The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, in partnership with the Farm Foundation, announced the launch of the Soil Health Institute today. For years, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and Farm Foundation have been providing education and insight into the importance of agriculture and proper land stewardship. In 2013, they launched the Soil Renaissance. The movement brought together growers and organizations across … Read More
Syngenta and DSM to Develop Bio Solutions
Syngenta and DSM are creating an R&D partnership to develop microbial-based agricultural solutions. These solutions including bio-controls, bio-pesticides and bio-stimulants. Together the companies plan to commercialize the solutions on which they have collaborated. Together they hope to accelerate the finding of a broad spectrum of products that are based on naturally occurring moro-orgnaisms. If these organisms can protect crops they would … Read More
75 Years of Innovation for ARS Ag Utilization Centers
Four regional ARS ag utilization centers are celebrating 75 years of scientific excellence. The centers, spread throughout the country, are celebrating innovative achievements and improved methods of ensuring product quality, detecting foodborne pathogens, and creating bio-based fuels among other things. The centers, which celebrate their 75th anniversaries during the remainder of 2015 and start of 2016, are the: Eastern Regional … Read More
The Importance of TFP
John Deere’s Kelly Winquist provided a preview of how countries are doing with Total Factor Productivity (TFP) as a means to reach the goal of feeding 9.7 billion people by 2050 as part of the 2015 Gap Report release during World Food Prize. The 6th annual Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Building Sustainable Breadbaskets focused on the U.S. and Zambia. Winquist … Read More
More Growers Needed to Meet Specialty Food Demand
According to a new report, “Beyond Organic: The Revolution in Consumer Food Expectations,” specialty foods are here to stay. The report looked at consumer preferences and purchase habits of specialty foods including gluten free and ethically produced (non-GMO, antibiotic, hormone free, etc.). According to co-author Peter Walter, consumers are particularly committed to certain types of specialty, or organic foods. For … Read More
USDA Gives $3 Mil in Critical Ag Production Research Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is giving $3 million in grants to address critical issues affecting agriculturally-important plants and animals. This news release from the agency’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) says the science developed from these grants will provide timely assistance and have an immediate impact for the agriculture community. The awards were made under the … Read More
Clariant Opens Biotech Research Center
A new Group Biotechnology Research Center has been opened near Munich. Clariant, a leader in specialty chemicals, hosted a ceremony in which the key to the facility was symbolically handed over to CEO Hariolf Kottmann and the Head of Clariant’s Group Biotechonology Andre Koltermann. “Alongside the Clariant Innovation Center (CIC) in Frankfurt, the new Clariant Biotech Center (CBC) is another … Read More
Next Generation Smart Commercial Drones
Big Market Research has completed a new study of Smart Commerical Drones. This next generation of drones will have better technology, support high quality video, improved stability, reliability, and navigation, softer landings, longer flights, and the ability to carry loads. The term “smart” can be applied to drones that have sensors and software which allows for automated response to a … Read More
K State Researchers Uncover New Genetic Markers
Kansas State University wheat scientists, in cooperation with scientists from Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic, are calling their study of wild wheat genes “a breakthrough.” The research is the first completed study of a chromosome in a tertiary gene pool. The study was published in The Plant Journal on Sept. 27 “What we did is develop a strategy that … Read More
Covering Bases with Cover Crops
When we think of crops we think of food, but there dis another very important type of crop in the agricultural world– cover crops. “Cover crops are usually planted between the regular crop production periods,” says Hanna Poffenbarger, a graduate student in the department of agronomy at Iowa State University. Poffenbarger did graduate work on cover crops at the University … Read More