A North Dakota science facility is helping U.S. ag research get up to speed. Currently the nation is falling behind when it comes to agriculture research, due mainly to a lack of funding, but the National Agriculture Genotyping Center (NAGC) is committed to getting the United States back in the game. Work related to sustainable production practices, genetic improvement and new … Read More
AEM: Small Tractor Sales Continue to Lead
The latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Ag Tractor and Combine Report shows that, while U.S. retail sales of tractors under 40HP and 40-100HP continued to lead the way in September and larger tractor sales rebounded from last month, year-to-date tractor sales are still down. The report also noted that September U.S. retail sales for 2WD tractors … Read More
Eco-detector to Hunt GMOs in the Environment
While the agriculture community generally lauds the efforts of biotechnology in feeding the world, many doubt the technology’s safety. That’s why Scott Egan with Rice University is leading an effort to detect GMOs in the environment. Egan’s team is building a tool that will allow them to quantify and track the dispersal of genetically engineered crops and animals. The developing … Read More
New Report: Global Progress on Food Loss, Waste
A newly released report has assessed the world’s progress toward Target 12.3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which has called on all nations to halve food waste and reduce food loss by 2030. The report recommends nations, cities and businesses in the food supply chain move quickly to set reduction targets, measure progress and take action to … Read More
Space Agriculture: The Final Frontier
Precision farming may be a fairly exact science these days, but growing plants in space is still a murky one. Those in agriculture can appreciate the importance of growing food on board a space station or during a mission to Mars, but a new paper in the Botany Letters highlights the challenges scientists still face in this agricultural frontier. The … Read More
Study Finds China Dominates Global Production Market
Research firm MarketLine has found that the global agricultural products market reached a value of just over $2.2 trillion in 2015, and the Asia-Pacific revision accounted for well over half of the world’s agricultural production. MarketLine found that, despite a decrease in overall value terms last year, China continues to be the dominant country in the agricultural products market, with … Read More
Michigan Students Study Bee Populations
August marks the month bees in Michigan will begin producing honey, and researchers at Grand Valley State University will take advantage of what they can learn from that with a $2.3 million grant from the USDA to study the decline in honeybee population. The four-year, $200,000 study at Grand Valley, led by Jonathan Engelsma, professor of computing, will focus on … Read More
USDA Analyzes Crop Insurance Demand
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a report completed by the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) on the effectiveness of crop insurance. The report, titled How Do Time and Money Affect Agricultural Insurance Uptake? A New Approach to Farm Risk Management Analysis, analyzes the relationship between wealth, savings, and insurance over time to identify alternative approaches to managing … Read More
5 Things Caledonia Wants AgTech Investors to Know
There are five things Caledonia Solutions wants Agtech investors to know during this time of low commodity prices. The organization says that during down times, more growers stay away from making precision ag investments. However, this is contrary to what growers should actually do. “Growers with cash find now is the time to be a contrarian and invest in ag … Read More
Valent, Danforth Plant Center Solidify Rhizosphere Project
Valent BioSciences Corporation (VBC) and St. Louis, Missouri-based Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have solidified a multi-year Master of Cooperation agreement focused on the area of root science and the rhizosphere. The partnership will capitalize on The Danforth Center’s focus on discoveries and technologies for improving agricultural productivity with minimal environmental impact including new research on non-destructive imaging technology for … Read More