Glickman Names Members to The Plant Variety Protection Board 

                                             Release No.  0102.00
                                                                 
                                                                 
                                     Jessica Faust (202) 720-8998
                                           jessica.faust@usda.gov
                                     Billy A. Cox (202) 720-8998 
                                               billy.cox@usda.gov


GLICKMAN NAMES MEMBERS TO THE PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION BOARD 
 

     WASHINGTON, March 28, 2000--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has named
14 members to the Plant Variety Protection Board.  The two-year term of the
previous 14-member Board had expired.  Eleven new members were named and three
were re-appointed.

     The Board is mandated by section 7 of the Plant Variety Protection Act
(PVPA) to advise the Secretary on the adoption of new rules and regulations,
make advisory decisions on appeals from applicants, and advise on declaring a
protected variety open to public use in emergencies.  The Board includes
farmers, representatives of the seed industry, public and private plant
breeders, and representatives of seed regulatory agencies.

     The new members include:  

     Ernest Bradley, farmer, Lexa, Ark.; Peter Bretting, Agricultural Research
Service, USDA, Beltsville, Md.; Leticia Cabrera, University of Texas,
Brownsville, Texas; Bruce Hunter, Novartis Seeds, Ontario, Canada; Victor
Miller, farmer, Oelwein, Iowa; Salomon Montano, farmer, Bosque, N.M; Bruce
Morrissey, Dupont de Nemours, Wilmington, Del.; Jodie Smith, Fort Peck Community
College, Poplar, Mont.; Daryl Strouts, Association of Official Seed Certifying
Agencies, Manhattan, Kan.; and Gary Whitaker, Sakata Seed America, Morgan Hill,
Calif; and Walter Wiles, Southern University, Baton Rouge, La.

     The re-appointed members include:

     Virginia Lehman, Turfgrass Breeders' Association, Lebanon, Ore.; Margaret
Smith, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; and Dean Urmston, American Seed Trade
Association, Washington, D.C. 

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