbock TX.

Symposia: 1492-1992:500 Years of Global Germplasm Transfer (Organized by ???)
(Published as “International Germplasm Transfer: Past and Present,” R.R. Duncan,1995, CSSA Special Publication Number 23)

International Cooperation in Germplasm Activities (Organized by ??)
(Contributions from DeKalb Plant Genetics and Pioneer Hi-Bred made these symposia possible.)

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: Henry Shands, USDA-ARS, Beltsville MD

Presentations at the National meeting: 59 oral/posters

C-8 Papers Published in Crop Science: 2 (1992 calendar year)

Membership:  54 First Choice
190 Second Choice
832 Third/Forth Choice
1076 Total

Other notes Northrup King, Stanton MN, sponsored a field tour.

Concern was expressed that too few papers were being submitted to the C-8 (provisional) section of Crop Science.

It was not clear what type of manuscripts would be appropriate in the C-8 section (Plant Genetic Resources) of Crop Science. An ad hoc committee chaired by Ronny Duncan was appointed to develop C-8 publication guidelines.

There was discussion concerning a proposal to link the registration of genetic material in Crop Science to its free distribution for research and breeding purposes.

The role of C851, Committee on Preservation of Plant Germplasm, was discussed in relation to the newly formed C-8 Division. It was suggested that one or more officers from C-8 be ex officio member(s) of C851.

It was recommended that a change from C-8's provisional status to permanent status be submitted to the CSSA membership.

Cincinnati 1993

Chair: R.R. Duncan, University of Georgia, Griffin GA

Board Representative: Steve Eberhart, USDA-ARS, National Seed Storage Lab, Fort Collins CO

Symposia: Global Implications of Germplasm Conservation & Utilization (Organized by..?.)

Turfgrass Germplasm - Diversity & Vulnerability (Organized by...?..)

Papers from both of the above symposia were published in Crop Science (Volume 35 No. 2, 1995).

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: Charles E. Simpson, Texas Agriculture Experiment Station, Stephenville TX.

Presentations at the National meeting: 83 orals/posters

Paper Published in Crop Science: 14 (1993 calendar year)

Membership:  66 First Choice
164 Second Choice
363 Third Choice
593 Total

Other notes C-8 was given full and permanent Divisional status within CSSA.

Protocol was developed through Ronny Duncan’s ad hoc committee for publication of papers in Crop Science under the C-8 (Plant Genetic Resources).

It was suggested that C-8 Board members provide recommendations for appointment to C851 (Committee on Preservation of Plant Germplasm).

It was recommended that:
 

• At least one C-8 officer is automatically an ex officio member of C851 and C453 (The Frank Meyer Medal). This was CSSA Board approved.
• A Technical Editor and 2-3 Associate Editors be designated with the primary responsibility for manuscripts in the Plant Genetic Resources section of Crop Science.v
• CSSA and ASHS (American Society for Horticultural Science) form a joint germplasm committee to improve cooperation and coordination regarding common issues.

Action was taken on 8 November 1993 by the CSSA Board that discontinued C851, with C851 activities to be continued under the auspices of C-8 Division.

Ronny Duncan is appointed as Technical Editor for C-8 papers submitted to Crop Science.

Genetic material developed under intellectual property rights may not be preserved for eventual public use. Thus, 82% of the 50 members present at the business meeting voted to recommend that CSSA approach the USDA concerning the development of a new storage category at National Seed Storage Lab (NSSL) for Crop Science registered material with restricted initial distribution.

Action by the CSSA Board was taken to establish an "Announcement of Germplasm Available with Restrictions" for material registered in Crop Science. It was requested that this material would be stored under a new category at the National Seed Storage Lab (NSSL) that would restrict distribution. This action stemmed from those that wanted to protect genetic material through intellectual property rights, but at the same time wanted to document the development of plant materials through Crop Science registration. Even though seed would be deposited at NSSL, this material would not become part of the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) for an extended period of time. This was a departure from coupling Crop Science registered material with the NPGS policy of free distribution of samples for research purposes.

