PROCEEDINGS AOSA / SCST

Transcription

1 PROCEEDINGS AOSA / SCST 105th ANNUAL MEETING ASSOCIATION OF OFFICIAL SEED ANALYSTS, INC. AND 92nd ANNUAL MEETING SOCIETY OF COMMERCIAL SEED TECHNOLOGISTS, INC. Tampa, FL May 30 June 4, AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 1

2 AOSA EXECUTIVE BOARD Susan Reed, President (2016) Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Seed Laboratory Manager 600 North 5th St. Room 210 Richmond, VA Randy Crowl, Vice-President (2016) Colorado State University Colorado Seed Lab 301 University Ave Fort Collins, CO Janine Maruschak, Secretary-Treasurer (2017) CFIA Saskatoon Laboratory, Seed Science and Technology Section Downey Rd. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada S7N 4L8 Andrae McMillian (2015) Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industry P.O. Box Federal Drive Montgomery, AL Aaron Palmer, Board Member (2015) Arkansas State Plant Board #1 Natural Resources Drive Little Rock, AR Jeff Prischmann, Board Member (2017) North Dakota State Seed Department th St N Fargo, ND Victor Shaul, Board Member (2016) Washington Department of Agriculture Seed Program Operations Manager 21 North 1st Ave. #203 Yakima, WA 9890 Johnny Zook, Board Member (2017) Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry 2301 North Cameron St Harrisburg, PA Kent Von Lanken, Board Member (2016) Kentucky Ag. Experiment Station Seed Laboratory 103 Regulatory Services Bldg. Lexington, KY Telephone: (804) FAX: (804) Susan.reed@vdacs.virginia.gov Phone: (970) randy.crowl@colostate.edu Telephone: (306) FAX: (306) janine.maruschak@inspection.gc.ca Phone: (334) Fax: (334) Andrae.McMillian@agi.alabama.gov Telephone: (501) FAX: (501) Aaron.Palmer@aspb.ar.gov Telephone: (701) FAX: (701) jprischmann@ndseed.ndsu.edu Telephone: (509) Fax: (509) vshaul@agr.wa.gov Telephone: (717) Fax: (717) jzook@pa.gov Telephone: (859) FAX: (859) kvlanken@uky.edu 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 2

3 SCST EXECUTIVE BOARD SCST EXECUTIVE BOARD President (2015) Neal Foster, RST South Dakota Crop Improvement Association 2380 Research Park Way, Suite 136 Brookings, SD Telephone: Director-at-Large (2016) Steve Beals, RST Illinois Crop Improvement Association PO Box Research Road Champaign, IL Telephone: Fax: Director-at-Large (2017) DaNell Jamieson, RST, RGT Eurofins BioDiagnostics, Inc 570 Highland Drive River Falls, WI Telephone: Vice President (2015) Barbara Cleave, RST South Dakota Crop Improvement Association 2380 Research Park Way, Suite 136 Brookings, SD Telephone: Director-at-Large (2015) Sharon Davidson, RST Agri Seed Testing, Inc Davcor St SE Telephone: Fax: Director-at-Large (2017) Heidi Jo Larson, RST SGS Brookings nd Ave Brookings, SD Telephone: Fax: Director-at-Large (2016) David Stimpson, CGT Dow AgroSciences 9330 Zionsville Road Indianapolis, IN Telephone: AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 3

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS AOSA EXECUTIVE BOARD SCST EXECUTIVE BOARD AOSA/SCST ANNUAL MEETING... 6 BOARD AND BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES nd SCST EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING th EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING..8 JOINT SCST-AOSA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING JOINT SCST-AOSA LONG RANGE PLANNING MEETING JOINT SCST-AOSA BUSINESS MEETING nd SCST ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING th ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING OF AOSA COMMITTEE REPORTS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE EXAMINATION COMMITTEE..30 GENETIC TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE HANDBOOK COMMITTEE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE JOURNAL COMMITTEE LAB STANDARDS AND DOCUMENTATION COMMITTEE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE NECROLOGY REPORT PROFICIENCY TESTING COMMITTEE REFEREE COMMITTEE RESEARCH COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RULES COMMITTEE TEACHING AND TRAINING COMMITTEE RESEARCH SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS CONSERVATION & RECLAMATION SPECIES/TREE AND SHRUB SUBCOMMITTEE CULTIVAR PURITY SUBCOMMITTEE FLOWER SEEDLING SUBCOMMITTEE GERMINATION AND DORMANCY SUBCOMMITTEE PURITY SUBCOMMITTEE SEED MOISTURE SUBCOMMITTEE SEED PATHOLOGY SUBCOMMITTEE STATISTICS SUBCOMMITTEE TETRAZOLIUM SUBCOMMITTEE VIGOR SUBCOMMITTEE SCST COMMITTEE REPORTS ETHICS COMMITTEE NOMINATING COMMITTEE SEED LIBRARY COMMITTEE AOSA COMMITTEE REPORTS AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 4

5 AFFILIATE COMMITTEE REPORT AUDIT REPORT BY-LAWS COMMITTEE CONTINUING EDUCATION COMMITTEE AOSA MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE..63 NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING ATTENDEES SCST MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD, HONORARY MEMBERS,... AND GAVEL CLUB MEMBERS RECIPIENTS OF THE SCST MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD SCST HONORARY MEMBERS SCST GAVEL CLUB AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 5

