NCWSS NewsNorth Central Weed Science Society Volume 18, Number 3, Fall 2001

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In This Issue

✾ See You in Milwaukee! ................ 1

✾ 2001 AnnualMeeting Program........................ 3

✾ News from CAST .......................... 4

✾ WSSA Archives .............................. 4

✾ 2000 North CentralCollegiate WeedScience Contest ........................ 5–7

✾ Board of Directors MeetingHighlights ............................... 8–9

✾ Washington Report .............. 10–11

✾ People and Places ..................... 12

✾ WSSA UndergraduateResearch Award ........................ 14

✾ Career Placement Service .......... 15

✾ CAST Membership Application .... 16

Milwaukee and your local arrange-ments committee look forward to hostingthe 56th annual conference of the NorthCentral Weed Science Society on Decem-ber 10 through 13, 2001. The HyattRegency Hotel, our conference site, offersexcellent facilities for our meeting andtheir staff is doing everything possible toensure a successful meeting. Yourprogram chair, Dallas Peterson, hasassembled a program focusing on currentweed science issues.

The Hyatt Regency is located indowntown Milwaukee. It connected by anenclosed skywalk walkway to that takesyou to the Midwest Express Center andThe Grand Avenue with its 120 specialtyshops, department stores and restaurants,including Wisconsin’s largest food court.Milwaukee is home to the MilwaukeeBucks basketball team, has severaltheaters with live presentations andconcerts and offers various museumswithin walking distance of the Hyatt.Wisconsin’s only revolving restaurant sitsatop the Hyatt Regency. The new Miller

park is open every day of the year and hasa fine restaurant.

Near Miller Park, is Mitchell ParkHorticultural Conservatory which consistof three climate controlled domes thatoffer you a wide variety of plants in verycreative settings. One dome is devoted to aspecial show which in December willhighlight Christmas; the Arid Dome hascactus and succulent plants native to thesouthwestern states. The third dome takesyou to a tropical rain forest, complete witha waterfall, numerous rock formationsand plants form many tropical habitats. Ifyou have time, a visit to the Conservatory,it would be time well spent.

We will provide a gathering room andinformation on the events, sights andattractions in and around Milwaukee forspouses and friends of those who attend.Check at the registration desk for detailsof this service.

Be sure and respond promptly to theroom reservation information you willsoon receive from Bob Schmidt. Thereservation deadline is Nov. 15;

See You in Milwaukee in December!

The NCWSS is on the web at:www.ncwss.iastate.edu

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requests received after this date may notbe honored, or if so, not at the Conferencerate. The Hyatt is located at 333 WestKilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee (53203) andtheir phone number is 414-276-1234. Wedo have an overflow hotel to use if needed;early reservation will ensure that you havea room in the Conference headquarters.

We hope to see many of you at theConference. If you have questions,comments or suggestions about themeeting, please contact the local arrange-ments chair, Jerry Doll (608-263-7437 orjddoll@facstaff.wisc.edu). To schedulemeals, hospitality rooms or other specialevents that involve food or refreshmentsduring the Conference, contact TimTrower (608-265-6190;tltrower@facstaff.wisc.edu). If you needinformation about a sustaining memberdisplays or poster setup, contact ScottDitmarsen (608-767-7286;scditmarsen@dowagro.com).

TransportationMilwaukee is easily reached via the

interstate system or by air. MitchellInternational Airport is only 7 miles fromthe hotel and cab and limo service to theHyatt are available. Taxi fare is approxi-mately $21 and the limo/shuttle servicecosts $9.50 one way or $18 round-trip.Limos leave the airport every 10 to 15minutes.

The hotel has no parking lot but amunicipal parking lot is attached directlyto the Hyatt. The parking ramp entranceis on west side of the Hyatt Regency onKilbourn Ave. The parking is fee $10.00 aday.

DirectionsIt is relatively east to find the Hyatt

Regency. If arriving on I-94 from west orfrom the east, take I-43 north. You need tobe in the right lane soon after getting onI-43; take the Center/Kilbourn AvenueTunnel exit. When reaching the end of thetunnel, continue straight on Kilbourn

Avenue for one long block. The hotel willbe on your right.

Midwest Express Airlines: OurOfficial Carrier

Milwaukee is the headquarters ofMidwest Express Airlines and we havearranged that they will be the officialcarrier for our annual meeting. MidwestExpress offers fully refundable zone faresfor midweek travel that do not require aweekend stay. Or take advantage of thealready low published airfares and receivea 6% discount. Tickets that are purchased60 days prior to travel receive a 10%discount. Visit us on-line atwww.midwestexpress.com/conventions,contact us at 800-452-2022 or contact

your travel agent for reservations. Pleaserefer to the convention file numberCMZ1095 when making your reservations.Sustaining members that ship large itemsvia Midwest Express can also receive afreight discount of 30%.

National Car Rental discounts are alsoavailable to those who attend the NCWSSConference. Call National at 1-800-CAR-RENT and mention the ID number5710053.

From the EditorThe deadlines for submitting items for the next two NCWSSNewsletters are February 1 and May 1. Preferred method of newsitem submission is by e-mail (johnsonwg@missouri.edu).Otherwise, contact:

Bill Johnson204 Waters HallUniversity of MissouriColumbia, MO 65211E-mail johnsonwg@missouri.eduPhone (573) 882-2801

NCWSS Business Office Address and PhoneNCWSS1508 West University AvenueChampaign, IL 61821-3133Phone: (217) 352-4212FAX: (217) 352-4241

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Hopefully, mostof you are gettingan opportunity tospend more timein the office asthe summernears an end andhave anopportunity toread through thisnewsletter. I wanted to give you an update onseveral issues addressed at our summer

executive board meeting.

Future direction of the NCWSS.• Your Board has spent considerable time

looking at the effects of industry consoli-dation on the NCWSS. Pertinent program-ming and educational opportunities,social opportunities, as well as financialresponsibility were discussed as prioritiesof the NCWSS and its members.