Seattle 1994

Chair: Ken Quesenberry, University Florida, Gainesville FL

Board Representative: Steve Eberhart, USDA-ARS, National Seed Storage Lab, Fort Collins CO

Symposia: Utilizing Germplasm to Evaluate Legume-Grass Interactions (??Organized by Roy Pittman, USDA-ARS, Griffin GA, and Tim Springer, USDA-ARS, Booneville AR)

Using Core Subsets for Efficient Germplasm Evaluation and Management (Organized by Steve Eberhart, USDA-ARS, National Seed Storage Lab, Fort Collins CO)

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: David H. Timothy, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC

Presentations at the National meeting: 79 orals/posters

C-8 Papers Published in Crop Science: 22 (1994 calendar year)

Membership: 78 First Choice
(Second and third choice data was not available after 1994)

Other notes: The CSSA general historian, James Beard, requested that C-8 appoint a historian, which would in turn serve on C-205, the CSSA history committee. A motion carried for the outgoing C-8 Chair to prepare an annual history and submit a copy to the CSSA general historian.

The C-8 chair appointed a committee consisting of Gary Pederson (Chair), John Berdahl, and Jeff Steiner to propose by-laws for Division C-8.

The issue of an "Announcements of Crop Cultivars" category of Crop Science Registration, with restricted seed distribution, was discussed.

Minneapolis 2000

Chair: Stephen Smith, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Johnston, IA

Board Representative: Tommy Carter, Jr., USDA, ARS, Raleigh, NC

Symposia: Publishing in Crop Science (Organized by Tommy Carter, Jr., USDA-ARS, Raleigh, NC)

Prospects for Genetic Resources: Stewardship or Neglect (Organized by Stephen Smith, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Johnston, IA)

Genetic Resources in Action I & II ( Organized by Candice Gardner, USDA-ARS, Ames, IA)

Learning from Studies in Genetic Diversity (Organized by Stephen Smith, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Johnston, IA)

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: Major Goodman, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

Presentations at the National Meeting: 56 presentations; 19 posters, 37 orals

C-8 Papers Published in Crop Science: 20 (Calendar year 2000)

Membership: 70 First Choice
200 Second Choice

Other Notes: CSSA is committed to enhancing the knowledge base of biodiversity and has founded the Calvin Sperling Biodiversity Endowment Fund at the request of the C-8 Division. This fund will support a biodiversity lecture at the annual meeting if sufficient funding is obtained. Contributions should be sent to the Agronomic Science Foundation that will administer the Fund at Headquarters.

Discussion about making C-8 a more attractive home by creating more visibility and recognition for genetic resources was discussed. As previously discussed, expansion of the Notes section of Crop Science to encompass genetic resources evaluation and curation techniques would be a start.

The USDA-ARS Quarantine Facility at St. Croix is being closed. The C-8 membership expressed grave concerns about this decision. The closure would have a serious impact on grain sorghum and corn that routinely pass through this quarantine facility.

St. Louis 1995

Chair: Bent Skovmand

Board Representative: Steve Eberhart, USDA-ARS, National Seed Storage Lab, Fort Collins CO

Symposia: Genetic Resources–IPR and Ownership (Organized by Henry Shands (?), USDA-ARS, Beltsville MD)

Germplasm Regeneration–Developments in Population Genetics and Their Implications (Organized by J.A. Mosjidis, Auburn University, Auburn AL, and included a Memorial Lecture in honor of Calvin Sperling presented by H.G. Wilkes)

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: Calvin Sperling, USDA-ARS, Beltsville MD. The award was presented to on 10 May 1995; Dr Sperling died of melanoma cancer on 20 May 1995 at the age of 38. There was a deep sense of loss among C-8 members.

Presentations at the National meeting: 46 orals/posters

Paper Published in Crop Science: 25 (1995 calendar year)

Membership: 76 First Choice
(Second and third choice data was not available after 1995)

Other notes By-laws drafted from the Pederson, Berdahl, Steiner committee were mailed for review to each CSSA member with C-8 as either their first or second Divisional choice. Bent Skovmand was assigned the task of amending the proposed by-laws and submitting them to ASA headquarters. (Were and when were they approved?)

The "Announcements of Crop Cultivars" category of Crop Science Registration continued to be contentious. The issue was extensively discussed and a motion to accept the category failed.

Indianapolis 1996

Chair: Linda Pollak, USDA-ARS, Ames IA.

Board Representative: Kenneth Vogel, University of Nebraska, Lincoln NE.

Symposium: Crop Breeding Resources in a Changing World (shared program with C-1):

I. Overcoming Global Barriers to Germplasm Utilization (C-8 part, made possible with support from Pioneer Hi-Bred International and CSSA, organized by Richard C. Johnson, USDA-ARS, Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, Pullman, WA).

II. Genetic Diversity in Applied Breeding–Where Do We Stand? (C-1 part, organized by Tommy Carter, USDA-ARS, Raleigh NC)

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: George A. White, USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Davis CA.

