Listen to the complete Alltech International Symposium press conference here: Alltech Press Conference

2012 Alltech International Symposium Photo Album

Additional findings of the Media Usage Update Survey study as well as raw survey data and available cross-tabulated findings, including geography and age-specific results, are available by contacting becki@nafb.com or at (816) 431-4032. The data is projectable to each state and by county within a state.

CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos

“Each of these projects features transdisciplinary, regional, integrated teams, including scientists from institutions that represent underserved populations.” said Roger Beachy, director of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture that awarded the grants.  “This approach represents a new paradigm in how USDA science can best solve critical issues facing agriculture today.”

Linda P.B. Katehi, UC Davis Chancellor, added, “We are honored and pleased that the grant awards recognize the expertise and leadership of UC Davis in the field of plant genomics. We look forward to the practical solutions for agriculture and for the environment that will arise from these collaborative projects.”

“If we are going to be successful in changing attitudes we must not only increase consumer knowledge but also change what they currently believe,” said Terry Fleck, CFI’s executive director. “This document is a key component in our mission to increase consumer trust and confidence in today’s food system.”

Key areas of focus included nutrition, food safety, humane treatment of farm animals, and responsible use of technology in food production. Specific attitudes and beliefs of consumers were tested and the results were used to determine what the most effective messages and programming elements would have the most positive impact on changing attitudes.

The research determined that “early adopters,” which represent about 13 percent of the population, are opinion leaders who can influence other people. While they have a higher level of concern about food safety, animal welfare and other food system issues they are also information seekers who are willing to consider credible sources.

“We encourage organizations to use this information to help shape their approach to communicating the benefits of today’s food system to consumers,” said Fleck. “We think organizations will find it very helpful in developing programming and messages.”

For more information about the study, visit www.foodintegrity.org.

“It was really important for us to find a welcoming community,” said Novus CEO Thad Simons at the ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday. With him were Missouri Director of Agriculture Dr. Jon Hagler and newly elected State Representative Bart Korman of Montgomery County; as well as other company, state and local representatives.

Dr. Hagler was joined by his new wife State Rep. Linda Black of southeast Missouri. “Just to tell you how important Novus is to me, we stopped here on our way to the honeymoon,” Hagler said as he introduced his wife.

Listen to or download remarks from Rep. Korman, Jon Hagler and Thad Simons here: Novus Green Acres

See photos from the event in our Flickr photo album.

Here’s a little video tour of Green Acres Farm, led by Novus manager of product research Skip Hampton.

The research farm, located about an hour or so from Novus global headquarters in St. Charles, has been under development for over a year. Novus purchased and renovated the 15 acre farm to serve as a multi-functional facility that will allow for research on swine, poultry, ruminants and equine. Find out more about it from a tour John Davis took in April. At that time, Novus’ manager of product research Skip Hampton told John that the goal is to do real world research. “We’re trying to mimic things that are done in industry so it’s comparing apples to apples, to make sure that what’s relevant here is relevant in the industry.”

I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product myself, since Chuck saw it over a year ago when it was just getting started, and John in April when it was further along. For more information about the Ribbon Cutting and Fall Festival this Saturday from noon to 4 pm, contact Jill Mahoney at Novus.

That’s why researchers at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) have licensed a unique plant protection product to keep deer and rodents from eating up the ornamentals.

UMD scientist Tom Levar (pictured) adapted a chemical used to deliver medicines through the skin to a natural hot pepper concentrate that is delivered through the roots of young plants, making them inedible. Tablets with the delivery formulation are placed near the roots of a plant and, when watered, release a natural hot pepper concentrate known as capsicum that is absorbed by the plant.

“This is a great application because capsicum is very safe and very effective,” said Levar. “There is no genetic modification. Eventually the plant will outgrow the capsicum treatment, but it lasts much longer than spray repellents.”

Repellex USA has licensed the technology from the university and company president Elizabeth Summa says it is game-changing. “We’re excited because there really is no other systemic deer repellent like this. It goes right into the plant, and doesn’t wash off like spray deterrents.”

“We did a lot of testing, mostly with tree growers in nurseries where they have a huge problem with mice eating away at their plants,” said Summa. “We think professional growers and homeowners will find value in planting two tablets with their trees and not having to worry about their investment.”