6 2015 AOSA/SCST ANNUAL MEETING BOARD AND BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES SCST EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING SCST Executive Board May 30, 2015 Tampa, FL 8:00 am I. Call to Order President Neal Foster called the meeting to order. II. Anti-Trust Policy President Neal Foster read and reviewed the Anti-Trust Policy. III. Introduction of SCST Board Elect Members Newly elected Board of Directors, whose terms are to begin at the end of the annual meeting, David Johnston and Jennifer Pernsteiner introduced themselves. IV. Additions to and Approval of agenda Heidi Larson moved to approve the agenda as printed. Steve Beals seconded. Motion carried. V. Minutes from May 6 th Board Meeting DaNell Jamieson moved to approve the minutes as read. Steve Beals seconded. Motion carried. VI. Financial Report a. Statements b. Annual Meeting Account c. Bills-WSS Bills DaNell Jamieson moved to approve the financial report as provided. Heidi Larson seconded. Motion carried. VII. Reports/Updates a. Legal Update Brent Reschly gave an update on the legal situation. b. Uniformity David Stimpson had no update to give on the uniformity working group. They have not met since last meeting in Minneapolis. c. Journal of Seed Technology Update 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 6

7 DaNell gave an update on the activities of the Journal of Seed Technology. d. Board Member Reports i. David Stimpson-No update to give ii. Heidi Larson-Working on updating committee handbook, getting ready for meeting iii. DaNell Jamieson-Update on Journal of Seed Technology, Ethics Issues, and Canada annual meeting iv. Sharon Davidson-Absent v. Steve Beals-update on Seed library e. Vice-President Barbara Cleave gave an update on the candidates that passed the examination offered in April at Iowa State University. Issue with points required for taking the examination was discussed. Barbara also discussed the request to make Teaching and Training a standing committee. f. President Neal Foster gave an update on the request for a TZ workshop. It was decided to have the workshop in conjunction with the Western Seed Trade Association meeting. VIII. Old Business a. STRF Neal Foster gave an update on the activities of the STRF. David Stimpson moved and DaNell Jamieson amended that SCST President Neal Foster directs the STRF Board to write the MOU to comprise the Board of 2 SCST Board appointed representatives, 2 AOSA Board appointed representatives, and one at large STRF Board member for a total of only 5 voting STRF Board members. Otherwise SCST withdraws their support of STRF. David Stimpson seconded the amendment. Motion carried. b. Election David Stimpson was elected for the Vice President term. David Johnston and Jennifer Pernsteiner were elected for the Board of Director Positions. Alan Galbraith was elected for the Honorary Member. c. Seal The use of an Electronic seal over the crimp seal was discussed and will be presented at the Long Range Planning meeting for further discussion. d. Consolidation Consolidation between AOSA and SCST was discussed. David Stimpson gave a brief overview of his presentation for the Long Range Planning. e. Legal Proceedings Brent Reschly updated the Board previously under VII. A. f. Annual Meeting i. Business Meeting SCST-June 4, :15-12: AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 7

8 ii. Joint Board Meeting-May 30, :00-4:00 IX. New Business a. Finances i. Revise WSS Monthly Fee Heidi moved that SCST increase Western Sky Strategies (WSS) fees $500. DaNell seconded. Motion carried. ii. Budget WSS reviewed the SCST Budget b. PSR Terminology Steve Beals discussed a problem with confusion of the terminology on a laboratory report. c. Long Range Planning The topics to be covered at the Long Range Planning meeting were divided up among Board Members X. Other XI. Adjourn Heidi Larson moved to adjourn the meeting. Steve Beals seconded. Motion carried. AOSA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING AOSA Board of Directors Meeting Minutes May 30, 2015 Tampa FL Call to Order: Susan Reed, called the meeting to order at 8:05 am Introductions: Susan introduced the new ex-officio member of the board representing USDA, Pattsy Jackson. Additions to and approval to the Agenda: Bylaw future amendments and Native Species Panel at the Kansas City Seed Trade meeting were added to the Agenda. Victor moved to accept the amended agenda, Aaron seconded. Approval of the minutes of the last meeting: A couple of corrections were made. Randy moved to approve the previous meeting minutes as amended. Johnny seconded. Financial report/budget: deferred to later in the agenda when a projector and Jess would be available. Executive Director report: deferred to later in the agenda when Jess would be available. Old business o Investigation: 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 8

9 Susan summarized recent information received regarding the legal investigation and shared with Board Members. Susan is contesting charges from Harris Beach (Law firm) that appear to be related to time spent bringing the replacement lawyer up to date on the case. These charges should be removed because it was not our choice to switch lawyers (first lawyer left the firm). o STRF There was discussion about STRF bylaws. There were a number of ideas suggested to improve clarity in the governance of STRF e.g. length of terms of officers and board members, process for nominations and elections, conflict of interest, numbers of AOSA and SCST representatives as members of the STRF Board, etc. Recommendations included revising the Memorandum of Understanding with STRF to have 2 AOSA members and 2 SCST members on the STRF Board. Janine moved that we ask SCST if they would join us in sending a letter to STRF requesting that there be 2 AOSA and 2 SCST members on the STRF board. Aaron seconded. Motion approved. o ISTA- Annual meeting, Native Committee, International Memberships Randy will attend the ISTA annual meeting in Uruguay as our AOSA representative. While there, one of the opportunities is to promote the benefits of membership in AOSA. Each country in S.A. has at least one government official lab and there are more than 200 seed labs in Brazil and 100 in Argentina, so there are a lot of potential members. We will be offering international members the opportunity to join our association Preparation of a fact sheet about the member categories, fees and benefits for Randy to use while there would be very useful as a hand out. Applicable membership categories under our current Bylaws : o Allied member- labs of government agencies and institutions outside the US and Canada. o Associate member any individual involved in seed research etc. o The current Associate Member fee is 300 USD o Suggestions that 500 or 600 USD could be a membership fee for Allied Member Labs. o One of the member benefits is a free electronic copy of the Rules. o Janine volunteered to draft a one-pager about the member categories, fees and benefits for the board to review for Randy s use while he is at the ISTA meeting AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 9