Presentations at the National meeting: 53 orals/posters

Paper Published in Crop Science: 24 (refers to calendar year)

Membership: 71 First Choice
(Second and third choice data was not available after 1996)

Other notes: The CSSA Board rescinded the action taken in 1993 establishing the "Announced Category" of crop registrations. All crop registrations will require a seed deposit at NSSL, will be assigned a PI number, and can be distributed free of charge. This is a return and reinforcement of the former policy applying to free distribution of registered material for research purposes. (It is, however, the responsibility of the donor to distribute material for at least five years after registration after which this responsibility falls to the National Plant Germplasm System.)

A continuing lecture series honoring Calvin Sperling was discussed. Funding for the lecture is currently not available and an endowment through the Agronomic Science Foundation is needed. However, no source of funds have been identified. The matter was referred to Mike Strauss to develop recommendations.

Tommy Carter proposed a "best paper" award for papers published in the C-8 section of Crop Science. The membership endorsed this idea and Tommy will chair a subcommittee to investigate this possibility and develop guidelines.

Ronny Duncan completed his tenure as Technical Editor for C-8 manuscripts submitted to Crop Science at the end of 1996. Dr. Duncan served at a critical time in the development of the C-8 section in Crop Science. The number of published papers in the C-8 section went from two in 1992 to 24 in 1996. Brett Carver and Terry Coffelt have agreed to serve as Technical Editors for C-8 papers in Crop Science starting in 1997.

Anaheim 1997

Chair: Richard C. Johnson, USDA-ARS Western Regional Plant introduction Station, Pullman WA.

Board Representative: Kenneth Vogel, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

Symposia: Statistical Genetic Tools for Analyzing Genetic Marker Data (Organized by Peter Bretting, USDA-ARS, Ames IA)

Linking Genetics and Geography: Emerging Strategies for Managing Crop Biodiversity (Organized by Stephanie Greene, Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, Published as CSSA Special Publication Number 27)

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: Maxine M. Thompson, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.

Presentations at the National meeting: 42

Paper Published in Crop Science: 31 (1997 calendar year)

Membership: 67 First Choice
(Second and third choice data was not available after 1997)

Other notes Tommy Carter presented outstanding C-8 paper awards to authors of three papers published in Crop Science during the 1996 calendar year. Guidelines to recognize outstanding C-8 papers in Crop Science were also presented to the membership. A motion to continue the award carried.

Henry Shands reported on the activities of the American Genetic Resources Alliance (AGRA). The AGRA is a non-government group with the goal of improving public awareness concerning genetic resources and to persuade Congress and the USDA to support the National Plant Germplasm System at an adequate level.

The Calvin Sperling lecture was discussed and the concept was generally endorsed, but the lack of funding continued to be a major problem in establishing the lecture series. It was suggested that the scope of the lecture might be expanded to honor all Frank Meyer Medal recipients. R.C. Johnson was asked to explore ways to obtain an endowment through the Agronomic Science Foundation.

A C-8 website was established. Members requested that the C-8 Chair be responsible for maintaining the site through coordination with CSSA headquarters staff.

Baltimore 1998

Chair: James R. McFerson, USDA-ARS, Northeast Regional Plant Introduction Station, Geneva NY

Board Representative: Kenneth Vogel, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

Symposium: Assessing Core Collections I. Development and Current Status

Assessing Core Collections II. Testing and Utilization

Organized by R.C. Johnson and made possible through support of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Rome, and will be published by IPGRI.

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: J. Gyles Waines, University of California, Riverside CA

Presentations at the National meeting: 52?

Paper Published in Crop Science: ?

Membership: 62 First Choice
(Second and third choice dat was not available after 1998)

Salt Lake City 1999

Chair: Jeff Dahlberg, National Grain Sorghum Producers, Abernathy, TX

Broad Representative: Tommy Carter, Jr., USDA, ARS, Raleigh, NC

Symposia: Linking Genomics and Germplasm I & II (Organized by Steve Kresovich)

"Living Fields": A Celebration of Jack Harlan's Crop Science, I & II (Co-organized by Tom Stalker and Calvin Qualset)

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: Steve Eberhart, USDA-ARS, Fort Collins, CO

Presentations at the National Meeting: 60 presentations; 28 posters, 32 orals

C-8 Papers Published in Crop Science: 25 (Calendar year 1999)

Membership: 70 First Choice
202 Second Choice
313 Third Choice

Other Notes: Tommy Carter, Jr. initiated the registration of mapping populations in Crop Science. The aim is to make mapping populations freely available for unrestricted distribution to and use by the public. Creators of the populations would be responsible for their distribution.

