REGIONAL NOTES ACTIVITIES The 1997 Hard Red Winter Wheat Breeders Field Day was held in May at Vernon, TX, hosted by wheat researchers from Texas A&M. The 1998 Breeders Field Day is scheduled for June 30 at Sidney, NE, hosted by researchers from the University of Nebraska and USDA-ARS. The 21st Hard Winter Wheat Workers Workshop was held in Denver, Colorado on January 28-30, 1998. The 2« day Workshop, hosted by Colorado State University, was attended by over 140 wheat researchers. PERSONNEL Dr. Blaine Johnson joined HybriTech Seed International as Co-Senior Project Leader for hard winter wheat breeding, stationed at Berthoud, CO. Dr. Johnson was formerly with the University of Nebraska as Corn Breeder and Quantitative Geneticist. Dr. Jim Hatchett, USDA-ARS Research Entomologist, formally retired after over 37 years of federal service. Dr. Hatchett has been with the Plant Science Research Unit at Manhattan, Kansas, since 1976 conducting research on the Hessian fly. He has contributed to the release of numerous wheat varieties and germplasms in the region. Jim has been an valuable asset to the regional programs and has provided Hessian fly evaluations on thousands of germplasm lines. Jim will continue his Hessian fly research and germplasm screening on a part-time appointment while efforts to refill his position are underway. Dr. John Schmidt, Emeritus Professor, University of Nebraska, passed away on July 15, 1997. Dr. Schmidt retired in 1985 after more than 30 years of service as Small Grains Breeder for UN-L. Dr. Schmidt developed 28 wheat varieties during his career, which were noted for their stem-rust resistance, high productivity, and broad adaptation. These varieties included Scout and Scout 66, which were grown on up to 8 million acres annually in the Great Plains. Dr. Schmidt received numerous awards for his wheat research contributions, including the USDA Superior Service Award, an honorary Doctorate from Kansas State University, and he was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement. REPORTING NOTES The year 1997 was the 67th year of field trials in the Hard Winter Wheat Regional Performance Nursery program. The program is conducted in collaboration with scientists from USDA-ARS, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, and private breeding programs. Forty five wheats were evaluated in the Southern Regional Performance Nursery over 36 locations in 11 states. Thirty five wheats were evaluated in the Northern Regional Performance Nursery over 16 locations in eight states. Twenty eight wheats were evaluated in the Western Plains Regional Performance Nursery at nine locations over eight states. Grain yield, yield stability, agronomic characteristics, reaction to major disease and insect pests, and tolerance to environmental stresses were reported for entries in each of the Performance Nurseries. Three hundred and ninety wheats were evaluated for disease and insect reactions and tolerance to environmental stresses in the Regional Germplasm Observation Nursery. Wheat germplasm and hybrids from 22 public and private programs involved in breeding and germplasm development were evaluated in the 1997 nurseries. Five new hard red winter wheat varieties were released to producers in 1997 that previously had been evaluated in the Regional Nursery program. A web page for the Hard Winter Wheat Regional Nursery program has been developed. The site has nursery lists, preliminary data, past reports, and other information posted for viewing or downloading. The internet address is: http://agronomy.unl.edu/region/ The response reaction of entries to leaf and stem rust infection has been coded on a 1-9 scale to facilitate generation of this report. This same scale has been used in past reports. The response data can be interpreted as reaction type as follows: 1=VR; 1=R; 3=MR; 4=M; 5=M; 6=M; 7=MS; 8=S; and 9=VS.