10 The Allied member fee will have to be voted on by the AOSA membership. ISTA has asked for AOSA and SCST collaboration on a Native (Wild) Species Working group to develop test method guidelines for native species. Joel Lechappe and Craig McGill (ISTA Pres and VP) will explain the initiative at the Conservation Committee open meeting. Native Species Workshop/Panel at the Western Seed Trade meeting. It has been recommended that AOSA/SCST set up a TZ workshop /panel discussion at the Western Seed Trade Meeting in Kansas City in November. Suggestions for possible participants were discussed and would be shared with the SCST Board at the Joint Board Meeting. OECD meeting o Dan Curry is attending the OECD Annual Meeting this week as AOSA s representative. o A Biotechnology test method workshop is planned at the OECD meeting in Paris in January. o AOSA/SCST should send a representative to this workshop so that our associations have some input into the methods developed. o To discuss at the Joint Board Meeting NASDA Survey: o The survey needs to be completed to gather information that could help membership decide whether AOSA should move forward with Consolidation. o Before the questions, have a lead in paragraph describing who we are. Describe that we need their participation at the meetings, since what we do affects the whole industry o Next board meeting discuss the survey. Target to send it out by the end of July Consolidation discussion: delayed until after we have the results of the NASDA Survey. Uniformity update: The Uniformity Task Force has brought up the possibility of lab accreditation or audits to make sure labs are following the same standards. How would the cost of these audits be covered? Many state labs don t have the money to do it? Could there be an industry check off program to cover the cost? 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 10

11 o Don t have the money now, but can do other things (perhaps a self audit check list) o Quality management workshop would be a good thing to have at the next annual meeting to provide more information to members about quality systems and quality system audits. Mission statement Will table this topic until next board meeting Copyright/ Publications Will table this topic until next board meeting New business o Proficiency testing Should we adopt the SCST proficiency test program? Do we want a joint PT program with SCST or conduct our own? Would need to come up with some funding to prepare and send the PT out. Will discuss with USDA to see if they can help with implementing a PT program. Once we determine the actual cost we could adjust dues to offset costs. Need a committee, Johnny Zook and Pattsy Jackson will be the two board members Will also ask at business meeting for volunteers o WSS contract and annual assessment WSS provided extra work this past year that was not part of their original agreed upon duties e.g. Journal Committee, STRF, and Annual Meeting planning. WSS workload related to these activities should be reduced in future years. The board will set up an annual assessment of WSS at the next board meeting. Signing of the contract was delayed until after approval of the budget The contract includes an increase from $5,000 per month to $5,500 per month. Victor made a motion to accept the contract. Randy seconded. Motion passed. o Financials Janine and Jess presented the financial reports provided by ACM (Anton Collins Mitchell LLP), the accounting firm contracted by WSS for management of AOSA finances. The draft budget provided by ACM was reviewed and revised by the board. Final decision about the budget by the board was postponed until after the Joint Board Meeting AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 11

12 Victor made a motion to accept the budget. Randy seconded. Motion passed. o Website Update of the AOSA website will be made a priority following the Annual Meeting. o Regulatory meeting Topics for the regulatory meeting Susan explained the purpose of this meeting is to communicate the role of regulatory labs, consumer protection, level playing field for the industry etc. Provide an opportunity for AOSA labs to discuss testing issues. Discuss the importance of AOSA labs following AOSA Rules for regulatory compliance testing. Options for ensuring quality of AOSA lab results e.g. mandatory PT, offering 3 rd party referee testing, quality management systems. o Joint Board agenda Investigation STRF OECD molecular testing workshop Uniformity Consolidation NASDA survey Florescence calculation issue Victor o Long Range Planning agenda Janine will clarify with SCST whether AOSA agenda items can be added since it is a very good forum to discuss issues of interest to the membership prior to the business meeting. Add the following AOSA items: Proposal to add TZ Handbook to the Rules, AOSA PT Committee, Update on Uniformity Taskforce. o Attendance at affiliate association meetings The board decided to have Jess represent AOSA at the ASTA annual meeting in Washington, DC, and Johnny will represent us at the AASCO meeting in St. Louis in July. o Adjourn: Aaron motioned to adjourn. Randy seconded. Motion passed AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 12

