On behalf of our organizing committee, we would like to invite all of you to the 1st international conference on Rapid Cycle Crop Breeding (RCCB) which will be held January 7 through the 10th, 2014 (the week prior to Plant and Animal Genome) just outside of Washington DC (Landsdowne, VA). There will be four aspects covered; practical breeding systems, science of shortened juvenility, regulatory aspects of using transgenes for generating non-transgenic crops, and a workshop on how to talk about biotechnology to the public. Invited speakers thus far include: Bert Abbott, Sue Gardner, Pace Lubinsky, Magda-Viola Hanke, Leandro Pena, Steve Strauss and Ralph Scorza. Further information is on our website including how to register: http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/19310505/RCCB%20Conference.docx

Submitted abstracts to rapidcyclecropbreeding@yahoo.commailto:rapidcyclecropbreeding@yahoo.com will be considered for presentations.

Attached is an information sheet with all the details on registration, location and agenda. If further information is needed, please feel free to contact Ralph Scorza, ralph.scorza@ars.usda.govmailto:ralph.scorza@ars.usda.gov. Also attached is a flyer for the conference.

Chris Dardick

Chris Dardick Plant Molecular Biologist/Pathologist USDA ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station 2217 Wiltshire Road Kearneysville, WV 25430 Office: 304-725-3451 ext. 387 Cell: 304-991-9528 Chris.dardick@ars.usda.govmailto:Chris.dardick@ars.usda.gov

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