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National Genetic Resources Advisory Council

The National Genetic Resources Advisory Council (NGRAC) was established in 2012 as a permanent subcommittee of the NAREEE Advisory Board.  

NGRAC advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture and Director of ARS’ National Genetic Resources Program (NGRP). NGRP acquires, characterizes, conserves, documents, and distributes to scientists germplasm of all life forms important for food and agricultural production.

NGRP’s Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) documents these animal, microbial, and plant collections through informational pages, searchable databases, and links to USDA-ARS projects that curate the collections.

New

The National Strategic Germplasm and Cultivar Assessment and Utilization Plan, requested in the 2018 Farm Bill, is also referred to as the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) Plan. The Plan was written by ARS, which is the lead agency for operating the NPGS. This Council reviewed the draft Plan in FY22 and developed recommendations for the Plan’s enhancement.

The Council’s NPGS Plan recommendations were finalized, and NAREEE Board-approved in Feb 2022 (FY22). These recommendations were considered by ARS throughout FY23, and the majority of the NGRAC’s feedback to improve the NPGS Plan was integrated into subsequent versions of the Plan. The Plan’s recommendations (what this Council provided) may be found in the ‘Reports’ section on this page below.

As of FY24, the NPGS Plan has been finalized, cleared, and is available for public review on ARS web sites: USDA-ARS Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) and National Program 301: Plant Genetic Resources, Genomics and Genetic Improvement Strategic Vision.

Members

David Butruille
Bayer Crop Science
Chesterfield, MO
Term: first, ends FY 2023 on 1/31/2023
James McFerson (Chair)
Washington State University Research and Extension Center (Retired)
Denver, CO
Term: second, ends FY 2024 on 9/30/2024
Margaret Smith
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Term: first, ends FY 2023 on 9/30/2023
Mike Lomas
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
East Boothbay, ME
Term: first, ends FY 2027 on 9/30/2027
Paul Gepts
University of California
Davis, CA
Term: second, ends FY 2024 on 9/30/2024
Sarada Krishnan
Global Crop Diversity Trust
Bonn, Germany
Term: second, ends FY 2024 on 9/30/2024
Stephen Kresovich
Clemson University
Clemson, SC
Term: second, ends FY 2023 on 9/30/2023
Terrence Tiersch
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
Baton Rouge, LA
Term: second, ends FY 2024 on 9/30/2024
Troy Ott
Penn State University
University Park, PA
Term: Term: first, ends FY 2027 on 9/30/2027

Reports

Meetings

Fiscal year 2024
February 21, 2024 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
January 17, 2024 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
December 20, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
Fiscal year 2023
September 20, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
August 16, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
July 26, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
June 21, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
May17, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
April 19, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
March 15, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
February 15, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
January 18, 2023 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
December 21, 2022 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
November 16, 2022 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable
October 19. 2022 Monthly National Genetic Resource Advisory Council (NGRAC) Meeting
Highlights Unavailable
Report Unavailable
Public Comments Unavailable