13 JOINT SCST-AOSA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING AOSA SCST Joint Board Meeting May 31, 2015 Tampa, FL I. Call to Order President Susan Reed, AOSA and President Neal Foster, SCST called the meeting to order at 1:15 pm. II. III. IV. Anti-Trust Policy The anti-trust policy was read. Investigation and Legal Proceedings Both Associations reviewed the status of the legal proceedings. Janine Maruschak moved that both Associations write a letter to the Assistant District Attorney in New York to plead their case. Victor Shaul seconded. Motion carried. STRF AOSA and SCST reviewed their discussions on the STRF. Janine Maruschak moved that AOSA join SCST on the letter that they are writing to STRF. Victor Shaul seconded. Motion Carried. V. OECD Working Group The formation of a molecular testing workshop and setting up a working group to determine testing procedures by ISTA and OECD was discussed. Dan Curry is getting information on the working group. Both Boards believe that it is important that both Associations have an input into this. Janine moved that Neal ask Doug Miller if he would attend the OECD workshop in Paris. Dave Stimpson seconded. Motion carried. VI. Uniformity a. Seed Survey WSS had broken down the seed survey sent out by Dr. Payne. WSS asked ASTA if they were interested in helping the Associations have Dr. Payne analyze the data. Both AOSA and SCST decided to proceed even if ASTA will not provide any financial support due to the expected low cost of this task. b. TZ workshop Neal Foster gave an update on a request for a TZ workshop. The Boards decided that the appropriate place to host the TZ workshop would be at 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 13

14 the Western Seed Trade Association Meeting. The workshop would have speakers and a forum. This would allow AOSA/SCST to educate the end users of the results provided. c. Uniformity Taskforce Meeting The uniformity taskforce meeting in Minneapolis was reviewed. VII. VIII. IX. Consolidation a. AOSA Survey AOSA reviewed the survey that will be sent out to NASDA members to gather information about potential issues for AOSA/SCST consolidation. Targeting the end of June/beginning of July to send the survey. b. Umbrella organization David Stimpson gave an overview of his umbrella organization presentation. David Stimpson gave an overview of his umbrella organization presentation. Fluorescence The Boards were informed that the Fluorescence calculation in the AOSA Rules book is faulty. Victor Shaul is going to try to prepare a tentative rule proposal that can be voted on by the Boards and presented during the Open Rules session if possible. Long Range Planning Agenda AOSA added a few topics they would like to discuss to the agenda. Presenters were assigned for the topics. X. Joint Business Meeting Corrections were made to the presenters and the names of the committees. Randy Crowl was appointed to read the resolutions. XI. Annual Meeting Location 2016 The locations for the 2016 Annual meeting were discussed. DaNell moved that the meeting be held at the Red Lion Vancouver, WA June 10 th -15 th with the workshops to be held at the end of the meeting. This allows some overlapping with ASTA. Discussion ensued about the quality of the hotel. DaNell withdrew her motion. Barbara will look into the hotel when she returns from Tampa. XII. Adjourn Heidi Larson moved to adjourn. Janine Maruschak seconded. Motion carried AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 14

15 JOINT SCST-AOSA LONG RANGE PLANNING MEETING AOSA/SCST Long Range Planning June 3, :00am-12:00 Tampa, FL 1. Changes to Constitution and Bylaws 1. Mandatory Proficiency Testing There was discussion about what was meant by the kind of seed. It was requested to change the word samples to tests. The grading section needs to be worded to specify conventional grading since the genetic grading will be different for each area. 2. Continuing Education Points There was a request to specify that instructors for workshops get the same amount of points as participants of the workshop. This is due to the fact that instructors put a lot of time and work into the workshop. It was also asked that points for proficiency test be removed since we are voting to make proficiency testing mandatory. 3. Professional Membership Category After multiple discussions, it was decided to table this topic and redo the description. 4. Teaching and Training Standing Committee The discussion revolved around how it has the duties of the teaching and training committee have become important in the day to day activities of the society. 5. Journal of Seed Technology Standing Committee The wording of the committee makeup of the chair needs to be redone. There was discussion about how many members were familiar with the Journal of Seed Technology and how to subscribe. It was recommended that a line be added to the Membership Dues invoices for Members to subscribe. 2. Laboratory Membership in SCST 1. Laboratory Membership The idea of a laboratory membership category for SCST was presented. It was decided that a working group be formed to work out the details of the category. The working group appointed: Harold Armstrong, Sue Alvarez, Doug Miller, Steve Beals, Angie Rutt, Alan Galbreth, and a SCST Board of Director. 2. Audit Program The thought of a self-audit program with an external audit every few years was discussed as part of the requirement for the laboratory membership. 3. Membership outside of North America There was discussion about the possibility of the laboratory membership category bringing in members from outside of North America 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 15

16 3. International Membership in AOSA 1. Allied Membership 2. Associate Membership Susan reviewed that AOSA is looking into talking to labs outside the US to see if there is interest in membership in AOSA. Harold Armstrong discussed about other countries already have to deal with documents/contracts being written in English. Deborah Meyer brought up that AOSA had Allied and Associate Membership categories in the past. 4. SCST Electronic Seals 1. Elimination of crimp seal, except in special cases Neal Foster brought up the problem of having crimp seals returned to the SCST office when someone retires or becomes inactive. The thought of using an electronic seal was discussed. Possible problems would be in the use of International countries like to see that crimp seal. The possibility of using a gold embossed sticker seal was discussed. Some potential possibilities would be an electronic seal with an expiratory key. The importance of the list of issued seal numbers on the SCST website was discussed. 5. Teleconferencing for the Annual Meeting Due to restricted travel budgets, the thought of allowing teleconferencing for the annual meeting was discussed. Due to the costs, this would not be available for all committee meetings. A registration fee could still be charged as well. Some concerns would be that companies would not send any representation again. Another concern would be would there be a quorum present. Also would the teleconference attendees be allowed to vote on the rules and business meeting topics. It was decided to form a working group to look into teleconferencing further. The working group: Brenda Johnson, Chris Tjeide, Mike Stahr, Quinn Gillespie, and Ciara Clark. 6. Distribution of Rules 1. Paper 2. CD Electronic File Only The ways the rules are distributed were discussed to see if it was the most efficient and cost effective way. Different restrictions for web access block some companies from accessing a website for file sharing sites. Electronic would help keep labs more up to date. It was decided that at the beginning of September, a questionnaire would be sent out asking if people would want an electronic file or a CD version of the rules. If no response is received, a CD would be sent to those individuals. The licensing stickers would still be sent out for printed versions AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 16