The Division proposed taking steps to get more formal recognition for the C-8 Outstanding Paper Awards.

R.C. Johnson offered to compile a history of the C-8 Division, seeking input from the membership to help fill the gaps. This will become part of the Division's Web Pages.

C8 Business Meeting
November 2, 1999, Salt Lake City, UT

Jeff Dahlberg presiding

Minutes of the C-8 Business Meeting:

Status Report on C8 Papers: Brett Carver, C8 Technical Editor
34 papers submitted to date, ahead of 1998 (32 total) and 1997 (30 total). Terry Coffelt will have primary responsibility for C8 technical editorship. Dr. Graybasch will replace Brett Carver on the Editorial board.

Outstanding C8 Papers: Tommy Carter, Chair of Awards Committee
22 papers were considered for the award. Two papers were presented with Outstanding C8 Paper Awards. The first award was presented to R. C. Johnson for his paper entitled “Genetic Structure of Regeneration Populations of Annual Ryegrass.” The second award was presented to J. Villand, P. W. Skroch, T. Lai, P. Hanson, C. G. Kuo, and J. Nienhuis for the paper entitled “Genetic Variation among Tomato Accessions from Primary and Secondary Centers of Diversity.” The division is taking steps to get more formal recognition of the Awards by CSSA. This is the third year for the Awards and recognition of our members has been an excellent method by which to help support our division.

Report from Board Representative: Tommy Carter, C8 Board Representative
Agronomy J. is back on track. Excellent reports from Congressional Fellows. Discussion on new manuscript handling fees that will be implemented for Crop Science. Fees will be $300 for non-members, $200 for members and $100 for registrations. Membership within the Societies is down and there is a town hall meeting to discuss these issues. Need for more volunteers for committee work. Several motions were brought forth to the members attending the business meeting.

Motion: Motion to support creation of new Division called “Agronomic Advising” was brought to the members. Seconded and unanimous vote of approval.

Motion: Motion to support “Four-color Cover for Crop Science ” at approximately $4500 per year was brought to the members. Seconded and unanimous vote of approval.

Motion: Motion to support creation of new registration classification within Crop Science entitled “Mapping Populations” was brought to the members. These populations would be black-boxed at NSSL with the parents, the parents would be registered with Crop Science, and the creators of the populations would be responsible for their distribution. Crop Registration committees would develop guidelines by which mapping populations could be submitted. Seconded and unanimous vote of approval.

Symposium Updates: Steve Kresovich and Tom Stalker
Genomics and Genebanks were well attended. Excellent mix of disciplines and international attendance that indicated lively interest in this area. "Living Fields" symposium will be held on Thursday and is a celebration of Dr. Jack Harlan’s life and contribution to Crop Science.

C8 History: R. C. Johnson
C8 history is being put together. Putting together a list of facts and needs input from people who were involved in the beginning of the Division. The information will be placed on the Web when it is complete.

MTA and International Exchange Update: H. Shands
Following discussion with ICRISAT, MTAs were developed to cover various topics: 1) Designated germplasm which is already deposited at ICRISAT and held under FAO treaty. Germplasm made freely available. Recipients cannot take out IPRs on the material. However, they have not resolved the issue of derivatives; current interpretation is that intellectual property can be taken out on derivatives provided they are developed through breeding rather than being simple selections from a heterogenous source of germplasm. 2) Materials developed at ICRISAT. Requires signature on MTA. Can obtain an IPR, but must first request permission from ICRISAT. ICRISAT retains rights to further distribute the material. Agree to furnish performance data to ICRISAT. Dr. Shands will put additional information in the newsletter.

International Negotiations:
 

• Likely to be list of 35 major crops for which free exchange will take place.
• Many countries are moving towards national legislation regarding bilateral agreements
• Restrictions beginning to have a chilling effect on germplasm exchange
• At least 20 crop committees will have to deal with national legislation and CBD
• Aim to have FAO negotiations complete by May 2000, but tough going. Issues are access, benefit sharing and some conditions for farmers' rights.

C8 Additional Business: J. Dahlberg
C8 was sponsor or co-sponsor of 58 papers and 89 posters.

Suggestions for 2000 meeting:
GMO issues, exchange of germplasm, linking genebanks to users, IPR issues.

Web site Update: L. Pollak
S. Smith will e-mail members to establish linkage sites for the site. Updates will take place within the next year.