• Finance considerations: Annual meetingregistration fees and hotel costs are mainfactors governing the financial success ofthe annual meeting. As you might guess,meeting registration numbers aretrending downward while hotel costs aretrending upward. Our Society netted justover $4,000 at the Kansas City meetingcompared over $15,000 average profit overthe past five years. This income isimportant as it covers some of ourSociety’s other operating expenses. Due tothe ice storm, our room take was less thanthe guaranteed amount and we couldhave lost a significant amount of moneyif the Hyatt held us to our contract onroom commitments. Thanks to SiteSelection Chair, Charlie Slack andExecutive Secretary, Bob Schmidt forsuccessfully negotiating with the Hyatt forno penalty.

• Let us know the direction that you thinkthe NCWSS should take.

Here are some of the suggestionsthat have been discussed;1. Maintain current structure and programs

with expectations of a slowly erodingmembership base. Lower membershipmay lead to reduced meeting andmembership services.

2. Enhance membership and annualmeeting attendance by meeting jointlywith other organizations or societies.

3. Merge with the WSSA meetings as manypeople are now choosing to attend one,but not both.

We would like to hear from the member-ship on what the current mission of theSociety should be, what activities are mostcritical to members, and how the Society willbest achieve these objectives. Please leave youcomments at the NCWSS website atwww.ncwss.iastate.edu questions andcomments section.

Annual Meeting in Milwaukee.• Program Chair Dallas Peterson along

with Local Arrangements Chair Jerry Dollhave put together an excellent programfor our annual meeting in Milwaukee,December 10-13. Please plan to attend.

• LCD projectors will be used in all sessions,but slide projectors will be available forthose who prefer not to use Power Pointpresentations with a LCD projector. BrentPringnitz and the Computer Committeeare providing their expertise to provide asmooth transition to the LCD presenta-tions.

Summer Collegiate Weeds Contest• This year’s summer contest was a huge

success with 20 student teams competing,totaling 88 participants. Thanks to MarvSpaur and all volunteers at Monmouth forrunning an excellent event.

2001 AnnualMeeting Program

The program for the 2001 AnnualMeeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin onDecember 10-13 has been finalized. Themeeting this year will emphasize currentweed science issues, starting with adiscussion on intellectual property rightsissues at the general session on Tuesdaymorning. The feature speaker will be Mr.Bob Reader from the Mid-AmericaCommercialization Corporation inManhattan, Kansas who will speak aboutthe “Commercialization of IntellectualProperty Rights by Universities.” Thegeneral session program should be ofinterest to both academia and industry,and should be an excellent kickoff for themeeting.

Three outstanding symposia have alsobeen scheduled for the meeting. ReidSmeda has organized a symposium on“Graduate Student Education-PreparingStudents Today for Tomorrow” whichshould be of special interest to allgraduate students, as well as their advisorsand future employers. John Kaufman hasorganized a symposium on “Resistance:What Can We Learn From Each Other’sScience” to take a broad look at resistancein other disciplines and what can belearned from their experiences. The finalsymposium on “Groundwater Issues inWisconsin” was organized by DaveStoltenberg and should be of local andregional interest. This symposium willtake a historical look at groundwatercontamination in Wisconsin, remedialmeasures and their impacts, and futureimplications on herbicide use in the state.

A total of 60 posters and 155 papers ona variety of weed science topics will bepresented during the meeting. The 2001NCWSS annual meeting is shaping up tobe an exciting and informative event thatyou won’t want to miss!

From Your President- Duane Rathmann

Your 2001 PresidentDuane Rathmann

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The North Central Weed ScienceSociety, as a society member of theCouncil for Agricultural Science andTechnology (CAST), is providing thisopportunity for you to become individualmembers of CAST. For helping to encour-age you to become a member of CAST,NCWSS will receive $20 for each “new”member who joins CAST (this is appli-cable to a regular membership fee of $40or more).

What is CAST? The Council forAgricultural Science and Technology wasfounded in 1972 after a meeting of theU.S. National Research Council, NationalAcademy of Sciences identified the needfor better communication of the sciencebehind the issues. CAST is an interna-tional consortium of 37 scientific societiesrepresenting over 180,000 memberscientists, 125 nonprofit organizations,100 companies and cooperatives, and over2,000 individual members.

CAST disseminates scientific factsand summarizes the latest scientificresearch for leaders in public policy,private citizens, and the media.Drawing upon its societies’ membershipof over 180,000 distinguished scientists,its task forces address issues of nationaland global significance. CAST’sauthoritative publications are recog-nized internationally for their concise,impartial assessment of the mostadvanced science to date.

CAST accomplishes its goals byproviding publications for a wide reader-ship as well as briefings and testimoniesfor leaders in Washington, D. C. It alsocoordinates national workshops for thepublic and the media. CAST is often askedto present the scientific perspective to theWhite House, U.S. Senate and HouseAgriculture Committees, USDA, FDA, andEPA.

You can help us strengthen CAST’sposition at the national forefront ofscience communication. By becoming amember of CAST, you can help ensurethat science has a seat at the public policytable … and, at the same time, finan-cially benefit the North Central WeedScience Society.

CAST MembershipCategories and Benefits• INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP:

$40/year; $20/year for retired personsand students. Receive issue papers,NewsCAST, and interpretive summa-ries of all task force reports. You mayorder any publication within oneyear of publishing date and pay onlyshipping.

• CENTURY CLUB MEMBERSHIP:$100/year. Receive all new CAST taskforce reports and their interpretivesummaries, issue papers, andNewsCAST.

• LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP: One-time payment or pledge of $2,500.Receive all the benefits of CenturyClub membership, plus an optionalfeature about you in NewsCAST.

• SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIP:Companies, cooperatives, institutions,nonprofit organizations, and agenciesalso are vital supporters of CAST’sscience communication activities.Contact the CAST office at 515-292-2125 Ext.26, if you are interested indiscussing a sustaining membershipwith the CAST development director,Steve Halloran.

A membership application form isavailable on the back of thisnewsletter (page 16) forinformation on past, current, andfuture CAST publications, pleasevisit our web site: http://www.cast-science.org

WSSA Archives atIowa State University

The WSSA Archives at Iowa StateUniversity includes printed materials fromthe WSSA and each of the regional WeedScience Societies. The Archives includesmeeting proceedings, committee records,abstracts, research reports, banquetinformation, descriptions of past awardwinners, brochures, stickers, and pro-grams. In addition, the notes andcorrespondence of many past presidentshave also been included. The archivesrecently received a generous donationfrom Dr. Whitey Holm that included all ofthe reprints and notes used to write hisaward-winning book World weeds –natural histories and distribution. Otherauthors have used the archives to developtextbooks, review articles and histories ofthe regional societies.

Dr. Mike Owen at ISU is the liaison forthe WSSA Archives and responsible forhandling the materials as they are placedin a special collection by ISU LibraryArchivist. Contact Dr. Owen atmdowen@agron.iastate.edu or telephoneat (515) 294-1923 if you would like to addmaterials to the archive.

Tanya Zanish-Belcher is the Head ofthe Special Collections Department at theISU Library. A listing of available collec-tions is available on the Department’swebsite:

Special Collections Department:http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/index.html

Manuscript Collections:http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/collec-tions/lists/mslist.html

Eventually, the WSSA collections willhave “finding aids” available electroni-cally as well, that will list the inventory ofcurrently available materials. Contact Ms.Zanish-Belcher at 515-294-6648, or

Invitation To Join CAST —a Benefit to You and NCWSS

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The 2001 NCWSS Summer Contest washeld on July 19, 2001 at the MonsantoAgronomy Farm near Monmouth, IL. TheMonsanto staff and all of the volunteers andjudges from several companies did a great jobconducting a challenging contest. Thanks aredue to Monsanto and the volunteers, and toBellspray (formerly R and D Sprayers) fortheir financial support of the contest. Thanksare also due to the students and coaches, whospend a lot of time preparing for the contest.Hopefully it is a valuable learning experience.

The weather also provided somechallenges, as rain and lightning forcedpostponement of the farmer problem andunknown herbicide identification events forseveral hours. A total of 20 teams (13graduate or mixed graduate/undergraduateand 7 undergraduate) competed for the teamawards. In addition, 8 students competed asindividuals, for a total of 88 studentscompeting. A change was made in December2000 by the NCWSS Board of Directors toallow 2-year schools to participate, hoping toexpose more students to weed science. Thischange was successful, as Parkland College, a2-year school from Champaign, IL, sent ateam. Hopefully more 2-year colleges willsend teams to the contest in the future.Schools represented were Iowa State Univer-sity, Kansas State University, North DakotaState University, Ohio State University,Parkland College, Purdue University,Southern Illinois University, University ofIllinois, University of Missouri, University ofNebraska, University of Wisconsin-River Falls,and Western Illinois University.

Because of the delays forced by theweather, it was decided to send students to thefarmer problems in pairs in order to completethe contest on time. These scores were notfigured in the team or individual scores, butthe experience was hopefully valuable.

The 2001 Summer Contest results are asfollows.

Event Awards:Field Calibration 1st place team:University of Missouri (Curtis Scherder, KeithMohr, Andy Schmidt, and Chris Schuster).Unknown Herbicide 1st place individual:Dana Harter, University of Missouri.Written Calibration 1st place individual:Mark Jeschke, University of Illinois.Weed Identification 1st place individual:Keith Mohr, University of Missouri

Team Awards:

Graduate team1st place: University of Missouri, teammembers Curtis Scherder, Keith Mohr, AndySchmidt, and Chris Schuster (mixedgraduate/undergraduate team).2nd place: University of Nebraska, teammembers Leah Sandall, Julie Abendorth, KariHilgenfeld, and Kim Pavelka (mixedgraduate/undergraduate team).3rd place: University of Nebraska, teammembers Aaron Waltz, Darren Barker, AdamJohnson, and Sean Evans.

Undergraduate team:1st place: Ohio State University, team membersJeremy Edger, Keith Diedrick, Geoff Trainer,and Luke Case.2nd place: Iowa State University, teammembers Jenny Ricks, Dawn Refsell, MindyDeVries, and Dustin Gleason.3rd place: North Dakota State University, teammembers Brian Michels, Greg Mostad, JayHansen, and Kristy Clark.

Individual Awards:

Graduate Overall:1st place: Keith Mohr, University of Missouri.2nd place: Andy Schmidt, University of Missouri.3rd place: Sean Evans, University of Nebraska.

Undergraduate Overall:1st place: Dana Harter, University of Missouri.2nd place: Keith Deidrick, Ohio State University.3rd place: Curtis Scherder, University ofMissouri.

Written Calibration 1st Place Individual —Mark Jeschke, University of Illinois.

Unknown Herbicide 1st Place Individual —Dana Harter, University of Missouri.

Weed Identification 1st Place Individual —Keith Mohr, University of Missouri

2001 NCWSS Summer Contest ResultsDave Johnson, Chair, Resident Education Committee

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1st Place Graduate Team — University of Missouri, team membersCurtis Scherder, Keith Mohr, Andy Schmidt, and Chris Schuster (mixedgraduate/undergraduate team).

2nd Place Graduate Team — University of Nebraska, team membersLeah Sandall, Julie Abendorth, Kari Hilgenfeld, and Kim Pavelka (mixedgraduate/undergraduate team).

3rd Place Graduate Team — University of Nebraska, team membersAaron Waltz, Darren Barker, Adam Johnson, and Sean Evans.

