Zimfo Bites

Melissa Sandfort

  • Fat-phobic girls are mistakenly shunning calcium-rich dairy foods, just at the time when their young bodies most need it. A recent Canadian study found no difference in changes in percent body fat over two years between girls eating varying amounts of calcium from food. The study, published in the journal Obesity, found girls concerned with body shape and size had a lower intake of calcium from dairy foods. But Dairy Australia dietitian Maree Garside said dietary advice recommended dairy foods as a key source of calcium and other essential nutrients. “Dairy foods play a vital role in growth and development. An adequate intake should be encouraged in children, regardless of their weight. Most girls should aim to eat three servings of dairy foods each day,” said Garside. To hinge on this: Including milk and other milk products as part of a healthy weight management plan may help women keep off the weight they’ve lost. In a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers found that higher calcium intakes, mostly from milk and other milk products and not supplements, was linked to less weight gain 18 months after a significant weight loss.
  • Dow AgroSciences announces its 2008 Grower Rewards program, which provides profit opportunities to growers who plant Mycogen® brand seed and use crop protection products from Dow AgroSciences. This program allows growers to earn cash rebates of up to 10 percent on their Mycogen brand seed products and Dow AgroSciences crop protection purchases for the 2008 production season.
  • Newsham Genetics, LC announced that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Monsanto Choice Genetics, Inc. The transaction will be completed as soon as practical. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The acquisition of Monsanto Choice Genetics, Inc. (MCG) will further strengthen Newsham’s expanding base of business, according to Newsham Genetics Co-CEO Brent Mitchell. As part of the agreement, a three-year research alliance has been established between the two companies. The alliance will focus on technology and the genomics platform to maximize the value created in the industry from these tools.
  • Asian Soybean Rust has been discovered in Pemiscot and Scott counties in the Bootheel of Missouri. The USDA confirmed the rust findings, which marks the first time rust has been discovered in Missouri this year. The fungus has been detected in 13 states so far in 2007, including Illinois and Kansas. At this point in the growing season, rust is not expected to have a significant impact on soybean yields.
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