17 7. Translation of Rules The importance of translating the AOSA Rules for Testing Seeds and the RST Study Guide were discussed. The most prohibitive thing is the cost involved in accomplishing this. Quotes ranged from $4,000 to upwards of $20,000. Next would be the concern of translating the updates. Currently ISTA has members that translate the updates for the ISTA Rules. It was decided a working group should look into the cost and possibility of grants to achieve this. The working group: Victor Vankus, Robert Price, Harold Armstrong, Brent Reschly, and Brett Roberts. 8) Proposal to Make the TZ Handbook Part of the Rules Randy Crowl brought up that for the sake of uniformity he believes that the TZ Handbook should be made part of the AOSA Rules. Amy Vogt expressed Annette Miller s concern about moving the TZ Handbook into the rules. Annette does not believe that it is ready for that. Other discussion was what is the TZ test going to be used for: stand-alone test or labeling purposes. The belief is that the TZ committee would need to review before it would be brought to the membership. 9) Registration: Meetings-Workshops There were concerns addressed about those registering on-line versus snail mail for limited space workshops. It was decided to allow both options and those registering through snail mail could call WSS and let them know they are registering for the workshops. 10) Workshops a) Funding Policies were reviewed for funding workshops. The registration fees are to cover the costs of putting on the workshop including: speaker/instructor fees, meals, supplies, etc. b) Outside of Associations Workshops from outside associations must have prior approval. 11) AOSA Proficiency Testing Committee AOSA is looking into developing a proficiency testing committee. This will be discussed at the AOSA Business meeting. 12) Update on Uniformity Task Force Victor Shaul gave an update from the Uniformity Task Force in Minneapolis in the Fall of Groups present were: AOSA, SCST, ASTA, AOSCA, AASCO. The concern of lack of uniformity was discussed and multiple options of how to address the issue were discussed. The agreed upon option was to do an audit of some sort. The discussion then revolved around funding for auditing. 13) Umbrella Organization David Stimpson presented an idea of creating an umbrella organization that 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 17

18 would allow both Societies to exist. When traveling to Association meetings, AOSA and SCST are presenting very similar reports and Associations are always asking why we are two separate groups. This would allow AOSA to remain responsible for the Rules. This would require no changes to state seed laws. SCST would remain responsible for the accreditation of the analysts. Each Society would still have their Boards. An umbrella Board would be created with representatives from both Societies. Each year would have a rotation as to whether AOSA or SCST representative was in charge. 14) Break into Regional Groups for Annual Meeting Planning Individuals broke into the four regional groups: Western, Midwest, Eastern, and Canada. Each group was assigned a task of appointing a working group, deciding 3 potential locations, and dates for the annual meeting is Western is the Midwest is the Eastern. JOINT SCST-AOSA BUSINESS MEETING Association of Official Seed Analyst Society of Commercial Seed Technologists June 4, :00-9:30 I. Call the meeting to order President Susan Reed, AOSA and President Neal Foster called the meeting to order at 8:06 am II. Anti-Trust Policy The anti-trust policy was read III. Appointed Parliamentarian(s) and Sergeant-at-Arms. Brent Reschly and Don Ogawa were appointed Sergeant-at-arms. Pat Brownfield was appointed Parliamentarian. IV Voting Mike Stahr presented the each rule proposal and made a motion for adopting. AOSA members voted using color coded voting cards. SCST members recorded their votes on paper ballots. The Results of AOSA voting: Proposal # AOSA Yes Votes AOSA No Votes AOSA Abstains* AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 18

19 The results of SCST voting: Proposal # SCST Yes Votes SCST No Votes SCST Abstentions AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 19

20 Final combined AOSA and SCST voting results: Proposal # AOSA % Pass SCST % Pass AOSA/SCST Passed Supermajority % 98.7% Yes % 97.3% Yes % 100.0% Yes % 100.0% Yes % 98.7% Yes % 100.0% Yes % 98.7% Yes % 100.0% Yes % 98.7% Yes % 98.7% Yes % 98.7% Yes % 100.0% Yes % 98.7% Yes % 97.3% Yes % 97.3% Yes % 100.0% Yes % 100.0% Yes % 98.7% Yes % 95.9% Yes % 100.0% Yes % 100.0% Yes % 92.4% Yes % 98.8% Yes % 98.6% Yes % 98.8% Yes % 62.3% Yes % 76.1% Yes % 90.8% Yes % 94.4% Yes 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 20

