Ken Grafton Dean, College of Ag Director, ND Ag Experiment Station NDSU

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1 Ken Grafton Dean, College of Ag Director, ND Ag Experiment Station NDSU

2 Four basic components needed for research programs to be successful Operating funds Personnel Equipment Space (lab/greenhouse/field) Common concern among all researchers

3 NDAES Federal FY 08 Expenditures by Sources of Funds Total Spring Wheat: $6,154,901 Federal Grants 939,590 Other Non- Federal 835,075 State Appropriation 2,614,765 Industry 58,799 Sales 1,401,298 Federal Appropriation 305,374

4 NDAES Federal FY 08 Expenditures by Sources of Funds Total Durum: $2,145,810 Federal Grants 45,813 Industry 904 Sales 405,634 Other Non- Federal 544,095 State Appropriation 962,506 Federal Appropriation 186,858

5 Dedicated scientists and support staff Salaries Graduate students Critical to productivity of research projects Lack of funding All grant supported NDWC support for research and staff is greatly appreciated!

6 Primary focus on wheat research Mohamed Mergoum (spring wheat breeding) Elias Elias (durum breeding) Senay Simsek (wheat quality) Frank Manthey (durum quality) Shahryar Kianian (germplasm enhancement) Xiwen Cai (cytogenetics and genetics) Marion Harris (Entomology) Shaobin Zhong (Plant Pathology) Tika Adhikari (Plant Pathology) Bill Wilson (Ag Economics) (vacant winter wheat breeding) (interviews completed for rust pathologist)

7 Funds to purchase have been minimal Field and lab equipment is expensive! Antiquated equipment in frequent need of repair often parts or service are unavailable. While a common concern, most problematic for quality research programs. Lack of equipment is costly! Down-time due to repairs Reduced efficiency in research efforts Affects competitiveness of NDSU scientists to attract Federal grants

8 Adequate lab, greenhouse, and field research space is necessary for wheat researchers to carry out their work. Space is a problem across campus lab space is at a premium Many of the facilities are long overdue for renovation built in the 1950 s and 1960 s, the space reflects on science as it existed at that time. Loftsgard Hall, new Greenhouse Complex are the exceptions Funding for renovation of campus buildings should come through the university budget.

9 Agronomics Yield / Yield Stability Lodging Maturity Stress tolerance Pest Resistance Scab Leaf rust Stem rust Tan spot Wheat stem sawfly Wheat midge

10 Quality ND is known worldwide as a source of high quality wheat. Excellent collaboration among breeders, geneticists, and cereal scientists. Understand physiological mechanisms affecting quality Identify breeding lines possessing desirable traits early in the breeding process. Crop quality evaluation is critical to NDWC for marketing efforts - critical to maintaining the reputation of the growers and the state. Sufficient funding and equipment must be in place to allow quality testing of breeding material in timely fashion Partly addressed in the session.

11 New Technologies Mapping wheat genome major step to find ways to manipulate genetics to benefit both farmer and consumer. Grateful for the support of the NDWC to provide funding for major portion of this work. How/when does NDSU partner with industry to develop wheat with new technologies? How will IP issues be resolved to best serve the wheat producer and the ND wheat industry?

12 Critical features of NDSU Program for HRS and Durum Breeding NDSU programs have a long history of using conventional breeding are successful and productive Germplasm development/utilization critical for breeding programs NDSU has a comprehensive inventory of excellent germplasm Variety release procedure focuses attention on agronomic, pest resistance, and quality traits All of the major Agbiotech companies have now entered the wheat arena Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow through breeding assets Dow, BASF, Bayer through trait (GM) development VABC - trait and marker developer, but not germplasm

13 Access to public germplasm companies will seek increased ability to access germplasm through Partnerships MTAs that are loosely defined Backcrossing varieties Other? Marker assisted breeding: NDSU continues to work on marker technology, but limited resources/personnel hampers success Agbiotech companies have technology in corn, soybean and other crops that could be utilized in wheat eg., Monsanto can use high-speed chipping technology to accelerate breeding Money will be spent to accelerate and apply technology to conventional wheat breeding NDSU Other Universities (WSU, OrSU, OkSU, KSU )

14 GM wheat NDSU will not likely develop GM traits. Collaborative and focused on niche type traits of regional/class needs. Industry partner to facilitate deregulation of any identified trait. Most likely traits are: DR, Yield, NUE and possible broad-scale HT. No discussion/consideration for end-use or other traits. Each company will want access to adapted germplasm to efficiently penetrate HRS acreage in ND ND Growers and grower groups Want/expect that ND and NDSU will aggressively pursue and be involved in the changes occurring in this sector Will see an accelerated pace to discuss collaborations/arrangements

15 Protect NDSU germplasm and receive royalty stream for lines to other entities Active participation in enhanced technology for wheat improvement Timely access to GM traits Research and collaboration: Be a Lead organization in collaboration for GM wheat with Agbiotech companies and other providers Seek larger multi-year, multi-disciplinary research agreements Reserve right to work with other agbiotechnology companies

16 Protect conventional breeding system Protect the value and distribution of NDSU developed germplasm Incorporate GM traits into adapted germplasm for use by growers in ND and region Trait stacking: Encourage/facilitate traits from different companies that can be stacked into varieties for ND producers Continue to develop high-value germplasm and work with trait developers for the wheat industry Utilize advanced breeding technology (markers etc)

17 Protect seed distribution system Right of growers to save seed for own use Provide/develop mechanisms to allow non-gm to procure HRS. Alternative: An alternative to above would be to create separate structure/stand-alone unit for dealing with these technology enhancements. This may include Separate entity Partner w/technology company Joint distribution Royalty sharing.

18 New Era of Wheat Research Future negotiations critical for long-term success of the region and viability of U.S. public programs. Federal Support Remains Flat Improved state support important goal for all programs. Important that these research programs continue carrying out the work needed for the wheat producers in the state to remain competitive globally. Input and support from NDWC is critical for these programs to remain successful.

19 QUESTIONS?