Division Poster: L. Panela
Poster on display throughout the whole meeting. Setup in two sections so that only one will need to be updated for the next year.

Motion: Motion to thank Jeff Dahlberg for service to the Division for the past year. Seconded and unanimous vote of approval.

Jeff Dahlberg called the meeting to a close.

November 8, 2000, Minneapolis, MN

Stephen Smith presiding

Minutes of the C-8 Business Meeting:

Status Report of C8 Papers: Terry Coffelt, C8 Technical Editor
Submission of C8 papers for 2000 stands at only 11, well below last year (1999) with 36 papers submitted. Acceptance rate for 1999 was 56%, with 14% still pending. In 2000, the acceptance rate has been 45% thus far. Jeff Pederson will be a new technical editor in the area of forages. Terry Coffelt will have primary responsibility for C8 technical editorship.

Editorial Issues-- Crop Science: Terry Coffelt
The membership supported a recommendation that an editorial committee be set up to look into broadening the scope of a Note in Crop Science. The membership envisions a Note including such things as germplasm evaluation and screening (listing the best of the evaluation, not all data) and publication of curatorial methodology of collections. The editorial committee will be considering these suggestions.

Electronic copies of Tri-Society journals will be accessible and free to anyone 18 months after publication. C8 membership inquired as to the availability of gratis hard copies of Crop Science for researchers and universities in developing countries who want the information, but do not have access to electronic journals.

Keith Karnock, University of Georgia is the new editor of Crop Science, replacing Steve St. Martin.

Outstanding C8 Papers: Tommy Carter, Awards Committee Chair
Twenty-five papers were considered for the awards. Two papers (top 10%) were presented with outstanding C8 paper awards. The first award was presented to D. Z. Skinner, G. R. Bauchan, G. Auricht, and S. Hughes for their paper entitled "A Method for the Efficient Management and Utilization of Large Germplasm Collections." The second award was presented to J. Franco, J. Crossa, J. Villasenor, A. Castillo, S. Taba, and S. Eberhart for their paper entitled "A two- Stage, Three-Way Method of Classifying Genetic Resources in Multiple Environments." The C8 outstanding paper award is now an officially recognized divisional award thanks to the efforts of Tommy Carter. The membership unanimously agreed that in the future, papers presented in two or more parts will be considered as one paper for the award evaluation process. This is the fourth year of the awards recognizing the members of C8 for their excellent contributions to genetic resources.

Report from Board Representative: Tommy Carter, C8 Board Representative
Orientation of new board members began this year prior to the first board meeting. It was very successful and the C8 membership unanimously approved a recommendation that an orientation session for new board members be held annually.

Registration fees for the annual meeting are going to increase up to 20%. Board members view the annual meeting as a modest moneymaker to balance the overall budget. The concern is that increased fees may reduce participation in the meeting. Meeting attendance will be monitored. Alternate choices are to raise annual dues which has been done several times in the past, or cut services.

Reducing the number of ASA fellows was discussed by the Executive Committee. The reduction would be obtained by redefining "active" members, thereby reducing the number of fellows because the number is now based on 0.3% of the membership. The C8 membership strongly opposed the suggestion of redefining active membership in the by-laws and proposed that the current definition of "active" used by the ASA Fellow Awards Committee remain unchanged. The Board tabled the motion to change the definition of active member.

A draft biotechnology position paper was displayed as a poster at the meeting for comments. C8 membership was asked to input their thoughts concerning this position statement. General concern was to have a "balanced" view in the statement.

Karl Glasener, Director of Science Policy for the Tri-Societies, reported a positive impact on Congress regarding lobbying activities related to the Societies. He reiterated the need to have position papers in place for rapid deployment in Washington. He also stressed the need for rapid expert input. CSSA is again helping support a congressional science fellow in 2001. Karin Lohman is the 2000-2001 fellow.

CSSA is a member of the newly created International Crop Science Society. CSSA is providing $25,000 for the start-up of the new Society. Next meetings are planned for Australia 2004, and Korea 2008.

Membership in the society is declining. Young people are not joining the Society, so please encourage them to become active members.

New CSSA Journal--Plant Genome: Jim Specht
Jim Specht presented an overview of the proposed journal Plant Genome and the rationale for it. The C7 division is taking the initiative in formulating the business plant and editorial policy. It is felt that the journal is needed to attract membership back to CSSA. At this point, a feasibility committee is taking input from the membership concerning the proposed journal. The C8 membership supported going forward with the feasibility study. The membership will have a vote and final decision before this journal becomes a reality.

