CALIFORNIA – The University of California, Davis, and the California Strawberry Commission have signed an agreement ending the longstanding lawsuit and setting a new direction for the public Strawberry Breeding Program at UC Davis.

As part of this agreement, UC Davis announced the hiring of a new breeder for the Strawberry Breeding Program as well.

According to a press release, Steven J. Knapp, a plant scientist with highly credentialed teaching and research experience at two other U.S. land-grant universities and international plant genomics experience in the commercial sector, has accepted the offer to lead the program.

“We are thrilled to have Steve join us as we design a new strawberry breeding program for the 21^st century,” said Helene Dillard, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, which houses the program.

“He brings with him expertise in plant genomics and genetics, as well as great breadth of experience in directing a variety of crop-breeding teams in the United States and around the world,” Dillard added.

In terms of the lawsuit settlement, the UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program and the California Strawberry Commission have agreed to further partnership opportunities.

UC Davis will release new strawberry varieties that will be available to all farmers over the next five years. The California Strawberry Commission will also assist UC Davis in its identification of new commercial varieties, according to a press release.

The settlement also stipulates the formation of a new strawberry advisory comprised of university representatives, strawberry farmers and commission representatives.

“The hiring of the new plant breeder and the commitment to continue the public program were critical to resolving the dispute,” said Rick Tomlinson, President of the California Strawberry Commission. “Combined with the leadership of Dean Helene Dillard, the strawberry breeding program is positioned to continue releasing exceptional new plant varieties.”

This settlement brings to a close legal disagreements going back to October 2013, when the commission filed a lawsuit against the university related to the strawberry breeding program’s research agreement with the commission. Both that lawsuit and the university’s counter suit have been ended.