There’s a great post on I Am Biotech about birthday boy, Norman Borlaug. He’s a Nobel Laureate and 95 years old today. Visit the post and leave him a message in the comments (you may comment here too). Today is the 95th birthday of Norman Borlaug, an agricultural scientist who is widely known as the father of the Green Revolution. …
Monsanto Announces Beachell-Borlaug Scholars Program
For Norman Borlaug’s 95th birthday today, Monsanto has created a $10 million grant to establish the Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program, which will “help identify and support young scientists interested in improving research and production in rice and wheat, two of the world’s most important staple crops, through plant breeding techniques.” Monsanto is funding the program, which will be administered by …
BASF and Monsanto Working Together on Weed Control
BASF and Monsanto Company have joined forces to accelerate the development of next-generation of dicamba-based weed control chemistry products. The partnership will be working to develop crops that are resistant to both Roundup® agricultural herbicides and dicamba to deliver significant on-farm benefits to growers. According to Monsanto Global Chemistry lead Sean Gardner, “Combining a second type of herbicide resistance with …
Truth About Trade and Technology Global Roundtable
For the third year, the Truth About Trade and Technology (TATT) held a Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable in conjunction with the World Food Prize events. Over 20 farmers from as many nations participated in the event this year to discuss biotech agriculture in their countries, according to TATT chairman Dean Kleckner. “Either how we’re using it and here’s what …
Conversations at World Food Prize
Panel discussions at the World Food Prize Norman Borlaug Symposium in Des Moines are called “conversations” and one on Wednesday focused on the “Promises and Challenges of Next-Generation Science and Technology.” Among the presenters was Brazil’s former minister of agriculture Roberto Rodrigues, co-chair of the International Biofuels Commission who made a very compelling case that both food and fuel production …
World Food Dialogue for Solutions
Even though the word “crisis” is being used liberally here at the World Food Prize Norman Borlaug Symposium, there is a great deal of focus on solutions to feeding a growing global population. The “Global Agricultural Crisis of the 21st Century” was the topic of the keynote speaker for the symposium kickoff, Sir Gordon Conway, who is chief scientific adviser …
More Monsanto Sustainability
The potential for increasing yields exists everywhere if you ask Michael Doane. Michael is the Sustainability Team Lead for Monsanto. He spoke at the Monsanto discussion on sustainability on the 2008 Farm Progress Show last week. After his speech, I caught up with him and we spoke more about how he thinks the world will answer the global food demands …
Biotechnology Feeds Sustainability, Feeds the World
Thirty-three percent of the land’s surface is used for food production. That’s the figure that John Hoffman, Iowa farmer and President of the American Soybean Association puts out there. He says that 33 percent makes up 55 percent of the land that’s arable. So, we’re already using more than half the arable land out there to feed the world. Much …
Future is in the Genes
According to the President and CEO of BASF Plant Science Dr. Hans Kast, the future is in the genes for agriculture. Kast gave ag journalists an overview of that future in Germany last week. “Plant biotechnology will play a crucial role in ensuring that the rapidly growing population continues to have a sufficient supply of high quality food,” said Kast. …
Monsanto World Headquarters Expansion Complete
The Monsanto World Headquarters is now 40,000 square feet bigger. The global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products has completed construction of a new data center in Missouri. Monsanto Company has announced it has completed construction of a new data center on the west side of its World Headquarters campus in Creve Coeur, Mo. The $21 million, 40,000 square-foot …