The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) is pleased with the clarification made by USDA last week regarding oversight of plants produced through innovative new breeding techniques, including gene editing. “The (USDA) announcement really clarifies the practice they’ve had had ongoing for the last couple of years in that products created through gene editing don’t need to go through pre-market, regulatory …
USDA Has No Plans to Regulate Gene Edited Plants
USDA has no plans to regulate “plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding techniques as long as they are not plant pests or developed using plant pests,” according to an announcement yesterday from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). This includes a set of new techniques that are increasingly being used by plant breeders to …
Cold Tolerant Berseem Clover Provides Frost Seeding Option
As cold as it has already been this winter in so many areas, Frosty Berseem Clover might be just the ticket for farmers and ranchers implementing frost seeding into their hay and pasture systems. Grassland Oregon was recently awarded a patent for Frosty Berseem Clover, making it the first cold tolerant berseem clover suitable for frost seeding in the United …
Agri-Pulse Launches Breeding Edge Editorial Series
Agri-Pulse has launched a new seven-part editorial series, “The Breeding Edge,” focused on new scientific discoveries, genetic research, and systems for precision breeding for producing food, protecting the environment, and improving animal health. “Animal and plant breeders are trying out a set of powerful new tools which have the potential to revolutionize agricultural practices and provide consumers with more healthy …
Soybean Growers Lose $1.6 Billion Annually to SCN and SDS
Diseases like Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) and Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) continue to plague soybean growers to the tune of $1.6 billion per year, based on USDA 2016–2017 marketing year projection for average soybean price of $9.10 per bushel. Those two diseases contribute to the largest number of bushels lost for soybean farmers, who sometimes don’t even realize disease is …
SMART Farmer Jerry Flint
Jerry Flint may not technically be a farmer, but he did grow up on a farm in Ohio and his entire career has been focused on delivering new innovations to smart farmers. In addition to being vice president of regulatory affairs for Dow DuPont Agriculture Division, Flint is also first vice chair for the American Seed Trade Association, and his …
Chromatin Growing Sorghum Improvements
The first S in the CSS 2017 and Seed Expo is for Sorghum, which was one of the first two crops that started the annual conference back in 1945 as the Corn & Sorghum Conference. Sorghum has come a very long way since then and improvements being made in the crop could make a major difference in developing countries, according …
New Bayer Seed Treatment Offers Promising Yield Benefit
Bayer is helping growers bring more value without increasing inputs with Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0. The seed treatment is designed to bring a healthier soil environment around the plant root, yielding an additional average 3.8 bushels per acre. “With Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0, you don’t have to change what you’re doing today – especially in the cost effective environment that we’re in today – …
Plant Breeders Award Grad Scholarships
The National Council of Commercial Plant Breeders (NCCPB) represents member companies in the business of plant improvement. So, a perfect place for them to award their Graduate Student Plant Breeding Award was the recent American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CSS & Seed Expo in Chicago, IL. NCCPB offered three graduate student currently pursuing a PhD. in plant breeding awards of …
StollerUSA at #ASTACSS
The 2017 American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CSS & Seed Expo has grown into quite the show over the years and serves as a great place for agribusinesses to communicate their works with their peers and ag media. StollerUSA took advantage of that holding a press conference to discuss their focus. “We are not growing anymore land so we have …