Newsletter

Volume 42, No. 1January, 2014

It doesn’t seem like nearly a year since I began myterm as WSSA President in Baltimore. It has been anexciting year with many activities, most of which weredescribed in previous newsletters. I will be presentinga brief summary of major developments within theSociety during the WSSA Business Meeting in Van-

couver. I encourage you to attend.One recent development that I am pleased to report is that Sarah Ward has

agreed to serve as the next WSSA Director of Publications. Sarah’s appointmenthas been approved by the WSSA Board of Directors and she has been workingwith JimAnderson to assure a smooth transition. I am very pleased that Sarah hasagreed to take on this important role within the Society. On behalf of WSSA, Iwish to express our appreciation to Jim Anderson for his 6 years of service in thisrole. Jim has provided outstanding leadership for our publications and has madeseveral significant improvements over this period. Most notably, he was instru-mental in the establishment of our newest journal, Invasive Plant Science and

Management. Jim’s efforts, along with those of Editor Joe DiTomaso, werecritical to the successful launch of this journal, which is gaining momentum andhas received a Thomas Reuters Impact Factor.

It is my pleasure to welcome two newly elected members to the WSSA Boardof Directors. Kevin Bradley has been elected Vice President and Larry Steckel hasbeen elected Secretary. Both new members will begin their terms on the Board atthe Thursday meeting in Vancouver. Congratulations to both Kevin and Larry.

I would like to thank all the members of the WSSA Board of Directors, Com-mittee Chairs, and Journal Editors, Associate Editors, and Reviewers for theircontributions to the Society. Much of the work of the Society is done by memberswho are volunteering their time. In addition, the financial contributions of WSSAIndividual Members and Sustaining Members make it possible for the Society to

Important Addresses . . . . . . . . . . 5 Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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WSSA NEWSLETTERVOL. 42, NO. 1 JANUARY, 2014

Published quarterly by the WeedScience Society ofAmerica. Subscrip-tion included in the annual dues paidby members of the Society. Addresscorrespondence and information to:

NEW EDITOR INFORMATIONTO BE ANNOUNCED

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE CONTINUED from pg 1

THINK NEWSLETTERDeadline for April issue

March 1, 2014

WSSA HOME PAGEACCESSED AT:

www.wssa.net

2 WSSA Newsletter January, 2014

WSSAFUTURE MEETINGSITES AND DATES

2014Vancouver, BC, CanadaFebruary 3–6, 2014Hyatt RegencyJoint meeting of WSSA andCanadian Weed Science Society

2015Lexington, Kentucky

2016San Juan, Puerto Rico

2017Tucson, Arizona

publish three journals, have a Director of Science Policy and an EPALiaison, andto have high quality annual meetings. It’s been an honor and a pleasure to serveas WSSA President for this past year. The next President’s Message will bewritten by incoming WSSA President Joe DiTomaso. Best wishes to Joe as hebegins his year as WSSA President. I look forward to seeing many of you at thejoint WSSA/CWSS Meeting in Vancouver.

Jim KellsPresident, WSSA

2014 WSSA Committee Report TemplateSummary for 2013 and Action Plan for 2014

Committee Code and Name:

Committee Chair:

Committee Members – 2013:

Board Coordinator:

Committee Members Rotating Off:

Summary of Activities

• What were the committee’s goals for 2013?

• List the committee’s accomplishments (since the last annual meeting):

• What information was posted on the WSSA website?

• What amount of funds were requested? How much was spent?

• What was the impact of the committee activities/accomplishments on thefollowing: membership, publication, policy, legislation, and/or education?

• What is the current state of the committee’s projects and activities?

