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66 SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2015 Exploring ideas and views on all aspects of the seed industry. CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON PEOPLE PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTIVITY The 2015 National Conference for Agribusiness hosted by Purdue Universitys Center for Food and Agricultural Business will be held Nov. 10-11. A vital part of business strategy is managing a companys greatest assets people. There is a correlation between effective performance management and company success says Michael Gunderson associate director of the center. Company strategies not only have to identify poor performers but also address the issue. During the conference experts from Purdue University Rhode Island College and a variety of cooperatives and corporations will help participants learn to lead change within their companies. Participants will gain insight on helping people perform their best stay motivated and find career success. Additionally results from Purdues national survey of agribusiness managers about their performance management assets and obstacles will be unveiled. THERE IS A CORRELATION BETWEEN EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND COMPANY SUCCESS. Michael Gunderson CHINA COMMITS TO IMPROVE BIOTECH APPROVAL PROCESS After in-depth discussions about agricultural biotechnology with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Chinese officials committed to further improve the approval process. In late September representatives from USDA and Chinas Ministry of Agriculture met to discuss the topic which is part of the Strategic Agriculture Innovation Dialogue prior to a meeting between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Following the meeting the White House issued a fact sheet reporting Both sides reaffirmed the importance of implementing timely transparent predictable and science-based approval processes for products of agricultural biotechnology which are based on international standards. According to the fact sheet both sides committed to share experience and practices of research and development regulatory administration and safety approval of agricultural biotechnology. Additionally both countries affirm that states should not conduct or knowingly support misappropriation of intellectual property including trade secrets or other confidential business information with the intent of providing competitive advantages to their companies or commercial sectors. COMPETITION PREPARES STUDENTS TO IDENTIFY AND CONTROL WEEDS At the 2015 National Collegiate Weed Science Contest students were asked to identify 130 weed species and their seeds on site. Sixty- five teams from 25 schools participated in the event hosted by The Ohio State Universitys Agricultural Research and Development Center including 140 graduate students and 73 undergraduates. Students competed as individuals and as teams. They were asked to identify weeds at various stages of growth and development from seeds to mature plants. During live role-playing sessions they were asked to solve weed management issues faced by farmers and land managers. They also had to identify which of 30 herbicides had been used to treat various field plots based on visual indicators. Finally they had to prove they could calibrate commonly used sprayers. The Top undergraduate team was from the University of Nebraska and team members included Brad Meusch Jacob Nikodym Bret Rausch and Don Treptow. The top graduate team was from Purdue University and team members included Pretap Devkota Nick Harre Joey Heueghan and Doug Spaunhurst. The top graduate and undergraduate students were Zachary Lancaster of the University of Arkansas and Katelyn Vonn Treeck of the University of Wisconsin respectively.