New 2009-2010 Puerto Rico Price Book Available
The new IL Crop winter farm price book is now available. You can access the pdf from the IL Crop website under the Puerto Rico section or by following http://www.ilcrop.com/wntrfarm/wntrfarm.htm. We have several items to share with you regarding our service to the industry. More

IL Crop Accepts Increased Biotech Stewardship Responsibilities
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) affiliate, Excellence Through StewardshipSM, has granted membership status to Illinois Crop Improvement Association, Inc. (IL Crop) according to Dr. Dennis Thompson, IL Crop’s Chief Executive Officer.
More

E-mail Notification(s) Now Available
E-mail notification for “samples received” and “new results available” is now a part of the Illinois Crop Improvement Online Test Results. Clients of any of the laboratories can now receive emails when new information is posted to their account. Electronic invoicing is also available and we encourage everyone to sign up and save some paper! For more information contact Hannah Hudson or fax us your sign up form.

Agrisure Trait Testing Available
Illinois Crop Improvement has successfully completed the necessary proficiencies to offer greenhouse, laboratory and ELISA services for Agrisure traits available through Greenleaf Genetics. Call Dave Rambow, Matt Raymond or Doug Miller for more information. Contact Info

Monsanto Press Release - Monsanto Trait Introgression
Monsanto Company and the Illinois Crop Improvement Association initiate important new relationship Ames, Iowa - June 23, 2008. More

Illinois Crop Announces ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Accreditation
The laboratories of Illinois Crop Improvement Association, Inc. (IL Crop) have achieved ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation. Illinois Crop’s latest accreditation includes all of the quality management principles required by ISO2000:9001, plus technical competency and accuracy standards. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation specifies the general requirements for competency to carry out tests and/or calibrations, including sampling. It covers testing and calibration performed using standard methods, non-standard methods, and laboratory-developed methods. A statement of scope is available at http://www.pjview.com/clients/pjl/pjlaregistry2.cfm . More

New 2009-2010 Puerto Rico Price Book Available
Scott Bretthauer, Extension Specialist, Pesticide Safety Education Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering brought his expertise in calibration and pesticide application to the farm for a 4 day training and consulting engagement. The training and calibration work Scott did was extremely useful and will further improve the management of weeds and insects for all clients of the IL Crop winter farm.
Last season we added a fifth agronomist to meet the increased need for phytosanitary, certification and regulatory services on the island. As many of you know, phytosanitary and seed certification issues are major factors for moving seed.
Soybean crossing has been added to our Puerto Rico lineup of world class counter season services. Agreements with major trait providers have established a new model for effectively delivering stewardship and compliance requirements to you and your company.
Our accreditations, authorizations and alliances are ready to meet your counter season and global seed business needs. We are very excited about our 2009-10 counter season services and hope to see you “on the farm” this year. Please contact our Operations Manager, Hannah Hudson; Station Manager, Lizandro Perez; or Business Development Director, Doug Miller, with your needs.

Seed Lab: Wheat Seed Quality 10/09
Germination
Wheat seed with scab or Fusarium ssp. infection continues to be a major problem this year.  Standard germination average for this year’s wheat is running at 85.5 % overall. Although the actual seed quality varies considerably between lots, we have had a little better quality wheat in the northern part of the state.  The range in germination results varies from 25% to 99%, with the majority falling in the 70’s and 80’s for unconditioned samples. Conditioning and seed treating are doing a very good job of improving seed quality even in seed lots with the highest level of Fusarium infection; however, the amount of clean-out on some lots may not be financially feasible. More