1st Place Undergraduate Team — Ohio State University, team membersJeremy Edger, Keith Diedrick, Geoff Trainer, and Luke Case.

2nd Place Undergraduate Team — Iowa State University, team membersJenny Ricks, Dawn Refsell, Mindy DeVries, and Dustin Gleason.

3rd Place Undergraduate Team — North Dakota State University, teammembers Brian Michels, Greg Mostad, Jay Hansen, and Kristy Clark.

Congratulations to the winners and par-ticipants. The 2002 contest will be hosted byDow AgroSciences at their Midwest ResearchCenter in Fowler, IN on July 18. Put that dateon your calendar and plan to bring a team!

NCWSS Summer Contest — Winning Teams

Graduate Undergraduate

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1st place GraduateOverall — KeithMohr, University ofMissouri.

2nd PlaceGraduate Overall— Andy Schmidt,University ofMissouri.

3rd Place GraduateOverall — SeanEvans, Universityof Nebraska.

1st Place Under-graduate Overall— Dana Harter,University ofMissouri.

2nd PlaceUndergraduateOverall — KeithDeidrick, OhioState University.

3rd Place Under-graduate Overall— CurtisScherder,University ofMissouri.

NCWSS Summer Contest — Overall Individual Winners

Graduate Undergraduate

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Submitted by Chris Boerboom,Secretary-Treasurer

The complete minutes and committee reportsof the December 11 and December 13, 2000 Boardof Director Meetings have been posted to theNCWSS web site at http://www.ncwss.iastate.edu/.These minutes were approved at the July 18, 2001Board meeting. The following paragraphs are asynopsis of actions or major discussions heldduring the Board meetings. The minutes of theJuly 18, 2001 Board meeting will be approved atthe next Board meeting and posted followingBoard approval.

December 11, 2000,Kansas City, MO.

Executive Secretary. The final attendance atthis annual meeting will likely be lower thanexpected due to the snow storm and flight delays.The major concern is if the Society would reachthe guaranteed room block with the Hyatt andincur penalties.

Proceedings Editor. E-mail submission ofabstracts was good with greater than 90%submitted by the deadline. The abstracts can beprinted from a computer in the Press Roomduring the conference. It was questioned if a hardcopy of the Proceedings could be available at themeeting. It was noted that the Proceedings containother information in addition to the abstract,some of which is not available until the meetingsuch as approved minutes and the membershiplist. Bauman suggested continuing with thecurrent Proceedings format and that the Editorhave a proposal for future changes.

Research Report Editor. The Research Reporthas been completed in the new searchable CDformat and is available at the meeting. The cost ofthe CD was $6,495, which included some one-timecosts. The index outlines will be added to the website to increase interest and CD sales. Sales havenot been as strong as previous years with about112 pre-sold.

Finance, Steering & Policy. The financialstatus of the NCWSS was discussed. Discussioncontinued on the reason why there was a net lossexcluding investment income. Since the financialsuccess of the annual meeting is critical to theprofit or loss, the discussion continued on whetherwe should hold the meeting at a site where wehave high attendance like at St. Louis.

Nominating. The election for Vice Presidentand CAST Representative was held by paper ballot

and Michael Horak was elected as Vice Presidentand James Martin was elected for CAST Represen-tative. Bill Johnson was elected for NewsletterEditor by paper ballot.

Distinguished Achievement Awards. Therewas discussion if the pool of candidates is limitedby the false perception that these awards recognizeearly or mid-career members of our society. It wasnoted that all members are eligible for thisrecognition and therefore, the pool of candidatesshould be large.

Future Site. The committee was recom-mended the annual meeting be held at the GaltHouse in Louisville from November 30 throughDecember 4, 2003. A discussion on a centrallocation for the annual meeting in future yearsfollowed. The major advantage would be higherattendance, but disadvantages noted were fewerlocal travelers and a higher cost to contract forlocal arrangements rather than having a localcommittee of volunteers. The membership couldbe polled on interest in having a centralizedmeeting site.

Computer. Powerpoint presentations will becompiled Tuesday morning onto a single laptopand back-up CD for the sessions that will beexperimenting with LCP projector use during thistrial year. Full scale adoption will depend onnumerous factors including if the hotel will allowus to bring our own projectors into the facility.

Resident Education. The committee’sproposal for 2-year schools to compete in thesummer contest was approved. It was suggestedthat the committee establish guidelines on thenumber of teams at can be accommodated, withpriority for graduate teams so that the contest canbe remain scheduled as a 1 day contest. Discussionon the Society’s financial support of the summercontest was held with comments that the supportmay need to be increased in the future.

December 13, 2000,Kansas City, MO.

Executive Secretary’s Report. The attendanceis currently 493 as compared to 603 for 1999.

Proceedings Editor. Having abstractsavailable to printed off at the meeting was verysuccessful. The computer used to print abstractswill be moved to the pre-function area next year.

Research Report Editor. Bryan About 150 CDsof the Research Report were delivered at themeeting. It was commented on the possibility ofcombining the Proceedings and the Research

Report. This may require needing to have theabstract submitted quite early to have the CDavailable at the meeting. The CD requires about 1month for duplication.

Finance, Steering & Policy. A proposedbudget for 2001 was approved. It was questioned ifthere needs to be a higher bracket for sponsormember dues since some companies areconsolidating and may have much greater sales. Itwas noted that sponsor dues had increasedrecently. A policy for refunding registration feeswas discussed in consideration of the snow storm.It was noted that registration materials noted aDecember 1st deadline for requesting refunds infull. The Finance, Steering, and Policy Committeehad recommended a full refund less themembership dues. It was approved that member-ship dues and the cost of the banquet be retainedto account for meals that needed to be guaranteedand that requests for refunds be extended until theend of the week.

Legislative Information. The committeediscussed priority issues for the Director of SciencePolicy and recommend less activity in the area ofbiotechnology.