21 *Rules are voted on by one member from each Official Laboratory of the Association of Official Seed Analysts and by individual voting members of the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists (SCST) in attendance at their respective business meetings. Votes in favor and those opposed are converted to percentages based on the total number of votes cast within each respective organization. The percentage designation is then dropped and the tally form each organization is added together for a cumulative total based on 200. A two-thirds majority of the cumulative tally is required to adopt a Rule proposal. To pass with two-thirds majority vote, a cumulative tally of 134 in favor out of 200 total combined points would be required. V. Committee Reports A. Communications and Public Relations DaNell Jamieson presented the Communications and Public Relations Committee report. B. RGT Exam Committee Randy Collins presented the RGT Exam Committee report. C. RST Exam Committee Barbara Cleave presented the RST Exam Committee report. D. Genetic Technology Committee Brenda Johnson presented the Genetic Technology Committee report. E. Handbook Committee Jennifer Pernsteiner presented the Handbook Committee report. F. Journal Committee Victor Vankus presented the Journal Committee report. G. International Committee Doug Miller presented the International Committee report. H. Lab Standards and Documentation Angie Rutt presented the Lab Standards and Documentation Committee report. I. Legislative Committee Randy Judd presented the Legislative Committee report. J. Proficiency Testing Committee Steve Beals presented the Proficiency Testing Committee report. K. Referee Committee Harold Armstrong presented the Referee Committee report. L. Research Committee Sabry Elias presented the Research Committee report. M. Rules Committee Michael Stahr presented the Rules Committee report. N. Teaching and Training Committee Terry Dunfield presented the Teaching and Training Committee report. Research Subcommittee Reports A. Conservation and Reclamation Species/Tree & Shrub Subcommittee Victor Vankus presented the Conservation and Reclamation species/tree & Shrub Subcommittee report. B. Cultivar Purity Subcommittee Jeff Prischmann presented the Cultivar Purity Subcommittee report AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 21

22 C. Flower Seed Subcommittee Sarah Dammen presented the Flower Seed Subcommittee report. D. Germination and Dormancy Subcommittee David Johnston presented the Germination and Dormancy Subcommittee report. E. Purity Subcommittee Deborah Meyer presented the Purity Subcommittee report. F. Seed Moisture Subcommittee Sabry Elias presented the Seed Moisture Subcommittee report. G. Statistics Subcommittee Sabry Elias presented the Statistics Subcommittee report. H. Tetrazolium Subcommittee Terry Freeman presented the Tetrazolium Subcommittee report. I. Vigor Testing Subcommittee Mike Stahr presented the Vigor Testing Subcommittee report. VI. Resolutions Committee Report Randy Crowl presented the Resolutions Committee Report. VII. Adjourn SCST 92 ND ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING SCST Annual Business Meeting Minutes June 4, 2015 Fargo, ND I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by President Neal Foster at 11:21 am. II. Anti-Trust Policy The anti-trust policy was read III. Appoint Sergeant at Arms President Neal appointed Don Ogawa and Brent Reschly as Sergeant at Arms. IV. Roll Call President Neal Foster took roll call to determine that a quorum was present. V. Approve Agenda David Stimpson moved to approve agenda as printed. DaNell Jamieson seconded. Motion carried AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 22

23 VI. Approve Minutes from the June 5 th, 2014 Annual Business Meeting Don Ogawa moved to approve the minutes from the 2014 Annual business meeting as printed in the 2014 meeting proceedings. Jean Tolliver seconded. Motion carried. VII. Reports a. Directors-at-large 1. DaNell Jamieson As part of my duties as Director-at-Large, I am the US representative to CSAAC (Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada). I participated in all the CSAAC Board of Directors conference calls. Unfortunately, I will not able to attend their annual meeting this year that will be held in Saskatoon. I will participate in their board meeting by teleconference. For the SCST Board, I participated in all the conference calls and attended the annual board meeting in Tampa. I serve on Ethics Committee and the Seed Technology Journal Committee. It has been an eventful year and it has been a privilege to work with the SCST and CSAAC Boards. I look forward to the next year. 2. David Stimpson Uniformity I met with the Uniformity Task Force in Minneapolis in the past year. We have continued to work on achieving uniformity with a focus on germination and dormancy, particularly in native species and cover crops, etc. This initiative is continuing with discussions with Jess and Pat. Ethics I was the Board representative on the Ethics Committee. There was action taken on a couple of issues earlier this year. Representing As Board members, we are called upon to represent the Society and give reports, etc. OECD I attended the Annual meeting of the Seed Schemes in Zagreb, Croatia. I gave reports for SCST, AOSA, and AOSCA. The USDA chaired the meeting so I acted as the US Delegate. AASCO - I attended the annual meeting in Denver last year. ASTA (Dec. Mtg.) I represented the Society at the CSS meeting in Chicago. Besides these activities, I attended the monthly Board meetings and the various Joint Board meeting calls. 3. Heidi Larson 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 23

24 Thank you for the opportunity to serve as a Board of Director again. Throughout the year I have kept busy participating in monthly conference calls. I have also kept busy with preparing, sending out, and grading the proficiency test as co-chair of the proficiency committee. With various uniformity issues, I have worked with the CRTS subcommittee to try to add PSU numbers and working weights to the rules for commonly tested native species. 4. Sharon Davidson Absent 5. Steve Beals I am completing the second year of my three year term on the SCST Board of Directors. Over the last year I have participated in the SCST conference calls and board meetings and in the joint AOSA/SCST conference calls and board meetings. I attended the 2015 ASTA Vegetable and Flower Seed Conference held in Tampa this past January. At that time, Neal Foster and I were able to tour the Embassy Suites Hotel for the 2015 AOSA/SCST Annual Meeting location. I was Co-Chair of the SCST conventional Proficiency Testing Committee until the conclusion of the meeting this year and I would like to thank Nicolette Rusch for stepping in to fill the vacancy. I continue to be Co- Chair of the SCST Seed Library and Herbarium. I appreciate the opportunity to have worked with the current Board of Directors and look forward to working with the newly elected board members in the year to come. 6. Ex Officio-Brent Reschly This report is to inform the membership of the current legal proceedings. In April of 2014 the NY State Police turned the case against Ms. Hall over to the Assistant District Attorney of Thompkins County. The case is currently in the hands of the ADA awaiting their decision on whether to pursue charges or not. b. Vice President Barbara Cleave The year has passed quickly. I have participated in monthly conference calls and special conference calls with involvement in the examination committee and Teaching and Training. We have seen a great amount of progress in updating training and examination materials for analysts, and we had increased opportunities for continuing education points. With efforts from members of the examination committee and teaching and training committee, a first draft of a merged examination study guide 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 24