IL Crop Accepts Increased Biotech Stewardship Responsibilities (Continued)
IL Crop Quality manager, John McKinney, adds, “It truly is an honor in that IL Crop is the very first new member to be approved to join the ranks of the thirty-one founding companies. These companies include major multinational conglomerates to smaller organizations with very targeted biotech research activities. From a seed industry perspective, this includes both technology developers and the seed companies that license new traits.”
Excellence Through StewardshipSM (ETS) is the first industry-coordinated initiative to provide stewardship and quality management programs for the full product life of biotech plants. The program is intended to promote the responsible use of agricultural biotechnology, the continued global adoption of plant biotechnology, and the enhanced value of biotech-derived plant products in the marketplace.
This new stewardship program builds on the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s (BIO) efforts to promote consistently high-quality guidelines across the agricultural biotechnology industry for product stewardship and quality management. While many organizations already have stewardship and quality management programs in place, ETS provides industry guidelines for the adoption of stewardship objectives, principles, and management practices as well as third-party audits.
IL Crop has provided third-party Winter Farm Services to the global agricultural seed and research community from their base in Puerto Rico since 1986. The company’s station is located at Juana Diaz on the south coast on former sugarcane production land owned by the Common Wealth of Puerto. The three hundred acre station is operated by a permanent core team of five agronomists, three technicians, and one administrative assistant.  In addition, several IL Crop corporate staff members based in Champaign, IL, have major responsibilities in the operation and management of the station.
Since 2007, IL Crop has also been providing limited field services in the US for both US regulated soybean and corn projects according to Thompson as a result of Winter Farm clients who have requested expanded services. IL Crop provides US services in collaboration with an affiliate contract research company.
IL Crop, according to McKinney, views the ETS program somewhat comparable to the company’s successful 2008 ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation of the company’s three Champaign, IL, based laboratories. These include: bioassay/immunoassay, seed and bioprocessing laboratories operated by IL Crop.
While it is incumbent on the members of ETS to encourage their suppliers and contractors to incorporate the principles of stewardship promoted by ETS, IL Crop saw the importance of seeking full compliance and independent verification.  In some cases, technology developers have designated IL Crop to perform services for licensees, and the ETS credential will assure both the technology owner and licensee that the work will be done to industry standards for trait stewardship.
IL Crop will pursue accreditation for ETS modules 3 and 4 which respectively are “Confined Field Trials” and “Plant and Seed Multiplication.”  The accreditation will apply to work performed in Puerto Rico and in the US.
“ETS and ISO accreditations will assure global clientele of IL Crop’s commitment to providing field and laboratory based technical service and while meeting US field regulatory compliance under recognized quality management systems,” concludes Thompson.
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Monsanto Press Release - Monsanto Trait Introgression - (Continued)
June 23, 2008
An important relationship was recently initiated between Monsanto Company and the Illinois Crop Improvement Association (IL Crop). IL Crop's trait introgression services will facilitate access to the stacked combination of Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ and dicamba-tolerant soybean technologies to licensees authorized by Monsanto. This provides the licensees with broader and faster access to new Monsanto soybean trait technologies while maintaining full regulatory compliance and comprehensive stewardship. By allowing IL Crop to provide centralized trait introgression services to authorized licensees, Monsanto can effectively support its commitment to continued stewardship and containment of regulated material, while allowing licensees the flexibility to incorporate new traits at a pace more suitable to their business objectives. This opportunity will allow licensees more options and time to develop superior varieties for farmers faster than before.
Kristin Schneider, PhD Monsanto Agronomic Trait Project Lead, Oilseeds Crop Team, said: "We're excited to be working with IL Crop because this situation provides real benefits across all channels. This is good for licensees because it gives them access to the technology earlier and allows IL Crop and Monsanto to effectively manage stewardship of regulated material. At the same time, farmers will benefit from this earlier access because licensees will have more time to develop enhanced soybean germplasm options containing cutting-edge technology."
Dennis Thompson, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Illinois Crop Improvement, said: "IL Crop has 22 years of experience in providing specialized seed research and development services to the global seed industry at our winter farm in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. This, coupled with a successful history of managing multiple technologies for soybean, corn and cotton, uniquely positions IL Crop to support Monsanto licensees by providing technical field services delivered in compliance with Monsanto stewardship expectations."
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.
Illinois Crop Improvement Association (IL Crop) is a not-for-profit corporation with headquarters in Champaign, Ill., specialized in providing a broad range of technical services to the international seed, feed, food and industrial agricultural industries. For more information, please contact Dennis Thompson at 217-359-4053 or visit: www.ilcrop.com