The product has been submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for registration. Once approved, it will be available to commercial growers and shipped to retailers, likely in time for the spring planting season.

The University of Northern Iowa’s National Ag-Based Lubricants Center (UNI-NABL) is the recipient of a $370,000 competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to test biobased lubricants and greases. UNI-NABL, the country’s leading bio-lubricant research center, will perform a side-by-side study of the biobased rail curve grease and hydraulic oils with petroleum-based versions of the same products. The goal is to compare the performance as well as the environmental and economic impact of each.

According to Lou Honary, founding director of UNI-NABL and UNI professor, replacing the 10 million pounds of petroleum-based railroad grease used each year with a soybean-based product benefits U.S. farmers and the environment, while decreasing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. “Biobased greases are available for many applications,” Honary said, “including the railroads, but they require formal proof that they perform as good as petroleum-based greases before we’ll see their use nationwide.”

UNI-NABL has been a leading developer of biobased greases and has licensed several greases for use in the railroad and trucking industries. The center will call upon industrial collaborators to help with the coordination of the research activities and to ensure the comparative tests are credible and meet industry performance requirements.

Harold has three passions, high yield production systems, precision technology and conservation. He says those three are converging and he’s helping it happen. One of the events he helped start and is promoting next year is the InfoAg 2011 Conference on precision technology which will be held July 12-14 in Springfield, IL. Harold Reetz Interview

Conservation In Action Tour 2010 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the Conservation In Action Tour is made
possible by and the

I caught up with Jeff Miller, the Director of Strategy of Sales and Marketing in the Novus International booth during World Pork Expo to learn more about this virtual feed forum. Novus is a supporter of this event. He explained, “This is synonymous with a live trade show but its on the internet. So we’re putting five presentations on in which an audience of knowledge seekers from over 100 countries from around the world have signed up to attend these presentations and they also have the ability to mingle with their colleagues from all over the world. And of course they have the opportunity to go to sponsor booths that are also in the virtual event.”

The presentation topics include:

• Mycotoxin Control (currently mycotoxins are a huge problem for swine farmers)
• New thoughts on feeding the modern laying hen
• Feed manufacturing workshop
• How to feed high yielding dairy cows to maintain milk yield and fertility
• Feed ingredients for sustainable aquaculture

Although the presentations are pre-recorded, event day participants will have the opportunity to join a live Q&A session with the speakers. However, if you can’t make the live event, the feed forum will be archived for three months.

Miller said that while they appreciate being at live events, his company strongly feels that there is a global audience of people who are looking for knowledge and education in any channel available. “This virtual trades show platform is another channel for professionals to get quality information about agribusiness,” concluded Miller.

Listen below to my full interview with Jeff. You can register for the free feed forum and see the archive of the Watt Poultry Nutrition & Health Forum, at www.wattevents.com.

You can check out all the World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

AgWired coverage of the World Pork Expo 2010 is sponsored by:
and .

You can find the full release here (Word Doc) and listen to my interview with Gajus below.

You can download (mp3) and listen to Darrin’s welcome here:

Dr. Buchanan devoted the theme of his speech to the need for a “new green revolution” and pointed to the work of Dr. Normal Borlaug and many of the things he said about the importance of good scientific agricultural research. He says all branches of science will be needed to create the new green revolution to feed the world in the future. Some of the concerns he has include the availability of fertilizer resources and global climate change.

One of my favorite remarks he made was, “At the time you need the results of research, it’s too late.” He used the problem BP is having with the Gulf oil spill as an example, saying they waited too long to do research on what to do if such a problem occurred.

You can download (mp3) and listen to Darrin’s welcome here:

Here is a condensed video of Dr. Buchanan’s speech:

What wasn’t a surprise said Curt Blades, the Director for Sales and Marketing for SF, is that farmers continue to have a favorite seed company and this has remained consistent for the past six years. But what has changed is the loyalty to that seed company. SF’s research has shown that in the past, a farmer’s favorite seed company mirrored the farmer’s loyalty to that seed company. Yet this year’s research has shown that company loyalty has fallen sharply in the last three studies.

So what does this mean? “In the past six years there’s been some pretty phenomenal advancements in the technology and there have been some wide swings in the genetics some companies have had, explains Blades. “Also, in the same token, there have been some ownership changes and changes in the way seed has been brought to market.”

