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Laura McNamara

  • Diamond V® has appointed Dave Lusson Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Diamond V Mills, Inc. As Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Lusson will directly oversee the company‚s financial reporting, long-term financial planning, accounting and information technology departments as well as the company‚s Mexican business unit. “Dave’s strong background in finance and management skills are something we look forward to having at Diamond V,” said John C. Bloomhall, President and CEO of Diamond V. “We are thrilled to have someone with his experience on our team.”
  • A team of DuPont ( NYSE:DD) scientists has identified a gene that, when silenced, can help increase the feed value of grain, improve breeding programs for corn and other crops and reduce phosphorous in animal waste. Results of this research were published online in Nature Biotechnology on August 5. The gene controls production of phytic acid, a compound in grain and oilseeds that is not digestible by monogastric animals, such as swine and poultry, and reduces the availability of essential minerals. Through genetic manipulation, researchers at DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred were able to silence the gene in corn, greatly reducing the amount of phytic acid in the seed. “This research is a major advancement in our effort to improve the quality of grain used for animal feed and brings more value to producers,” said Jinrui Shi, research scientist at Pioneer. “For years, seed and biotech companies have been trying, with little success, to bring a low-phytic acid offering to market. This is the first time an institution has successfully produced a transgenic low-phytic acid trait without impacting germination or plant growth.”
  • The American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) presented five Lifetime Achievement awards in Louisville, KY, on July 31. Two of the awards were given to Wilson Carnes and Bob Rupp, and three posthumous Heritage Awards went to Charles Scruggs, Jim Thomson, and Cordell Tindall. This year, AAEA re-instituted the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given for the first and only time in 1990. These awards are sponsored the by The Sonja Hillgren Foundation. The five recipients were selected by the AAEA Service Awards Committee
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