25 has been completed and posted on the websites. Further revisions will occur in the coming year and be posted. New computer-based training materials have been created and will shortly be available to the membership due to the efforts of a special working group in Teaching and Training. Two conventional examinations were administered since the last meeting; one in August 2014 and another in April We are happy to welcome several CVT s as new members to the Society. The RGT BOE conducted their annual written examination at this meeting, as always with great organization and professionalism. Much work has progressed in updating Chapter 14 of the SCST Seed Technologist Training Manual. This has been an enormous task and we are looking forward to the final draft of the chapter. Additionally, updating of requirements and structure of the RGT examination are in progress. We appreciate the dedication of the RGT BOE and Genetic Technology committee and thanks to Randy Collins for his countless volunteer hours in pushing these projects forward. I am excited to soon be serving as president of the society and I look forward to the next two years. c. President Neal Foster Looking back over the past two years I wonder where the time has gone and what we have accomplished. There have been many issues that have been righted and many that are in the process of being righted. The membership roles have been straightened out and dues have been brought up to date. One of the items that we need to work on is the billing for dues. Many members have commented that they are getting second and third notices after they have already paid. In many instances the payment and invoice cross in the mail. On the bright side to this dilemma you are getting notices, in the past this was not done and it was not followed up on putting the society in limbo for membership dues. Some of the other issues that the board has spent time on is uniformity, additional membership category for laboratories, laboratory audit program, consolidation, seals, misuse of seals, legal issues, STRF, seed survey, D&O insurance, translation of rules to Spanish, SCST library, and the journal of seed technology, How to deal with uniformity is a complex issue involving several large changes to our society. It would involve developing a category for laboratory membership and the development of an audit program for the laboratories. The addition of a category for laboratory membership would allow the laboratory to be audited and not the individual member AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 25

26 Consolidation has been revived from dormancy after several years and while no great progress has been made the issue is still alive and being discussed. Seals and their misuse was also an item that worked its way through several board meetings. A few members have modified their seals as it appears on their reports to reflect a member since line. This has happened in the past and at that time it was felt that this was an alteration of the seal and insignia. Letters were sent to the members in question and hopefully the problem has been resolved. This issue brought up the discussion of the use of electronic seals. The seals would be reissued with each renewal. It would help SCST around several issues that arise with seal use, 1) not having the seal returned once a member goes RMI, 2) misuse of the seal and insignia, 3) cancelation of the seal when a member does not keep current with dues. This is a topic that needs to be aired and reviewed with the membership. Legal issues have been an ongoing obstacle with SCST. At this time upon advice from the SCST lawyer I cannot go into detail on this matter, only that the matter is progressing albeit slowly. The Seed Survey on duplicate methods for germination procedures was reworked and distributed to the membership for input. At this time we are working to decide how to best analyze and distribute the results. I can safely say that the SCST board now has D & O insurance after going numerous years without. This is a necessity for any volunteer organization to provide protection for its elected volunteer board members. The SCST Library has moved from Colorado to a new home in Ames Iowa. Many thanks are due to Brent Reschly in helping make the move. The Journal of Seed Technology is under SCST in a quasi-independent way. The bookkeeping for the Journal falls under SCST and there are checks and balances in place to review billing and payments. M A Member of the SCST board will sit on the Journal committee to keep the SCST board posted on developments. The journal is important to the membership in that it adds a level of professionalism to our organization. The good news is that if it were not for a couple of past commitments the journal would cash flow. d. Executive Director Report 1. Membership Update 2014 Membership update 2. Financial update A printed copy of the financial statement was provided by Western Skies for the membership to review 3. Activity Report 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 26

27 Western Skies provided a handout on their activities since taking over as Executive Director on January 1 st. e. Audit Committee The audit committee, Nicolette Rusch and I reviewed the SCST financials on June 1st and found everything to be in order. Respectfully submitted, Jean Tolliver f. Committee Reports 1. Ethics Committee Doug Miller presented the ethics committee report. 2. Nominations Brad Johnson presented the nominations committee report. 3. Seed Library Steve Beals presented the seed library committee report. Jean Tolliver moved to accept the reports as read. Melissa Phillips seconded. Motion carried. VIII. Old Business IX. New Business X. Other Business XI. Installation of new Board Members Barbara Cleave was sworn in as the new President. David Stimpson was sworn in as the new Vice-President. David Johnston and Jennifer Pernsteiner were sworn in as the new Board of Directors. XII. Announcement of next annual meeting The 2016 annual meeting will be held in Vancouver, WA June 3-9 th, XIII. Adjourn Neal Foster moved to adjourn the meeting. David Carrillo seconded. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 12:32 pm. 105TH ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING OF AOSA AOSA Business Meeting Minutes June 4, 2015 Call to Order: Susan Reed, President called the meeting to order. Approve the agenda: Debbie Meyer made a motion to approve the agenda. Victor seconded. Approve minutes: Brent Turnipseed made a motion that we accept the minutes of the previous meeting. Kathleen Willey seconded AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 27