Calvin Sperling Biodiversity Endowment Fund: Henry Shands
CSSA is committed to enhancing the knowledge base of biodiversity and has founded the Calvin Sperling Biodiversity Endowment Fund. This fund will initially support a biodiversity lecture at the annual meeting if sufficient funding is obtained. The fund is in the developmental stage and is seeking support to permanently endow the fund at $25,000 or more. This level of funding will provide enough money for an annual lecture. Contributions can be sent to the Agronomic Science Foundation, Madison, WI.

International Issues-update: Henry Shands
Henry Shands gave a brief update on the FAO International Undertaking Treaty on Genetic Resources. The FAO is attempting to secure funds to implement its Global Plan of Action. Thus far, funding is actually decreasing instead of increasing due to the cost of maintaining collections by developing countries and the cost of access and restrictive legislation to the collections for the private sector. The FAO is currently meeting to continue discussions on how to fund the plan, but at this point it appears as though funding will be a major issue for implementation of their Global Plan of Action.

Symposium-Meeting Update: Stephen Smith
Four symposia covering "Prospects for Genetic Resources: Stewardship or Neglect", "Learning from Studies in Genetic Diversity", and "Genetic Resources in Action I & II" were organized with 32 presentations. Symposia were well attended. There were also 5 volunteered papers and 19 poster presentations.

Symposium Suggestions for Charlotte, 2001: Stephen Smith
Biodiversity and Cultural Heritage, Genetic Resources in Action--International Perspective, Utilization of Exotic Germplasm to Improve Crop Plants, Plant Exploration-Past and Present, How does agriculture drive America, Biotechnology--Does it reduce genetic diversity and control access

Making C8 A More Attractive Home: Tommy Carter
Discussions centered on visibility and recognition. It was felt that one way to help this process is to gain wider acceptability of genetic resource issues in Crop Science. As previously discussed, expansion of the Notes section to include genetic resource evaluations and techniques would be a good start.

Web site: Linda Pollak
Thanks to the efforts of R. C. Johnson and past chairs, a C8 history is now on the C8 Web page. Copies of the by-laws and minutes of past business meetings are also available. A special thanks to Linda Pollak for coordinating the Web site effort. There was also a request to the membership to have their genetic resources Web pages linked to the C8 home page. There were discussions about the "Germplasm in Action" symposia posting the slide presentations of speakers on the C8 Web site. Presentations should be sent to Candy Gardner, who organized the symposium, to be forwarded to Linda Pollak.

Nominations for Board Representative 2001-2003 and Chair 2003: Stephen Smith
The chair is seeking nominations of qualified and interested individuals who would be willing to contribute their time to the division by serving on the planning and governance boards. Please submit names to Stephen Smith.

Proposal to Restructure ASA: Stephen Smith
There are ongoing discussions about reorganization of ASA. The proposal for restructuring ASA into two Corporations is offered to address several limitations in current governance, enhance the identity and integrity of Agronomy, and provide a flexible federation structure representative of current membership that is also attractive to an expanding range of members.

Motion 1: Recommends that the ASA reorganization proposal offered in the August 2000 CSA News be referred to the A201 Committee on Organization, Policy and By-Laws and A211 Budget and Finance Committee for their review and evaluation. Seconded and unanimously approved.

Motion 2: Division C8 recommends that CSSA becomes a member Society in the Federation if such a structure is offered by a reorganized ASA. Seconded and passed with unanimous approval.

C8 Additional Business: Stephen Smith
Closing of USDA-ARS Quarantine Station at St Croix
The USDA-ARS quarantine facility at St. Croix is being closed. The C8 membership expressed grave concerns about this decision. The closure has a serious impact on grain sorghum and corn which routinely pass through this quarantine facility.

Diversity Publication
Deborah Strauss, Managing Editor for almost 20 years has resigned to pursue other interests and endeavors. The C8 membership expressed their gratitude to Ms. Strauss for her excellent leadership and editorializing of genetic resources issues. Skip Stiles, Executive Director welcomes the membership's continued support of Diversity and articles and information concerning the genetic resource community.

Divisional Poster
Stephen Smith thanked Marcelo Carena for the preparation of beautiful C8 divisional poster which displayed the division's activities during the meeting.

Motion: Tommy Carter, Board Representative, motioned to thank Stephen Smith for his excellent service to the division for the past year as chair. Seconded and unanimously approved.

Stephen Smith called the meeting adjourned.