It will be interesting, continued Blades, to see how it all plays out.

Another interesting element of the Seed Study was that for the first time SF asked if the price of seed was justified and 40 percent said yes. This is good news for the seed companies said Blades.

To learn more about the Seed Study, listen to my interview with Curt below. Still want to learn more? Current SF advertisers have access to the study for free.

Here is a quick fact: did you know that farmers under the age of 40 are more likely to be online than the general population? Knowing this should affect how you advertise to this generation of farmers.

I spoke with Curt Blades, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Successful Farming (SF) to learn more about their Farmer Insight research and I also learned, that through their parent company, Meredith Corporation, they also have consumer insight research. He explained that every decision from editorial content to revamping a media outlet to counseling advertising partners, is driven by the knowledge they hold of what farmers think and what makes them tick.

Well, here is a bit of information that made me think: 26 percent of consumers consuming food in the U.S. are very concerned about the safety and quality of their food. Blades explained, “As a farm kid, that concerns me…farmers take pride in providing American consumers with the cleanest, safest, cheapest food supply in the world.”

Blades said that while farmers have known this food safety trend has been increasing in recent years, this research validates this concern. It looks like the ag industry has some work on their hands, but Blades, through SF’s Farmer Insight research can help guide us on the best messaging and tools to lessen this consumer concern.

While Blades said that research was a very important tool for them, it is also a very important tool for their partners. Not only is their research available to their advertising partners, but their advertising partners can also commission proprietary research.

You can learn more about SF’s Farmer Insight research by listening to my interview with Curt here.

“There’s energy, there’s enthusiasm back around around ethanol and biofuels. Some people believe that corn ethanol is an old technology. We believe just the opposite. We feel the corn ethanol industry is still in its infancy and through technological advancements, there’s much more to learn and prove in corn ethanol production.”

Caupert explained that the NCERC is unique in that they bring together the ethanol industry, corn growers and livestock producers and one of their goals is to ensure that there is a long-term market for corn growers through the corn ethanol.

Recently, they have spent a lot of time reviewing data regarding how the value of how co-products improve the greenhouse gas footprint of fuel ethanol production. “I think more often than not, we forget about the fact a corn ethanol plant in addition to producing fuel ethanol, also produces this high value livestock feed called distillers grains,” said Caupert.

Caupert noted that although they don’t often work directly with farmers, they work closely with both the National Corn Growers Association as well as state corn groups.

I only touched on the work that NCERC is doing. You can hear more about their research by listening to my interview with John below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: and

You can find additional information on how to participate here, or you can go directly to the USDA’s comment website to leave your thoughts. Remember, the world is run by those who show up, so speak out to leave your voice in this discussion.

As of February 3, 2010 over 1400 comments have been received and processed by the USDA, 700 of which are generally positive. A breakout of all comments by state follows.

Did you know? According to a Roundup Ready Alfalfa fact sheet, “Growers report producing up to .9 more tons of alfalfa forage per acre due to more effective weed control with greater crop safety. The result: an additional $85 per acre of profit potential and an increased food supply for all. Studies have shown that due to fewer weeds, relative feed values can be improved 20% or more with Roundup Ready alfalfa. Dairy farmers appreciate the consistency of the hay delivered by the Roundup Ready alfalfa system, and trials show estimated increases in milk production per acre of 14% more than dairy cows fed alfalfa treated with conventional weed control systems. Because a healthy stand of Roundup Ready alfalfa is highly competitive with weeds, growers do not need to treat with herbicides as often.”

In order to achieve higher yields, Dr. Heiniger said that first he and his team knew that they needed to address stress as well as find ways to get their plants more productive. As a result, he said, “We learned what some of the key factors are such as plant population, intercept more light, and doing something for stress.” He continued that early growth roots become very critical as well as finding ways to combat heat and other stresses.

I asked him why root growth was so important and he told me that a stronger, larger root mass helps the plant combat stress as well as absorb nutrients more effectively. However, there are limited ways to do this including early fertilization and some products like Bio-Forge to help hormone stimulation and to get more root tips growing as well as get longer roots. He stressed that better root growth and getting a better way to intercept water is crucial. Especially since his area can be hot and dry for most of the growing season.