Local Arrangements. The meeting ransmooth with excellent support by the hotel andexcellent facilities. However, the weather wasuncontrollable. Charles Slack discussed thesituation of being short on room reservations andis negotiating with the Hyatt national salesmanager. No definitive resolution will be madeuntil the hotel’s take on rooms and food indetermined.

Resolutions & Necrology. Motion to approvethe resolutions passed.

Future Site. The committee had consideredColumbus, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati wereconsidered for the 2003 site, but preferred the GaltHouse at Louisville for November 30 to December4. These dates will not conflict with the ASTAmeeting dates. A straw poll indicated preference fora mid-December meeting over a late November-early December meeting. The committee willschedule the 2004 meeting for December 12 to 16.

Computer. Of the three sections with the LCDprojectors and 29 possible papers, only 17presentations used the projectors. There wereseveral technical problems discovered in themorning before the sessions, but the sessions wentwell. The committee will proceed toward full use ofLCD projection in all sections with the option ofslide projectors for backup. At this time, all of the

NCWSS Board of Directors Meeting Highlights

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future hotels will allow the Society to bring in ourown equipment. The Future Site Committeeshould inquire about the Society bringing in LCDprojection equipment. The graduate studentsprefer the LCD projection option and request thatoptions be developed regarding presentations. Itwas suggested that the graduate student papercoordinator develop guidelines.

Resident Education. Dave Johnson reportedthe summer contest will be on July 19, 2001 atMonmouth, IL and hosted by Monsanto. It wasquestioned on how the poster judges can efficientlyjudge posters during a 1.5 hour session. A splitsession was suggested to provide more time, butthis would not help of if poster topics were groupedon the same day. It would help if the number ofposters to be judged was limited to six or seven.Increasing the number of sections would helplimit the number of posters to be judged. It wouldalso assist the judges if they had the abstracts priorto the poster session. Bob Hartzler stated that theabstracts could be provided. It was also suggestedthat the poster judges would benefit from having8.5 by 11 inch copies of the posters to refer to afterthe poster session.

Research & Publications. The ResearchReport will only be developed as PC-compatibleand it may not be possible to deliver the Reportwhen the meeting occurs before December 10.

New business. Jim Kells addressed two issuesto update the manual of operating procedures(MOP). First, that the Vice President be formallyappointed as the chair of the LegislativeCommittee to track the activities of the DSP. Thiswould require two changes to the MOP via a 30-day advanced notice ballot. Second was elimina-tion of the Constitution and Operating ProceduresCommittee, a standing committee, and assigningthe maintenance and other responsibilities tothose of the Secretary-Treasurer, which wouldrequire a change in the bylaws via a 30-dayadvanced notice ballot.

July 18, 2001, Monmouth, ILMinutes of the December Board Meetings.

The motion to accept the minutes of bothmeetings as written was passed. Chris Boerboomnoted that the motions from the Decembermeeting for the changes to the MOP were approvedby a ballot of the Board. The MOP changes were toappoint the Vice President as the chair of theLegislative Committee to track the activities of theDSP and to eliminate the Constitution and

Operating Procedures Committee, a standingcommittee, and assign the maintenance and otherresponsibilities to those of the Secretary-Treasurer.

Summer Contest. Thirteen graduate (sixmixed) and seven undergraduate (one 2-yrcollege) teams and eight individuals, totaling 88students, will be competing in the North CentralCollegiate Weed Science Contest. Forty fivevolunteers will provide assistance. The estimatedcost to host the 2001 contest was $14,000 to$14,500. The 2002 contest will be held at the Dowstation in near Fowler, IN in 2002. The site for the2003 contest will likely be confirmed withSyngenta for their farm near Champaign, IL. TheEducation Committee’s announced its intention tooffer an undergraduate poster competition at theannual meeting and offer first and second placeawards.

Treasurers/Executive Secretary Report. In aten year history of annual meeting registrationnumbers, it was reported in 2001 there are 695members, which is down about 75 from theprevious year. This decline was attributed to lowerregistration at Kansas City because of the snowstorm and the Zeneca and Novartis merger thatwas occurring at that time. Sales of the 2000Proceedings and 2000 Research Report are 484and 196 copies, respectively. Attendance at the2000 annual meeting was 495 and the net gainwas about $4,300 for the meeting. Although we didnot meet the minimum room allotment at KansasCity, a penalty (potentially $15,000) was notassessed following negotiations.

Bob Schmidt reviewed income and expensesagainst the 2001 budget. Membership income isabout $8,600 below budget and income frompublications is about $8,000 below budget.Expenses for the Research Report and Proceedingswere about $3,100 less than expected. Consideringthe lower profit from the annual meeting, aprojected loss for the year is $6,900. Sustainingmembership is down to 21 members from 32members in 2000.

Duane Rathmann raised the philosophicalissue of evaluating the direction of the NCWSSconsidering the declining registration at theannual meeting and the fiscal consequences. Abroad ranging discussion ensued on the mission ofNCWSS, potential for recruiting additionalmembers or attendees, status of the industry, thelow number of horticultural, turf, and environ-mental papers, and other issues and strategies.Duane Rathmann collected potential names for acommittee to discuss the issue further.

Proceedings. Options for the Proceedings ofthe next meeting including having the abstractson a CD (without an index) and available for saleat the meeting. The Proceedings could also beposted to the web with an index or an index couldbe posted on the web that matched the CD that wassold at the meeting. Implications of the mediaused for the Proceedings were discussed in relationto the distribution of the Proceedings to librariesand access of the Proceedings by the public. Thiswould provide the public access and archive that isdesired. Discussion ensued that approval of theseactions should be obtained from the full Board. . Itwas approved that the Proceedings be sold at $25to members and $15 to students.

Research Report. Bryan Young noted thatthere were no complaints on the CD format for theResearch Report. Electronic submission willcontinue and instructions will be posted on theweb site. For the future, Macintosh compatibilitywill be dropped to cut production costs, but theauto boot feature will be maintained.