2014 Plan for Committee Activities

• Goals for 2014:

• Plan of Action:

Recommendations for Board/Society Action:

• Funds requested for 2014:

• Other requests for the Board:

WASHINGTONREPORTWASHINGTONREPORT by LeeVan Wychen, Director of Science Policy

GOOD NEWS FOR FY 2014USDA BUDGET

House and Senate appropriatorsare on the verge of passing an actualomnibus appropriations package. It’sbeen pretty dismal over the past cou-ple of years with continuing resolu-tions, sequestration, and no clearpolicy guidance. The conferenceagreement numbers released on Jan.13 for USDA’s research, education andextension initiatives were all quitepositive.

The National Institute of Food andAgriculture (NIFA) is slated for $1.277billion, which is over $100 millionmore than last year’s sequester levelsand the highest since 2010. The Agri-culture and Food Research Initiative(AFRI) will receive its highest appro-priation ever of $316.4 million. Thefunding for federal land-grant capac-ity programs for research and exten-sion will also receive some of thelargest appropriations in recent mem-ory. Smith-Lever 3b & c programs willget $300 million, the highest level in atleast a decade. The same can be saidfor the Hatch Act which will befunded at $243.7 million in FY 2014.The Sustainable Agriculture Researchand Education (SARE) program willalso receive its highest-ever funding of$22.6 million.

There is a new line item under theIntegrated Activities section of theUSDANIFAbudget called “Crop Pro-tection/Pest Management Program.”This line item combines the followingfive programs: Extension IPM Coor-dinators (Smith-Lever 3d), RegionalIPM Centers, the Expert IPM System,the IPM Grants program, and the PestManagement Alternatives Program(PMAP). The Crop Protection pro-gram is funded at $17.1 million in FY2014. Congressional appropriatorsaccepted USDA’s Crop Protection pro-posal the second time around since,much to our relief, it did not include

the IR-4 program. Last year, the Houseand Senate appropriators rejectedUSDA’s proposal because IR-4 wouldhave incurred indirect cost recovery ofapproximately 30 percent if they weremoved from the Research activitiesaccount to the Integrated activitiesaccount. Under the USDA NIFAbudget for FY 2014, IR-4 will receive$11.9 million, which is over $1 millionmore than last year’s sequesteramount.

Other USDA agencies also faredpretty well. The USDA Animal andPlant Health Inspection Service(APHIS), Agricultural Research Serv-ice (ARS), and Economic ResearchService (ERS) all received their largestappropriation since 2011. In FY 2014,APHIS will receive $821.7 million,ARS will receive $1.122 billion, andERS will receive $78.05 million. TheHouse and Senate did reject ARS’sproposal to reallocate funds and it’sproposal to close six more researchlocations in FY 2014.

APPROPRIATORS INCLUDE$4 MILLION FOR AQUATIC PLANTCONTROL RESEARCH

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’Aquatic Plant Control Research Pro-gram (APCRP) is the nation’s onlyfederally authorized program forresearch and development of science-based management strategies forinvasive aquatic weeds. For threeyears in a row now, the Administra-tion has not requested any funding forAPCRP. However, the Senate Energyand Water appropriators have under-stood the true value of APCRP andhave recommended funding the pro-gram each year. It would be a gravemistake by the Corps’ to eliminate theexpertise and institutional knowledgeencompassed by APCRP. Thankfully,the FY 2014 omnibus appropriationsbill includes $4 million for APCRP.

FARM BILL FATE “UDDERLY”UNCERTAIN

Having grown up on a dairy farmnear Green Bay, Wisconsin, I couldn’tresist using some cow humor in thesetrying times. There have been a num-ber of contentious issues delayingFarm Bill negotiations like foodstamps and commodity supportprograms, but the biggest stickingpoint has been dairy policy. There aretwo entrenched camps of thoughtsurrounding the dairy farm safety net.One is supply management and theother is margin insurance. Both havetheir good points and not-so-goodpoints, but it appears that a newmargin insurance plan could be thecompromise. For USDA to hold downthe cost of the margin insurance, theprogram’s rates would be scaled backso that they do not provide an incen-tive to overproduce when marketprices are low and costs are high.Let’s just hope the negotiations keep“Mooo-ving”.

