Continuing Education in Plant Breeding at Texas A&M University

Continuing education course modules in plant breeding and genetics, and related disciplines are available from Texas A&M University to clientele interested in gaining new information in plant breeding or simply seeking refresher courses. This program is designed for individuals employed in private industry, CGIAR centers, government agencies, non-government organizations, and other agriculture professionals who need and desire additional knowledge and training in plant breeding but who are not interested in an additional academic degree. A professional certificate can be a part of this program. No campus visit is required. Course modules include Introduction to Plant Breeding; Breeding Self-Pollinated Crops; Breeding Cross Pollinated Crops; Host Plant Resistance; Advanced Plant Breeding; Selection Theory; Marker Assisted Selection; Genomic Analysis; Factorial Designs in Experimentation; Unbalanced Designs; BiPlot Analysis; Field Crop Diseases; Field Insects; Essential Nutrients in Crop Growth; and others. For more information visit http://soilcrop.tamu.edu/academics/distance-education/ or contact LeAnn Hague, Distance
Education Coordinator in Soil and Crop Sciences at leann.hague@tamu.edu or (979)845-6148.

The Seed Business 101 course was created with input from industry executives to accelerate the careers of promising new employees. By selecting and sponsoring employees to attend this course, companies acknowledge past performance and invest in accelerated professional development. The course also offers invaluable insights and perspective to seed dealers and companies offering products and services to the seed industry, including seed treatments, crop protection, seed enhancement and technology, machinery and equipment, etc.

The goal of Seed Business 101 is to enhance each participant‘s career performance and help them avoid costly mistakes.

The course is designed to focus on optimum operations of the five major functional areas of a seed company.

• Research and Development
• Production
• Administration
• Operations
• Sales and Marketing

Participants will acquire a broad understanding of the major aspects of a seed company‘s operations and cross-departmental knowledge of best practices for profitability.

This course will be offered in four locations in California and Idaho between November 2010 and February 2011. Each session will be limited to 30 participants.