28 State of the Association: Provided as a report by Jess Peterson. Financial Report: Janine Maruschak reviewed the budget for approved by the AOSA Board. Janine made a motioned to approve the budget. Victor Shaul seconded the motion. Motion passed. Janine reviewed the financial reports provided by Anton Collins Mitchell (ACM) which included profit & loss, July 2014-April 2015 profit & loss, Balance Sheet as of April 30, 2015 and Annual Meeting Income Summary as of May 30, Janine made a motion to approve the financial reports. Brent Turnipseed seconded. Motion passed. Proposed Bylaws discussion - Kathleen Willey presented the proposed bylaw amendments that will be voted on in the 60 days following this meeting. Special Committee reports: Due to limited time the following reports were requested to be submitted and presented for publishing in the Proceedings rather than be read. A) Nominations Committee B) Bylaws Committee Old Business a. Uniformity Task Force Update Randy Crowl and Victor Shaul are our AOSA representatives on the Uniformity Task Force, and attended a working group meeting in Minneapolis last fall. The work of the Task Force is ongoing. b. Contract Renewal The contract with WSS was renewed for another year. c. Investigation A brief update about the legal investigation was provided. New Business a. Committees - Proposed amendments to the Bylaws will continue to be made to ensure the bylaws reflect the current committees and their functions. b. Proficiency Committee - A committee has been initiated to work on the details of AOSA s proficiency testing program. Johnny Zook and Pattsy Jackson from the AOSA Board are the first two members of the PT committee. Additional volunteers from the membership will be added. c. Annual Meeting Committee - Regional working groups were formed during the Long Range Planning Meeting. The expectation is that these working groups will help WSS plan and organize the annual meetings. d. International Members - The board is working on promoting the benefits of becoming AOSA members to government seed labs and individuals 2015 AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 28

29 involved in seed testing from S. America. Our current member categories of Associate Member and Allied Member are applicable. Randy Crowl will be discussing the benefits of these member categories with potential members while he is at the upcoming ISTA Annual meeting in Uruguay. Recognition outgoing officers and Installation of new officers Deborah Meyer, Stan Akagi were welcomed as new officers. Andrae McMillan will stay on to fulfill Kent VonLanken s term. Aaron s term is concluded. Thank you Aaron for your service on the Board. Photo declined. Announcement Janine Maruschak announced a correction about AOSA Rules proposal #27 outcome. i. Recount currently happening. Please disregard previous announcement of outcome. Adjourn Deborah Meyer motioned to adjourn. Pattsy Jackson seconded the motion. Motion passed. COMMITTEE REPORTS COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE Communications and Public Relations Committee Report Tampa, FL 2015 The Newsletter Committee and the Public Relations Committee have been rolled into the Communications and Public Relations Committee. Presently the Vice Chair is Harold Armstrong and the Chair is DaNell Jamieson. SCST was promoted and publicized to the Seed Trade and in the Industry Periodicals/Magazines. Information is released to the membership through the SCST Website and s. The Communications and Public Relations Committee met in Tampa to review the Website. There were two members in attendance. We would like to invite members who were on the Website Task Force to join the Communications and Public Relations Committee AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 29

30 In regards to recapping the Annual Meeting, we would like to ask all chairs of the Purity Workshop, TZ Workshop, Germination Workshop, and the Research Paper Session to provide a short synopsis of your activity at the annual meeting to the Committee Chair. If anyone would like to send a note about the Referee Presentations & Buzz Session, the Baseball Game, Silent Auction & Social Hour or the Awards Banquet to be Committee Chair to be posted on the Website it would be greatly appreciated. Respectfully submitted, DaNell Jamieson Harold Armstrong EXAMINATION COMMITTEE Consolidated Examination Report The Consolidated Examination Committee met via conference call January 2015 and set examination dates for the year. An additional examination was added for August 2015 as announced in April due to increased interest. Two examinations were administered since the last meeting; one in August 2014 and the other in April New certified analysts will be announced to the memberships. The committee met at the annual meeting on June 1, 2015: In attendance: Donna Grubisic, Kyle Arvin, Sue Alvarez, Barbara Cleave, Pattsy Jackson, Terry Dunfield, Debbie Meyer, Kathleen Willey, Shannon Hofstadter, Cindy Davis, Brent Reschly and Johnny Zook It was suggested to step up germination material on the practical to include an evaluation of replicate(s) of an actual test. This could be virtual. We will work on pulling off the old study exams and updating them. The new study exams will have a disclaimer that these are study aids and not the actual exam. The committee will make sure that Study Guide currently posted states Draft. Example for MSUs will be added as an appendix to the Study Guide It was recommended to include the consolidated exam content with exam application in addition to providing exam content on the websites for clarification to candidates taking the examination. The committee will work on rewording the reexamination policy to clarify expectation of when Continuing education points are to be completed prior to reexamination. A Scoring Summary of Seed Separations and Seed Identification will be posted on the websites so candidates can understand how points are assigned for identification AOSA / SCST PROCEEDINGS 30