2,4-D RESISTANT CROPS DRAFTENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSTATEMENT

On Jan. 3, USDA-APHIS released itsDraft Environmental Impact State-ment (DEIS) as part of its review todetermine whether to deregulategenetically engineered corn and soy-bean plants that are resistant 2,4-D.APHIS is holding a virtual publicmeeting on Jan. 29, 2014, from 5:00 –8:00 p.m. EST to receive comments onthe DEIS, which analyzes the potentialenvironmental impacts of one cornand two soybean varieties geneticallyengineered by Dow AgroSciences tobe resistant to 2,4-D, and several otherherbicides.

APHIS developed the DEIS afterconducting a thorough scientificanalysis and considering public com-ments received during a scoping

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3 WSSA Newsletter January, 2014

process that helped inform the devel-opment of the DEIS. APHIS will con-sider all public comments madeduring the virtual meeting andthrough www.Regulations.gov beforefinalizing the DEIS and preliminaryplant pest risk assessment, and mak-ing its final regulatory decision on theDow petitions. The public commentperiod is open from now through Feb-ruary 24, 2014.

For complete details and supportingdocuments, please go to:http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/meetings_24d_deis.shtml

SUPREME COURT DENIES HEARINGORGANIC SEED GROWERSHYPOTHETICAL LAWSUIT

In March 2011, seed and organicgroups and farmers preemptively fileda lawsuit against Monsanto seeking aruling that they could not be heldliable for patent infringement should

their products or fields be found to becontaminated with Monsanto's GMOproducts.

The lawsuit is not based on an actualdispute over a farmer getting caughtwith Monsanto’s licensed seed in afield (i.e. the Bowman case where heharvested his GMO beans and then re-planted them next year), but rather aneffort to bar such actions from beinginitiated by Monsanto. The districtcourt dismissed the suit in February2012, agreeing with an argument madeby Monsanto that the plaintiffs lackedsubject matter jurisdiction, finding “itis clear that these circumstances do notamount to a substantial controversyand that there has been no injury trace-able to defendants.” Later in 2012, theU.S. Court of Appeals also dismissedthe case, thus the organic farmers andseed growers tried one last despera-tion attempt with the Supreme Court.

Monsanto has repeatedly told theplaintiffs that the company has no

desire or intent to sue if their patentedseed or traits are found in a farmer’sfield as a result of inadvertent means.Both the constitution and the Declara-tory Judgment Act “do not permitfederal courts to exercise jurisdictionover such artificial and hypotheticaldisagreements, engineered solely toadvance a political position.” TheSupreme Court’s decision not toreview the case brings closure on thematter.

Lee Van Wychen, Ph.D.Science Policy DirectorNational and Regional Weed Science

Societies5720 Glenmullen PlaceAlexandria, VA 22303Lee.VanWychen@wssa.netcell: 202-746-4686www.wssa.net

WASHINGTON REPORT CONTINUED from pg 3

4 WSSA Newsletter January, 2014

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5 WSSA Newsletter January, 2014

I M P O R TA N T A D D R E S S E SPRESIDENTJim KellsTelephone: (517) 355-0271, ext. 1103e-mail: kells@msu.edu

PRESIDENT-ELECTJoe DiTomasoTelephone: (530) 754-8715e-mail: jmditomaso@ucdavis.edu

VICE-PRESIDENTDallas PetersonTelephone: (785) 532-0405e-mail: dpeterso@ksu.edu

PAST-PRESIDENTRod LymNorth Dakota State UniversityLoftsgard Hall 474DP. O. Box 6050Fargo, ND 58108-6050Telephone: (701) 231-8996Fax: (701) 231-8474e-mail: rod.lym@ndsu.edu

CONSTITUTION/MOPSPeter PorpigliaTelephone: (949) 221-6116e-mail: peterp@amvac-chemical.com

SECRETARYJohn MadsenMississippi State UniversityMailstop 96272 Research Blvd.Mississippi State, MS 39762Telephone: (662) 325-2428e-mail: jmadsen@gri.msstate.edu