Milwaukee Meeting. Dallas Petersonpresented the plans for the 2001 programincluding the general session and symposia ongroundwater contamination issues, weed sciencegraduate student development, and perspectives onresistance. There will be two poster sessionsbecause of space constraints. Fees for the annualmeeting and publications from past years werereviewed and current fees were discussed withconsideration of expenses. By consensus, the costof Research Report will stay the same at $35 formembers. Dallas Peterson moved that the annualmeeting pre-registration fee be $145 for membersand $50 for students. Bill Johnson seconded themotion and the motion passed. By consensus, the$25 late fee will be maintained at the current level.

B. Pringnitz presented the plans for LCDprojection equipment at the meeting. A similarformat will be used for all paper sessions as lastyear where presentation files were preloaded on asingle CD prior to the session. The necessaryequipment will be obtained from volunteers withinthe society. The only media accepted for filesubmission will be CD-R. Slide projectionequipment will still be available to all presenters.Bob Hartzler moved to authorize Bob Schmidt toget a policy to insure against damage or theft ofelectronic equipment for the week of the meeting.Dallas Peterson seconded the motion and themotion passed.

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Rob Hedberg,Director of Science Policy

I am writing this two days after thetragedy which brought this country to astandstill and find it hard to focus myattention away from the events whichhave gripped us all. There is a stunnedatmosphere of disbelief here in the capitalcoupled with a resolve to carry on once wehave all somehow processed the feelingsof horror and grief. There is a sense thatwe are all in a process of reevaluating ourpersonal and our national priorities.Through this reevaluation we canhopefully turn this unspeakable tragedyinto a positive force in both our privateand professional lives. Through theensuing reflection we can rededicate andredouble our efforts to improve conditionsin the world around us. Personally, I feelprivileged to work with the many weedscientists and other agriculturalists whohave long since dedicated their careers toglobal peace and prosperity by improvingour food supply and the quality of ourenvironment.

What Lies AheadThe Farm Bill has been in high gear

and was expected to receive promptattention from the Senate AgricultureCommittee shortly after Congress returnedfrom the August recess. Although thecurrent farm bill would not technicallyexpire until 2002, the impetus to actquickly was coming from a need to securean adequate share of the “surplus” fundsbeing proportioned among manycompeting national priorities. Severalmembers of the House AgricultureCommittee had the foresight to recognize

that agriculture must act quickly to staketheir claim as the budget surplus was firstbeing allocated among priorities. If theywaited until the current farm bill expiresnext year there would be no money leftfrom the surplus for agriculture. As newsof the declining surplus broke duringAugust the pressure increased for fastaction by the agriculture committees. Atthis moment it is difficult to say whereagriculture will stand in the queue asnational security, counter terrorism andreconstruction take center stage. My guessis that the $40 Billion EmergencySupplemental bill will eliminate theoriginal reasoning driving action on thefarm bill this year. Instead we willprobably not see final action on a newfarm bill until next year when faceddirectly with the expiration of the currentbill.

Worker Protection Standard(WPS) Progress

On July 12 the USEPA sent us a letterto the Consortium of Crop ResearchScientists that outlines new interpretationsof several provisions of the WPS and otherregulations as they apply to crop protec-tion research workers. This letter marksthe culmination of years of effort by manycrop protection researchers to obtainappropriate recognition and accommoda-tion of the unique pesticide use scenariosassociated with crop protection research.The prescriptive reentry restrictions,central posting of treatments and fieldposting requirements specified in the WPSwere among the issues that led to theformation of a coalition that included theWSSA, American PhytopathologicalSociety, Entomological Society of America

and the National Association of Indepen-dent Crop Consultants. This coalition heldseveral meetings with EPA beginning in1996 and in 1998 submitted a formalpetition to EPA seeking specific changes inthe regulation.

The letter is five pages long and coversseveral different aspects of our originalrequest and subsequent conversations. Ifyou want to receive a copy of the full letterlet me know at 202 408-5388 orrobhedberg @erols.com. Of specific valueto researchers are the following interpre-tations:1. Use of Registered Products in

Laboratory and Certain SmallScale Testing “The agency pre-sumes that certain laboratory,greenhouse and limited replicatedfield trial research use of registeredproducts does not involve unreason-able adverse effects and, therefore,does not require an experimental usepermit and need not conform to labelrequirements. Conditions for thispresumption are specified in Experi-mental Use Permits (EUP) regulation(40CFR 172.3(b)-(c)) Thus, WPSrequirements would not apply to theuse of specific products that are thesubject of this type of research.”(However, WPS requirements must befollowed for use of pesticides that arenot the subject of the research but areused for maintenance purposes.)

2. Restricted Entry Intervals “Cropadvisors, per the WPS, assess pestnumbers or damage, pesticidedistribution, or the status or require-ments of agricultural plants. We wouldinterpret this definition to include aresearcher’s collection of data and

Washington Report, September 13, 2001

11

samples as a crop advisor task. Thisdistinction is important because,under the WPS, persons performingcrop advising tasks are consideredhandlers and as such are allowed toenter treated areas during the REI(Restricted Entry Intervals).”

3. Central Posting “In a researchsetting, we interpret this requirementsuch that a copy of the researchnotebook containing the prescribedinformation and amended as applica-tions are scheduled and kept in anarea accessible to employees would besufficient to meet the central postingrequirements.” The prescribedinformation referred to is “descriptionof treated area, product name, EPAregistration number, and activeingredient, time and date of applica-tion and the REI.

Although these interpretations fallshort of the complete exemption wesought for research workers, they repre-sent significant progress to reduce theburden of the WPS regulation on researchworkers. They represent what the agencycan do in the short term to accommodateour needs without reopening andrenegotiating a regulation that has had avery contentious history. Going forward wewill need to work consistently with theEPA to make sure our needs are under-stood and addressed as they try toeliminate redundancy and improveefficiency by reworking both the WPS andPesticide Applicator Certification andTraining programs into one cohesivenational program.

