The policies are developed by the division committees and implemented through the division meetings and the executive officers of the ASTA. At regular meetings of the division, various committees report and the members. can express their opinions about type of program they want to follow. The Garden Seed Division is more active in trade promotion than some other divisions. To promote the sales of garden seeds, the division expends approximately 40 thousand dollars annually. Another activity is a consistent program of weeding out obsolete varieties and acquainting the public with the importance and advantages of improved varieties.

The Hybrid Corn Division conducts an annual Hybrid Corn Industry Research Conference. A record of the proceedings is published and distributed widely to colleges and universities and students of agronomy without charge.

The Lawn and Turfgrass Division cooperates with highway officials in an exchange of information on the most adaptable grass to be used along roadsides under varying conditions.

The Service Divisions are concerned primarily with the movement of seeds through channels of commerce to the consumer.

NATIONAL legislation and administration of Federal laws affecting the seed industry are matters of concern to members of the American Seed Trade Association. The association is geared to represent the seed industry's interests in seeking fair, impartial, beneficial legislation and administration of laws. The association also assists in the formulation and revision of State legislation when warranted.

Cooperation with public agencies and affiliated professional societies is a cornerstone of its policies. Cordial working relationships are assured by means of liaison committees of the association with the Department of Agriculture, International Crop Improvement Association, State agricultural experiment stations, agronomists, seed analysts, control officials, and others.

Information on behalf of the association's members is presented to keep members and the public aware of developments that affect the seed industry. A membership bulletin is published twice monthly. Following the annual convention in June, a volume of proceedings is published for the members. Proceedings of the annual Hybrid Corn Industry Research Conference and conferences on farm seeds also are published. These publications are used extensively throughout the industry and by public agencies and students.

Special pamphlets pertaining to trade rules, practices, and traffic are published periodically.

The association, through its Farm Seed Division, sponsors an annual collegiate crop-judging contest in Chicago. This contest is held in conjunction with the National Livestock Show and is attended by judging teams from many parts of the United States. In the contests, students test their ability in judging against that of students from other parts of the United States.

AS A RECOGNITION of the part that communications provide in keeping the public informed of the latest developments in the industry, an annual Asta award is presented to the journalists who, in the opinion of several judges, do the best job in keeping the public informed.

The first Asta awards were presented in June 1955. Since that time 17 additional awards have been presented to outstanding farm and garden writers.

The association has distributed two motion pictures about farm seeds, "The Farm Seed Story" and "Seeds and Science."

The association in 1955 established the American Seed Research Foundation, an organization that seeks to encourage basic research on seeds. Its aim is to study seeds to find out more about how they perform.

Three projects approved by the foundation have to do with the development of rapid tests of viability of seeds, the deterioration of seeds in storage, and the evaluation and classification of selected types of degeneration revealed within germinative seed by the use of the tetrazolium test. Named as project leaders were Don F. Grabe of Iowa; William P. Caldwell and James C. Delouche, Mississippi; and R. P. Moore, North Carolina.

The association cooperates with the American Society for Horticultural Science in developing lists of names in use on new varieties of vegetables. Lists of names of obsolete varieties are published periodically.

The association has made grants-in-aid for research on seeds to universities and agricultural experiment stations. Among a few of the projects in which the association has cooperated with agricultural experiment stations are the development of a manual for the selection of competent seed analysts,studies on clover and alfalfa, and improved laboratory techniques.

The association has also worked with the Association of Official Seed Analysts and the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists in their various publications.

Arbitration, group medical insurance, insurance for specialized errors and omissions, and annual trade shows are among the other services provided members of the American Seed Trade Association.

The specific commodity promotional groups and associations also serve segments of the seed industry.

The All-America Selections, sponsored by members of the American Seed Trade Association's Garden Seed Division, promotes the introduction of new vegetable and flower varieties through an award system consisting of nationwide trial grounds for new varieties. Eminent judges select the outstanding trial-ground entries. At their discretion and subject to final vote of the Board of Directors of the All-America Selections Council, exceptional new vegetable and flower varieties are awarded All-America distinction. To finance the program, winners of the awards return fixed percentages of the sales price of winning varieties.

The National Garden Bureau sponsors an information and public relations program developed by the association's Garden Seed Division to encourage gardening. The Better Lawn & Turf Institute is an association to foster more effective grass seeding practices. The Certified Alfalfa Seed Council and the Merion Bluegrass Association are similarly constituted promotional programs. The Field Seed Institute is an association that studies economic trends in the seed business.

WILLIAM HECKENDORN is executive secretary of the American Seed Trade Association. His headquarters are in Washington.

Roy A. EDWARDS, JR., is president of Rudy-Patrick Seed Co., Kansas City, Mo. He was president of the American Seed Trade Association in 1959 1960.