Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 6050 STATUSArgentina AFTER A series of complaints from farm lobbying groups, a bill for the new Seed Law has been redrawn. The bill, presented the week of Sept. 5 by the federal government, regulates the royalties paid by Argentine farmers to those who claim copyright ownership of the genetically-modified seeds. The initial draft faced criticism and was seen by farmers as ceding ground to Monsanto. The government’s bill now says that local producers should only pay royalties during the first two harvests, instead of the three initially pencilled in a previous draft — for the use of second- generation seeds. The move is part of an attempt to alleviate tension in a sector that is considered a key government ally and a central actor in economic plans for recovery, but which is at odds with the U.S.-based multinational. At the moment, farmers are free from any need to pay for the rights to use second- generation seeds, despite complaints by Monsanto citing “intellectual property.” The proposed move to three years had enraged many, leading to the current fine-tuning to try to keep everyone on board. “The bill now speaks of two growing seasons (in which the producer has to pay for the use of second- generation seeds). It has While no two countries are alike, they face similar issues and challenges. Some are working on new seed laws, while others are investing in research for crop improvement. And education remains a key component for improving productivity. incorporated some of the positions that we had brought to the table,” Jorge Solmi, the director of the Small Farmers Federation’s Seed Commission said. Although the limit of two sowing seasons is in line with farmers’ demands, there are still differences regarding how small-scale a producer must be to be exempt from paying royalties when they keep part of their harvest for future sowing — a common methodology authorized by law but not regulated. The bill, which will be sent to Congress late September, is part of an attempt made by the government to put an end to years of conflict regarding royalties. Source: Buenos Aires Herald.com. STATUSAustralia WESTERN AUSTRALIAN and Japanese scientists have cracked the genome sequence of the subterranean (sub) clover. The project led by The University of Western Australia in collaboration with Department of Agriculture and Food, Murdoch University and the Kazusa DNA Research Institute, will revolutionize the development of new and improved forage legumes, which underpin the state’s $1.8 billion livestock industry. Clovers are widely grown around the world as forage legumes for livestock. Sub clover is the most important annual pasture legume in Australia, sown across an estimated 29 million hectares of land. UWA molecular biologist Parwinder Kaur said the challenge was not only to determine the sequence of sub clover DNA but to understand the genes from a functional point of view. “The changes provide a breakthrough for breeding of future sub clovers which will increase agriculture production by increasing the health of the soil. “This is the first genome sequence published for an annual clover and describes 85.4 per cent of the sub clover genome and contains 42,706 genes. It represents years of research and a commitment to creating new knowledge that will feed our future.” “This work will allow the development of DNA markers that are closely associated with genes controlling traits of interest, which can be used in breeding programs to markedly improve selection efficiency, particularly for traits difficult to measure in the field or glasshouse,” said Phil Nichols, department senior pasture breeder and UWA adjunct associate professor. “Such traits include resistance to red-legged earth mites and important diseases, hardseed- edness, tolerance to false breaks, early season growth