Several members of the Weed ScienceSociety deserve special recognition for

their contribution to this effort. Theseinclude Jamie Retzinger, Henry Wilson,Jim Parochetti, and former presidents CalMessersmith and Dan Hess.

CoFARM And National CFARThrough its membership in CoFARM

(Coalition on Funding AgriculturalResearch Missions) WSSA is continuingwork in support of the NCFAR (NationalCoalition for Food and AgricultureResearch) effort to double federal fundingfor food and agriculture research over thenext five years. CoFARM is a coalition of21 Agricultural Science Societies and isalso a member of NCFAR which is a broadbased coalition of 107 members includinguniversities, commodity groups, busi-nesses and individuals. CoFARM wasasked to chair the NCFAR researchcommittee and WSSA is serving as the co-chair of this committee on behalf of theother CoFARM member societies. At thispoint the major tasks of the researchcommittee are to document the historicalbenefits of agricultural research, to helpdescribe the promising research horizonswhere investment is needed and to catalogthe current federal investment in agricul-tural research across agencies anddepartments.

Hearings on Invasive PlantsIn the past several months there have

been two hearings on invasive plants. Onewas held by the House Resources Commit-tee, Subcommittee on National Parks,Recreation and Public Lands, chaired byCongressman Joel Hefley, (R-CO) to solicittestimony on H.R. 1462, The HarmfulNon-Native Weed Control Act of 2001. Theother hearing was held by the HouseScience Committee, Subcommittee on

Environment, Technology and Standards,Chaired by Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R- MI) to examine research on non-native species, especially in aquaticenvironments.

Details of the House ResourceCommittee hearing including testimonyby Dr. George Beck of Colorado StateUniversity and comments submitted byWSSA can be found at: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/107cong/parks/2001june19/agenda2001_0619.htm.

Details of the July 26, House ScienceCommittee hearing , including thestatement of the Aquatic Plant Manage-ment Society can be found at: http://www.house.gov/science/ets/etshearings.htm.

Preparations For a Major Inter-Organizational Weed Conference

At the WSSA annual meeting theBoard of Directors decided to work withother scientific societies and organizationsto sponsor a major inter-organizationalconference on invasive plants. SinceFebruary significant progress has beenmade laying the foundation for thisconference that is anticipated in 2003.Under the leadership of Dr. Nelroy Jacksonwe have held several meetings with theEcological Society of America andrepresentatives of numerous agencieswithin the Departments of Agriculture andInterior. At this point there is a very highlevel and enthusiasm for indications ofsupport for this conference which will bedesigned to bring several differentscientific disciplines together along withthe ultimate beneficiaries and users ofinvasive plant research.

12

David Mortensen, Weed Scientist, Joins Crop andSoil Science Faculty at Penn State

David Mortensen recently joined the Penn State Weed Science group filling the WeedEcologist vacancy. Mortensen moved to Penn State after 13 years in research and teaching at theUniversity of Nebraska. His area of study centers on exploring geospatial methods for puttingweed population dynamics and integrated management research into a spatial context. In thepast, much of his research focused on row-crop agriculture, this focus will continue but will beexpanded to include studies of invasive species in less intensively managed ecosystems. Theunderlying foundation to his research is the application of ecological principles in the designand assessment of sustainable cropping systems. In addition to his research Mortensen will beinvolved in teaching several courses in the Agroecosystems major. As a newcomer, Dave isinitiating a number of new projects and team-oriented activities and has several positionopenings in his group. See the following article for more information about position vacancies.For additional information contact Dave at dmortensen@psu.edu.

Weed and Landscape EcologyPosition Openings

I am pleased to announce several position openings in mygroup at Penn State University. I recently joined the faculty at PennState and work in the area of Weed Ecology exploring geospatialmethods for putting such population dynamics studies into aspatial context. If you are interested in learning more about theseopenings please contact me at dmortensen@psu.edu or call (814)865-1906. Formal position descriptions are available upon request.I look forward to hearing from you.

Post-Doctoral Research AssociateCandidate will conduct both empirical and simulation studies

assessing the role of density dependent mortality and site heteroge-neity on weed population dynamics. Over the past four years awealth of data on Helianthus annuus and Abutilon theophrastihas been collected quantifying dispersal and environmentalconstraints and internal dynamics limiting the spatial extent ofthese species. The candidate will work collaboratively to conductadditional field studies and in refining a spatially explicit popula-tion dynamics model for the two species.

Weed Ecology Technical SupportThis position is responsible for the day to day support of field

research on weed population dynamics. Such research involvesboth a field component as well as support of a state-of-the-artgeospatial lab (support will be shared with one other person).Candidates should possess a Master of Science degree in Ecology,

People and Places

Geography or Agronomy and must enjoy work in the field and in ainformation technology lab. The flexibility exists to fill thisposition in a way that permits the candidate to pursue an advanceddegree concomitant with work duties.

Graduate Research Assistantship inWeed Ecology

I seek a talented self-motivated student to join me in our workto more fully understand conditions that result in successfulestablishment and spread of weedy species. In the past, much ofmy work has been confined to row-crop agriculture, this focus willcontinue but will be expanded to include studies of invasive speciesin less intensively managed ecosystems. The assistantship willsupport a Master of Science or Doctoral candidate. Students with astrong interest in agroecology, integrated weed management andthe application of ecological principles to improve our understand-ing of weedy plants are encouraged to apply.