Charlotte 2001

Chair: Gerald Seiler, USDA-ARS, Northern Crop Science Lab., Fargo, ND

Board Representative: Tommy Carter, Jr., USDA, ARS, Raleigh, NC

Symposia: Plant Exploration: Adding to Our Global TreasuresI & II (Co-organized by Gerald Seiler, USDA-ARS, Fargo, ND and Karen Williams, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD)

Plant Exploration: Issues, Challenges, and Technology (Co-organized by Gerald Seiler, USDA-ARS, Fargo, ND and Karen Williams, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD)

Biodiversity and Cultural Heritage-- Calvin Sperling Biodiversity Memorial Lecture (Organized by Henry Shands, USDA-ARS, Fort Collins, CO)

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a DuPont Company, Johnston, IA provided partial support for the C-8 symposia

Frank Meyer Medal Recipient: Jaap Johan Hardon, Center for Genetic Resources, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Presentations at the National Meeting: 57 presentations; 26 posters, 31 orals

C-8 Papers Published in Crop Science: 34 (Calendar year 2001)

Membership: 73 First Choice, 223 Second Choice

Other Notes: The C-8 division proposed that the Frank N. Meyer Award breakfast be added to the official functions of the annual meeting. This would give an additional opportunity for interaction among C-8 and other interested CSSA members.

Publication of Diversity was suspended in 2001 as a result of inadequate sustainable funding. This leaves a large gap in disseminating news about germplasm for the membership. The C-8 Division suggested that CSSA investigate the possibility of incorporating relevant news stories and briefs into CSA news to at least fill a temporary void.

C8 Business Meeting
October 23, 2001, Charlotte, NC
Gerald Seiler presiding

Minutes of the C-8 Business Meeting:

Recognition of 2001 Fellows: Gerald Seiler
Recognition was given to five of the 12 Fellows named in 2001 at the CSSA Luncheon as having membership in C8. Three of those also received the ASA Fellow Award.

Introduction of Officers: Gerald Seiler
Officers who were introduced by the Chair, Gerald Seiler, included Chair-elect, Brett Carver; incoming Chair-elect, Stephanie Greene; outgoing Board Rep, Tommy Carter; and incoming Board Rep, Henry Shands. Hearty thanks were extended to Tommy Carter for his dedicated 3-year service as C8 Board Rep.

Status Report of C8 Papers: Terry Coffelt, C8 TE
Submission of papers in 2001 for publication in C8 has already surpassed the level seen in 2000, currently standing at 27, with 15% of those already accepted. Crop Science has 29 C8 papers in print as of the September/October issue, well exceeding any prior year of C8's existence. Electronic tracking of manuscript processing should be fully on-line by late 2002. Terry Coffelt offered several editorial suggestions regarding proper documentation of growth chamber conditions, citation of books in Crop Science articles, submission of Interpretive Summaries, and suggestion of reviewers for submitted manuscripts.

Proposed CSSA-sponsored Journal, Crop Management: Ken Moore
This journal is targeted to an applied audience in electronic format only, and will be distributed on demand as articles become available. CSSA will partner with APS. CSSA will determine editorial policy and perform editorial functions, whereas APS will publish and distribute the journal. CSSA will be assessed a $30,000 start-up fee, with subscriptions to totally finance the journal thereafter. Each article may be accessed and cited via a DOI (digital-object identifier), with free access for 21 days after initial appearance. It was moved to advise the CSSA Board to support publication of Crop Management. Motion carried.

Proposed CSSA-sponsored Journal of Plant Genomics: Jim Specht
Primary motivation for the journal derives from a 33% decline in CSSA membership since 1986, a concomitant 48% decline in Crop Science subscriptions, a lack of focus by Crop Science on genomic research, and a lengthy submit-to-print time frame. The new journal is designed to cater to younger professionals currently choosing not to join CSSA, will focus entirely on genomics of plants beyond the scope traditionally covered in Crop Science, and will target a 6-month turnaround time, including 3 to 4 months from acceptance to print. It was moved to support further development of the editorial process of the journal and for the task force to prepare a final budget. Motion carried.