His research has looked at many ways to improve root health including when applications are most successful. He said they’ve looked at applying the treatments to seed, in-furrow, as a two-by-two band and even at different stages of the plant life. Although he is not ready to endorse which way is best, he stressed that what they have unequivocally discovered is that the treatments need to be applied as early as possible, meaning within the first few weeks of planting. “That really changes the game right off the bat.”

I asked him what he would recommend to growers to help them improve yield and he said first, in-furrow applications and second, if that is not an option, a seed application. He concluded by saying that, “Growers have a great opportunity to use some new innovative products.”

To learn more about his research, listen to my full interview with Dr. Heiniger or click here.

Ag Associates Conference Flickr Album.

Timothy Mies, Deputy Director of Operations at the Energy Biosciences Institute at the U of I, said, “When this project started, the propagation of rhizomes was done with shovels and lots of manual labor. These machines will take miscanthus production to a new level.”

The new machine is the result of a three-year collaboration between U of I, Tomax Ltd and Bermuda King USA. According to a news release from U of I, this machinery can lower the cost of miscanthus rhizome production by up to 40 percent and create opportunities for miscanthus to be used more widely as a high-yield bioenergy crop.

“Bioenergy feedstock processors require security for supply and unless we dealt with regeneration and planting issues for miscanthus, we simply couldn’t make progress,” said Gavin Maxwell, Tomax Ltd Senior Bioenergy Consultant.

In recent U.S. trials, the machine has demonstrated a 200 percent increase in rhizome collection over manual systems. this allows, says the research team, the opportunity for regional nurseries to more efficiently expand to meet the demand for both solid and liquid fuel conversion.

So here is how it works. The planter demonstrates a more uniform stream of rhizomes, enabling plant placement at a rate that matches rhizome weight, quality and ground conditions. The four-row planter incorporates separate feed hoppers and placement channels enabling it to be used for both two-row nursery work and larger scale plantations.

In addition, the harvester does bulk lifting of rhizomes on a continual basis with a patented one-pass digging head and oscillating de-soiler. Rhizomes exit via bulk side discharger conveying rootstock to an adjacent trailer. The speed of extraction allows faster transfer of rhizomes to storage which is a real benefit given the seasonal weather restrictions and narrow window of time that may prevail during the rhizome winter dormancy period.

The harvester and planter package will be available beginning this year and will be available for expanded grower crops in time for the 2011 season.

As you’ll see in the video, the size and scale of equipment needed for the Fluidigm System to conduct many different simultaneous samples in a project is much smaller than you would normally find in a research lab today. This is why the company would like to talk to ag bio researchers since the system is more efficient and can produce big savings in the long run.

In 2008, farmers and ranchers spent $2.1 billion on expenses related to irrigation equipment, facilities, land improvements and computer technology. USDA’s 2008 Farm and Ranch Survey has found that farmers and ranchers are now irrigating 54.9 million acres farmland across the United States, an increase of nearly 5 percent since 2003. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) collected the data for the Irrigation Survey earlier this year.

“Water is the most critical, limited resource for our nation’s farmers and ranchers,” said Molly Jahn, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics. “For farmers and ranchers who are looking for more efficient ways to irrigate their land and ways to reduce their expenses, the results of the Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey provide a valuable tool to help them make informed decisions about the future of their operations.”

In our interview you’ll learn about SNP genotyping and microsats. What are they you ask? Watch or listen to the interview and learn. Ramesh says his team is responsible for developing applications where the Fluidigm System can be used and one of those areas is genotyping. You can learn more about genotyping in this Science magazine article. If this sounds very technical, don’t worry. Ramesh defines genotyping, SNP’s and microsats for you.

He offers as an example of why this is important in today’s agricultural biotechnology the fact that a farmer or researcher really needs to be sure that something they are planting or working on (plant or animal) is really what it is represented to be. This type of genetic analysis allows for that surety. You can be sure this is important with so many new seed varieties and the desire to be able to track the source for a certain product. The Fluidigm System, unlike other methods to accomplish the above, is extremely flexible and allows for very small volumes and costs.

You can watch or listen to my interview with Ramesh below:

“This eye-opening research shows that veterinarians are using a number of new tools to communicate with their customers and staff. Many of them send text messages to practice or clinic staff and other veterinarians,” said Sheree Johnson, Nicholson Kovac’s senior vice president, director of media services. “We also found it interesting that text messaging may serve as a customer service tool – a growing number of veterinarians, especially those who work with large animals, are also sending texts to their customers, possibly about the status of their animals.”

