NEWS FLASH   American Soybean Association (ASA) Vice President Ray Gaesser, a soybean producer from Corning, Iowa, will participate in a panel discussion Friday, March 12, 2010 on the competitive dynamics of the seed industry during a public workshop exploring competitive issues in agriculture hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The panel will explore the competitive implications for farmers of significant shifts in the seed industry during the past 20 years in terms of seed price, choice and innovation at a workshop at the Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, Iowa. For most major crops, farmers overwhelmingly have moved from using conventional seed varieties to seed with biotech-enhanced traits that help farmers better manage weeds and pests that reduce yields. Seed research, development and marketing efforts have moved from numerous and diverse entities such as universities, extension agencies and independent seed companies toward major agriculture biotechnology firms. Patents covering certain commercially-valuable agriculture biotechnology traits will expire in the coming years, raising questions about how the marketplace will handle the approaching transition. At the request of the DOJ and USDA, ASA submitted comments in December 2009 expressing specific interest in competition in the seed, rail and fertilizer industries.