Outstanding C8 Papers: Tommy Carter, Awards Committee Chair
The Outstanding Paper Award is given annually to the top 10% of papers published in a given year, based on scientific merit and furtherance of plant genetic resources for the public good. Twenty papers were considered by a panel of seven reviewers. Awards and recognition were given to the following authors: S. Beebe (corr. au.), P.W. Skroch, J. Tohme, M.C. Duque, F. Pedraza, and J. Nienhuis published the paper entitled, “Structure of Genetic Diversity among Common Bean Landraces of Middle American Origin Based on Correspondence Analysis of RAPD”, which appeared in Crop Science 40:264-273. S. Liu, R.G. Cantrell (corr. au), J.C. McCarty, Jr., and J. McD. Stewart published the paper entitled, “Simple Sequence Repeat-Based Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Cotton Race Stock Accessions”, which appeared in Crop Science 40:1459-1469. This was the fifth year of the competition.

Report from CSSA-ASA Board Representative for C8: Tommy Carter
Several issues awaiting further division action and recommendation were brought to the floor for discussion and voting:

SSSA is considering holding its annual meeting jointly with the Geological Society of America (GSA) in 2008 (earliest possible time) in Denver. It was moved that C8 agree to CSSA’s participation in a joint meeting of the Tri-societies with GSA, with the anticipation that favorable precedent would be set for like activity by CSSA. Motion carried.

Current annual meeting program regulations allow non-members to use the membership status of co-author(s) to present papers--volunteered poster or oral--at the meetings. The result has been significant loss in revenue from membership dues of meeting participants who elect not to become members. Though abuse is evident, many students and emerging professionals legitimately use this regulation to become involved at annual meetings without having to personally finance their membership. Both ASA and CSSA boards proposed a change in program regulations to mandate that all presenters at annual meetings be active members (and that they also serve as corresponding authors). It was moved to support that revision. Motion failed.

Peer review of certain volunteered papers at the annual meetings was proposed by the CSSA Board to enhance the meeting experience and overall quality of presented papers. With limited discussion, the membership forwarded no motion to take further action.

The Tri-societies’ Boards proposed to electronically scan all back issues of its journals through the year 1996 and to supply an accompanying search engine. The final product would be self-contained on CD. The motion was made to support this initiative. Motion carried.

The CSSA Board, through action taken by the Crop Science Editorial Board, recommended pending feedback from the various Divisions, mandatory submission of Interpretive Summaries with all Crop Science regular articles. The motion was made that C8 endorse that practice; motion carried.

Calvin Sperling Memorial Lectureship: Henry Shands
The Calvin Sperling Biodiversity Endowment Fund was founded to support this lectureship. Funds outside the endowment were secured to support the first lecturer for the 2001 meetings, Robert Rhoades. The endowment is approximately one-half funded, and contributions through the Agronomic Science Foundation in Madison were encouraged.

C8 Business: Gerald Seiler

C8 Meeting Update
Presentations for this year’s meeting totaled 57, consisting of 24 invited symposia presentations, 7 volunteered oral presentations, and 26 posters. Gerald Seiler thanked symposia organizers, presiders, and donors (Pioneer and DuPont), as well as Marcelo Carena for preparing the C8 divisional poster.

Symposia Suggestions
Two suggestions were offered, one addressing crop utilization and evolution with an archeological slant. Also discussed was the topic of soil microbe-plant interactions in a biodiversity context.

Frank N. Meyer Award Breakfast
The Frank N. Meyer Award for Plant Genetic Resources is presented annually at the CSSA Luncheon to recognize outstanding service in foreign plant introduction. Aside from that exposure, the division membership has little opportunity to interact with the awardee. Henry Shands proposed that Division C8 sponsor an official CSSA breakfast function during the annual meetings to allow the awardee to share a topic of his/her interest with the C8 membership. This would give additional opportunity for interaction among C8 and other interested CSSA members. Formal announcement of the annual Paper Awards was also suggested as a programming item for the breakfast. It was moved to place a C8 breakfast option on the Annual Meeting registration form (effective in 2002, Indianapolis) for those purposes. Motion carried.

DIVERSITY Publication
Publication of DIVERSITY was suspended in 2001 as a result of inadequate sustainable funding. Discussion focused on some alternative form of disseminating news information, if only to the small portion of the plant genetic resources community whose professional membership is through CSSA. It was moved to request CSSA to investigate the possibility of incorporating relevant news stories and briefs into CSA News to at least temporarily fill the void left by DIVERSITY ’s suspension. Motion carried.

C8 Division Web site
As past division chair, Gerald Seiler indicated he would update the history of the division on the Web site and post minutes of divisional business meetings.

Nominations for C8 Chair-elect (2002-2003)
Nominations for division program chair for the program year 2002-2003 were asked to be forwarded to Stephen Smith or Gerald Seiler. No nominations were made from the floor.

Gerald Seiler adjourned the meeting.