Illinois Crop Announces ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Accreditation - (Continued)
Illinois Crop has a unique set of laboratories at its Champaign, IL headquarters: a traditional seed lab, a bio-processing/grain lab, a trait lab and greenhouse. The Seed Lab is accredited to offer germination and purity services under AOSA rules. Industry recognized grain quality and compositional analyses are offered by the Identity Preserved Grain Lab.  Industry supported tests and laboratory-developed methods are offered for trait purity and adventitious presence testing through the Field Services-Greenhouse department.  A unique set of services are now accredited to support an industry that requires good science and strong partners in the advancement of seed products and technology.
Today’s agriculture has great expectations regarding the performance of products and technology delivered through seed improvements. The validations, proficiencies and management practices being implemented as part of day-to-day business activities prompted IL Crop to take the extra step of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation. “We see ourselves as an industry resource for product developers, production companies and quality assurance managers,” says John McKinney, Quality Manager and IPG Lab director.
IL Crop also believes that it is the first to use AOSA rules for this type of accreditation. Accreditation and recognition are constant topics of discussion on many levels within the industry. The International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) models its lab accreditation program on the 1999 version of the ISO/IEC 17025 standard and utilizes ISTA rules. A hard look at its current work and client base, across a wide range of activities, led IL Crop to select the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation. “The industry is firmly rooted in AOSA rules” says Gary Cook, Seed Lab Director. Illinois Crop serves international markets, such as the OECD maize program, and facilitates the movement of products world-wide under AOSA rules, AOCS methods and other recognized procedures.
IL Crop is a not-for-profit corporation with headquarters in Champaign, Illinois, USA specializing in providing services and developing partnerships for the advancement of seed products and technology. IL Crop and ZEA Global Seeds have also formed a new US based entity, Global Seed Solutions, Inc., focusing on trait introgression services. For more information, please contact Dennis Thompson at 217-359-4053 or visit: ilcrop.com
Certificate and statement of scope available at

http://www.pjview.com/clients/pjl/pjlaregistry2.cfm

Wheat Seed Quality 10/09 - (Continued)
Seed Treatment:
 In a recently completed survey of 55 lots in our seed laboratory that had seed quality issues, the average germination was 71.7% untreated and 88.5% treated. No cleaning of samples was done prior to treating with either Raxil MD or Dividend Extreme. The average germination increase was 16.8% with extreme range being a 40% increase.
Due to the withdrawal from the market of some chemicals being used this year and in years past, we were asked to do some experiments using the current chemicals and some newer materials we hope will be a good substitute. The six chemical or chemical combinations used in this experiment are Bayer-Raxil MD with LSP, Syngenta-Dividend Extreme with LSP, Syngenta-Maxim 4FS, Chemtura-Rancona TM Apex, BASF Corp.-Charter w/Acquire and BASF Corp-Charter w/ Acquire and Stamina. Normal labeled rates were used for all chemicals. The rates are listed in the chart below:

All seed treatments performed very well in controlling Fusarium infection.  The only exception was treatment # 5 on sample # 5, one of the most heavily infected samples. The other treatments were essentially equal in the ability to control the fungal infection in this experiment. The information is based on four replicates of 100 seeds and is in the process of being repeated to accumulate more data. The lower germinating lots would need moderate to severe conditioning in order to improve seed quality for sale.

Any comments or questions about seed testing and seed quality issues can be directed to the IL Crop Seed Laboratory. Please contact the Seed Laboratory Assistant Director, Steve Beals, or myself at the Illinois Crop Association office at 217-359-4053.

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