Former USDA Research Geneticist Brings Expertise to Soft Red Winter Wheat Program Fort Collins, CO US (PRWEB) May 19, 2011 Limagrain Cereal Seeds, a subsidiary of the biggest plant breeder and seed company in Europe, announced Don Obert has been hired as a wheat breeder for the company’s regional research station located in Battle Ground, Ind.

Dr. Marla Hall has been hired by Limagrain Cereal Seeds as wheat breeder in their Kansas Research Station. Hall's research specialty is winter wheat breeding and she has a strong background in plant science genetics.

New research by UC Davis wheat geneticist Jorge Dubcovsky and his colleagues could lead to new strategies for improving freezing tolerance in wheat, which provides more than one-fifth of the calories consumed by people around the world.

The U.S. Agriculture Department said winter and spring wheat crops had caught up with their five-year averages as the winter wheat harvest gets under way. Ninety-five percent of the winter wheat crop has headed out, compared to an historic average of 97 percent by this week of the year.

By McKee, Jennifer HELENA - More than half of Montana's wheat fields are withering in an early-season drought, putting $671 million worth of wheat at risk new state agriculture statistics show.