Salmonella threshold testing was the hot topic in the Roka BioScience booth at the 2015 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE). I stopped by to talk with Ted Andrew, Director of Marketing and Product Development about their new approach to bacteria detection and other new opportunities they are offering the industry. “It’s a different way to look at pathogen testing. …
African Seed Trade Learns from ASTA
It was AFSTA meets ASTA last week at the CSS 2014 and Seed Expo in Chicago. Denias Zaranyika is the Vice President of the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) and he attended last week’s event to see what he could bring home to his colleagues in the countries of Africa. “We want to exchange information and learn from Americans,” he …
UF Prof is Biotech Advocate
Hearing food and health “celebrities” spread misinformation about agriculture really annoys plant molecular and cellular biology professor Dr. Kevin Folta, who spoke at the CSS 2014 and Seed Expo this week in Chicago. Folta, who has a blog where he calls himself “a scientist in a scientifically illiterate nation at a time when we need science the most,” took the …
Smart Ag in the 21st Century
“Smart Agriculture in the 21st Century” is the theme for the 2015 Agricultural Outlook Forum to be held from Feb. 19-20, 2015, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, Arlington, Va. USDA has announced that the forum’s plenary speakers and sessions will take a global, modern look at different aspects of today’s agriculture industry. Among the highlights, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack …
Study: GMOs Could Be Global Hunger Solution
According to a new report, “The Future of Farming and Rise of Biotechnology” released by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA), decreasing regulations on genetically modified crops (GMOs) could be a valuable strategy in combating global hunger. NCPA Research Associate David Weisser notes that Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug’s use of biotechnology has been credited with saving 1 billion …
Food Dialogue on GMOs
What do you know about GMOs? Most people not much with the exception that many have been led to believe they are bad. In a recent Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jimmy Kimmel, he took to the streets to ask people what a GMO was and not one person knew, even thought most believed they were bad. In case you don’t know, …
Vilsack Spotlights Ag Innovation
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spotlighted agricultural innovations during an appearance at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Monday. Vilsack stressed the importance of global cooperation in biotechnology innovations. “It’s in our long term best interest as a global community that we encourage appropriate science, that we encourage biotechnology, ways to grow crops with less water, less pesticides, less chemicals,” he …
Get to Know GMOs Month
If you wear pink for Breast Cancer Awareness this month, you might pair it with green for Get to Know GMOs Month. This month GMO Answers is inviting the public to “Get to Know GMOs”— to ask their toughest questions and join the conversation. “With the coming of October, we welcome a new fall season, a new harvest and a …
USDA Deregulates ENLIST Crops
USDA has issued a decision to deregulate Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist™ 2,4-D and glyphosate-resistant corn and soybean traits in the United States. “Gaining approval for this important technology has been a long, hard fought battle,” said National Corn Growers Association Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair Jim Zimmerman of Wisconsin. “It is important that farmers continue to gain access to …
Biologics R & D at Bayer Crop Science
Biologics are based on materials found in nature. At the Bayer Crop Science booth during the Farm Progress Show I spoke with Head of Biologic Research for Bayer CropScience, Dr. Jonathan Margolis, who is based out of their new facilities in Sacramento, CA. There he works with live microbes like bacteria, fungi and plant extracts. “The difference between those and …