If you are interested in learning more about these openingsplease contact Dave at:David MortensenWeed EcologistDepartment of Crop and Soil Sciences215 ASI BuildingPenn State UniversityUniversity Park, PA 16802Phone: (814)865-1906Fax: (814)863-7043E-mail: dmortensen@psu.edu

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University of Missouri– Graduate ResearchAssistantships

Weed Scientists at the University ofMissouri – Columbia are seeking qualifiedstudents to conduct field, greenhouse, andlaboratory research in weed biology andecology or herbicide physiology in pursuitof a Ph.D. degree. Qualified applicants willhave an M.S. or equivalent training inWeed Science, Agronomy, Soil Science,Plant Physiology or Plant Ecology.Research assistantships provide an annualstipend of $14,600 to $16,000/yr dependingon qualifications; tuition is waived.

Contact either Bill Johnson(johnsonwg@missouri.edu) or ReidSmeda (smedar@missouri.edu) foradditional information and applicationprocedures. See these websites foradditional information regarding thePlant Science Unit(www.psu.missouri.edu) and Departmentof Agronomy (www.psu.missouri.edu/agronomy/index.stm) at the University ofMissouri (web.missouri.edu/index.cfm).

Mike Christoffers,Weed MolecularGeneticist, NorthDakota StateUniversity

Dr. Mike Christoffers recently joinedNorth Dakota State University as a facultymember in the Department of PlantSciences. A native of Lake Park, MN, Mikereceived a B.Sc. degree from NDSU in cropand weed sciences. He completed a Ph.D.program in genetics at the University ofMissouri-Columbia, and then returned toFargo, ND, to fill a post-doctorate positionexamining the genetic foundation forACCase-inhibitor resistance in wild oat.Dr. Christoffers’ faculty appointmentincludes responsibilities in weed geneticsresearch and undergraduate geneticsinstruction.

Shawn P. Conley,Cropping SystemsSpecialist, Universityof Missouri

Dr. Shawn P. Conley recently joinedthe University of Missouri, Columbia as afaculty member in the Department ofAgronomy. A native of southern Wiscon-sin, Shawn received a B.Sc. degree fromthe University of Wisconsin, Madison inagronomy. Shawn also completed hisPhD. program in horticulture – weedscience at the University of Wisconsin,Madison. Dr. Conley’s faculty appointmentincludes extension and research responsi-bilities in cropping systems and alterna-tive crops.

People and Places

14

WSSA UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AWARD – 2002The Weed Science Society of America has developed an Undergraduate Student Research Grant designed to encourage and involve

exceptional undergraduates in agricultural research. Interested faculty members are encouraged to identify potential award candidates anddiscuss the possibility of sponsoring a research project. Awards may be used as a stipend, for research budget expenses (travel, supplies, etc.),to defer fees, to defray living expenses for summer research, or any combination of these items.

AWARD: Up to $1,000 for support of undergraduate research to be conducted over a minimum of one quarter/semester during

2002. This award may be used to defray the cost of research supplies or as a stipend. Support of a faculty sponsor is

required. Awards will be made to the student, to be administered by the faculty sponsor’s department.

APPLICANT: The applicant is an undergraduate student with a strong interest in Weed Science. Students majoring in all related

disciplines may apply.

TO APPLY: Applicants should prepare a 2-3 page research proposal including name, address, phone number, title, objective, experi-

mental approach, discussion, budget and references. The discussion section of the proposal should describe the expected

results and their possible significance to Weed Science. The student should provide a cover letter in which general

academic and career goals are discussed. A copy of the student’s academic transcripts should also be provided.

FACULTY Any faculty member who is actively engaged in Weed Science research is qualified to be a sponsor. The faculty

SPONSOR: sponsor should review the research proposal with special attention to the budget, the distribution of funds should be

approved by both the student and sponsor. In addition, the sponsor should provide a letter of reference including a

statement of his/her willingness to supervise the proposed research and to provide needed space, equipment and supplies

above those requested in the proposal. The sponsor is encouraged to assist the student in presenting his/her results at a

regional Weed Science Meeting.

HOW The completed proposal, academic transcripts, cover letter and faculty letter of support should be forwarded to: Dr. John

TO APPLY: Jachetta, Dow AgroSciences, 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268-1054; Phone: (317) 337-4686, Fax (317) 337-

4649, E-mail: jjjachetta@dowagro.com. Proposals should be received no later than November 15, 2001. Funding

decisions will be made by January 25, 2002 and presented at the 2002 WSSA National Meeting Awards Banquet.

15

Career Placement Service

North Central Weed Science Society

Type or print neatlyPosition Desired ____________________________________________________________________________Name ___________________________________________________________________________________Address __________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Will you be attending NCWSS? ❑ yes ❑ no WSSA? ❑ yes ❑ noWill you be presenting a paper at NCWSS? ❑ yes ❑ no WSSA? ❑ yes ❑ no

Local address at meeting (refer to message board) _______________________________________________________

Employment Desired:I. Public II. Private❑ Research (Lab) Extension ❑ Product Development ❑ Research (Lab)❑ Research (Field) Teaching ❑ Sales ❑ Research (Field)❑ Graduate Teaching ❑ Technical Service

Notes (Date Available) ________________________________________________________________________Title information - Citizenship ___________________________________________________________________

Educational Background Year Major /Field__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

M.S. Thesis (Title/Completion Date) _______________________________________________________________Ph.D. Dissertation (Title/Completion Date) ___________________________________________________________

EmploymentPosition Employer Dates Responsibilities

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Travel Limitations ___________________________________________________________________________Geographic Limitations _______________________________________________________________________

Instructions:1. Resume may be enclosed if one page or less.

2. Check in at the NCWSS Career Placement Office as soon as possible to establish your local (conference) address so potential employersmay set up interviews with a message board available for this purpose.

3. Your form will be forwarded to WSSA after the NCWSS unless requested otherwise.

4. Return completed form to: Henry McClean, Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., P.O. Box 18300, Greensboro, NC 27419-8300, phone 336-362-7246, fax 336-632-6021.

CAST membership ApplicationFill out and return this form to join CAST’s global effort to communicate science to public leaders.

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