TREASURERIan BurkeWashington State UniversityTelephone: (509) 335-2858e-mail: icburke@wsu.edu

NEWSLETTER EDITORS:

WSSAClifford (Trey) KogerSyngenta112 Meadowlark LaneIndianola, MS 38751Cell: (662) 207-1604e-mail: trey.koger@syngenta.com

Aquatic Plant Mgmt. Society (APMS)Cody GrayTelephone: (719) 886-4708e-mail: cody.gray@uniphos.com

NEWSSJacob BarneyTelephone: (814) 865-2242e-mail: jnbarney@vt.edu

NCWSSMark BernardsTelephone: (309) 298-1569e-mail: ml-bernards@wiu.edu

SWSSDarrin DoddsTelephone: (662) 325-4072e-mail: dmd76@pss.msstate.edu

WSWSPat ClayTelephone: (602) 206-9261e-mail: Pat.Clay@valent.com

CWSS-SCMHugh J. Beckie, PhD PAgResearch Scientist/Chercheur ScientifiqueHerbicide-Resistant & Novel-Trait Plants/Plantes resistantes aux herbicides et végétauxà caractères nouveaux

Science & Technology Branch/Directiongénérale des sciences et de la technologie

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada/Agricultureet Agroalimentaire Canada

107 Science PlaceSaskatoon, SK S7N0X2Telephone: 306-956-7251Facsimile/Telecopier: 306-956-7247e-mail: hugh.beckie@agr.gc.ca

IWSSDr. Samunder SinghDepartment of AgronomyCCS Haryana Agricultural UniversityHisar 125 004, IndiaVoice: 91 94160 07242e-mail: sam4884@gmail.com

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONSJames V. AndersonUSDA-ARS, PSR1605 Albrecht Blvd.Fargo, ND 58105-5674Telephone: (701) 239-1263Fax: (701) 239-1252e-mail: james.anderson@ars.usda.gov

DIRECTOR OF SCIENCE POLICYLee Van Wychen5720 Glenmullen PlaceAlexandria, VA 22303Telephone: (202) 746-4686e-mail: Lee.VanWychen@wssa.net

EXECUTIVE SECRETARYJoyce LancasterP. O. Box 1897Lawrence, KS 66044Telephone: (785) 843-1235, ext. 250Fax (785) 843-1274e-mail: jlancaster@allenpress.com

IWSSAlbert J. FischerVegetable Crops DeptUniversity of CaliforniaOne Shields Ave.Davis, CA 95616Telephone: (530) 752-7386Fax: (530) 752-4604e-mail: ajfischer@ucdavis.edu

CASTJeff DerrVirginia TechTelephone: (757) 363-3912Fax: (757) 363-3950e-mail: jderr@vt.edu

AIBS (Our Representative)Lee Van Wychen5720 Glenmullen PlaceAlexandria, VA 22303Telephone: (202) 746-4686e-mail: Lee.VanWychen@wssa.net

GRAD STUDENT REPAlexandra KnightTelephone: (740) 491-0367e-mail: amknigh4@ncsu.edu

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTSDATE EVENT LOCATION CONTACT

February 3–6, 2014 Joint WSSA and Canadian Weed Vancouver, Canada www.wssa.netScience Society Annual Meeting

March 10–13, 2014 Western Society of Weed Science Colorado Springs, Colorado www.wsweedscience.orgAnnual Meeting

July 13–16, 2014 Aquatic Plant Management Savannah, Georgia www.apms.orgSociety (APMS) Annual Meeting

February, 2015 Weed Science Society of America Lexington, Kentucky www.wssa.netAnnual Meeting

February 8–11, 2016 Joint WSSA and Southern Weed San Juan, Puerto Rico www.wssa.netScience Society Annual Meeting

2017 Weed Science Society of America Tucson, Arizona www.wssa.netAnnual Meeting

6 WSSA Newsletter January, 2014

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