Welcome to the SBC

June 2017

GMO crop approval may open door to biotech seed imports in China
China's decision to approve the use of two new varieties of genetically modified crops may signal a willingness to allow US agricultural companies to market biotech seeds on the mainland. "China has done a huge amount of internal research on GM crops, and there are many benefits that could come to farmers and consumers there if those products are allowed to be sold," SBC Director Kent Bradford said. China has been wary of genetically modified (GM) crops and seeds, citing safety concerns. Bradford said that stance seems to be changing. Read full article

---

Wal-Mart and Bayer team up to create "Sweet Spark", a designer cantaloupe
Major retailer Wal-Mart wanted melons in winter to be as delectable as summer. So they have teamed up with seed experts at German agriculture giant Bayer AG to help develop a bespoke melon that’s pleasing to the palate but still tough enough for the trek from warmer climes. “When you’re as big as Wal-Mart, you can dictate a lot of what you want to see in produce,’’ said Kent Bradford, a professor and director of the Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis. Read full article

---

UC Davis African Plant Breeding Academy starts Class III
The UC Davis African Plant Breeding Academy started its third class of students with a session in Nairobi, Kenya, May 15-27, 2017. The program is organized in collaboration with The African Union New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency and the African Orphan Crops Consortium. The third class of the UC Davis African Plant Breeding Academy consists of 34 breeders, half of whom are women, representing 18 African nations. Over the next thirteen months, they will spend more than 300 hours in classes, workshops and the field, training to complete this premium professional certification program.

---

ILLUMINA DONATES POWERFUL SEQUENCER TO AOCC
Illumina has generously donated one of its most powerful sequencers, the HiSeq 4000 Sequencing System, to enable the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC) to complete its crop sequencing project. In addition to the 101 crop species being sequenced, the instrument, which is housed at the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) in Nairobi, will be used with our African Plant Breeding Academy instructors to train practicing African plant breeders on how to use genomics to increase nutrition and crop yields. 
View AOCC 2017 Progress Report
Read more and view VIDEO

May 2017

In the May issue of CSA News online, SBC Director Kent Bradford and UCD researcher Pedro Bello discuss their recent publication in Agricultural & Environmental Letters, focusing on the relationship between seed moisture content and relative humidity and describing a simple way to measure the relative humidity of products. Read more

---

April 2017

SBC Plant Breeding Academy congratulates Dr. David Stelly, a long term PBA lecturer and contributor, on the 2017 International Cotton Advisory Committee Researcher of the Year Award. Read more

Applications now being accepted for:
• PBA in EUROPE: Class V starts October 2017 http://pba.ucdavis.edu/PBA_in_Europe/PBA_in_Europe_Class_V/
• PBA Advanced Module: November 7-9, 2017 http://pba.ucdavis.edu/PBA_Advanced_Module/

---

The SBC is proud to announce that our proposal ranked in the Top 200 for the 100&Change MacArthur Foundation competition. The 100&Change competition awards a $100 million grant to fund a single proposal that will make measurable progress toward solving a significant problem. With 801 total submissions from all around the globe, the Top 200 is an exciting accomplishment! 
https://www.100andchange.org/#about
https://www.facebook.com/macarthurfdn

---

Distinguished professor and SBC director Kent Bradford was an invited keynote at the 2nd Pakistan Seed Congress, held at the University of Agriculture in Falsalabad (UAF). Technical sessions were led by local and international keynote speakers under the theme of “Seed Security for Sustainable Agriculture”. To conclude the event, a training workshop was held on “Dry Chain Technology for Reducing Post Harvest Losses of Seeds and Grains”, where Kent and Johan Van Asbrouck shared their experiences on recent developments in the "dry chain" technologies for handling and storing seeds. Read more

March 2017

UC Davis European Plant Breeding Academy (EPBA) recently completed a successful session in Almeria, Spain.

The students and instructors enjoyed the hospitality of the University of Almeria (UAL) and seed companies in the area, including Monsanto Vegetable Seeds and Rijk Zwaan Ibérica. Read more

---

Craig Newman joins Seed Business 101 team of instructors. Craig is the former President & CEO of AgReliant Genetics, the third largest corn seed company in the U.S. Prior to being named CEO in 2012, Craig served as the company’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing since its inception in 2000. Read more

---

How do you develop crops that will thrive under certain conditions when you can no longer predict what those conditions will be? SBC Director of Research Allen Van Deynze and Professor and UCD Plant Breeding Center Director Charlie Brummer weigh in: UC Davis News online article "Breeding Crops Today for an Uncertain Tomorrow". Read more

---

Along with Drs. Raj Patel and Thomas Tomich, SBC Director Kent Bradford served as a panel member at the Campus Community Book Project forum, held in March at the UCD Mondavi Center. The 2016-17 book project addresses food and security, hunger and poverty, featuring Dr. Raj Patel and his book Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. View video

---

SBC partner the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC)'s large-scale sequencing of African orphan crops is highlighted in genomics article "Sequencing all life captivates biologists", published in Science. See full article