For more details read:

The 83-page study also explores in detail the Internet usage of both groups of veterinarians as well as their activity level in social networking sites:

· 91 percent of small animal veterinarians check Web sites related to animal health, while 92 percent of large animal veterinarians check animal health-related Web sites.

· Both groups also have Web sites established related to their practices (70 percent of small animal veterinarians versus 43 percent of large animal veterinarians).

· 20 percent of both groups have accounts on Twitter™.

· Veterinarians are social media savvy – 85 percent have visited Facebook™, 33 percent have visited MySpaceTM.

To put context to this custom research, the Veterinarian New Media Usage Study includes insights about the new media activities of dog and cat owners compared to U.S. adults. This existing data sheds light on how dog and cat owners are utilizing the Internet, text messaging and social networking sites compared to the average U.S. population. For example, cat owners are 31 percent more likely to use social networking sites every day versus the average adult; dog owners are 15 percent more likely to use social media sites.

“Pet owners really seem to be online more often than the average U.S. adult,” said Johnson. “In an age where more and more people are developing their pets ‘personalities’ online, we felt this data sheds light on some key online behaviors within this population. It certainly shows a difference in the way dog owners versus cat owners operate.”

Findings were based on the insights of 425 small and large animal veterinarians who completed a proprietary online survey in September and October 2009. The bonus Pet Owner report, which follows the proprietary veterinarian report, reflects highlights from Nicholson Kovac resources* profiling dog and cat owners. Detailed study findings, including demographics of participants and other highlights, are now available and can be purchased for $850 by visiting Nicholson Kovac’s Web site (www.nicholsonkovac.com) or at www.vetnewmediastudy.com.

“This swine flu that’s now an epidemic, they’ve been able to trace it back to a farm in North Carolina,” he said. “A hog farm. Nobody knows this. Nobody talks about it. We’ve been told this lie that it came from Mexico.”

But Liz Wagstrom, a staff veterinarian at the National Pork Board, said the claim that the novel 2009 H1N1 virus originally came from swine farms in North Carolina is “patently false.” Researchers at that time did find an H3N2 flu virus in pigs there, she said, but it had a different genetic architecture than the current H1N1 pandemic virus circulating around the world. And those trying to link the H1N1 to factory farming “are using a scare tactic to try to cast a negative light on modern pork production,” Ms. Wagstrom said.

Andy says there are two main products they’ve been developing. One of them is called Slingshot which he says is a very accurate method of measuring concentrations of DNA samples. The other product, which his group is focused on, is called AccessArray which streamlines the preparation of small regions of DNA for sequencing using the current generation of sequencing platforms. He says there has been a huge change in the technology used for DNA sequencing in recent years and people are looking for new ways and improved methods for introducing samples into those instruments. Like the whole Fluidigm System, these products help streamline the work flow and in fact are more production devices than just measurement devices.

The new Fluidigm products have been developed in conjunction with early access clients and several systems have been sold and are now available via general release.

You can watch or listen to my interview with Andy below:

It’s all about miniaturization and therefore efficiency which is particularly important in ag bio since you’re dealing with a tremendous number of samples and wide variety of species and applications. The company manufacturers the chips or IFC’s for their clients. The chips are built on semiconducter technology which uses silicon chips that allow them to be very precise. Yong says they work with a wide variety of clients including seed companies who want to use it for quality control to make sure their farmer customer is getting exactly what is ordered.

The IFC’s have become increasingly complex since they first started production and Yong says that will continue. So the chips will be able to handle increasingly complex functions as time goes on.

You can watch or listen to my interview with Yong below:

I met with Gajus at the company headquarters in South San Francisco and asked him a number of questions to help us better understand their core technology. Before getting to the technology, he explains how he decided to start the company one day while walking down the street and “in an instant, like being hit by a bolt of lightning” he knew his future was defined and that “what I was supposed to do was build a company that could contribute in a variety of different ways to a variety of different industries.”

The core technology produced by Fluidigm is the production of integrated fluidic circuits (IFC’s). Gajus uses the analogy of electronics where large computers using vacuum tubes were made very small by the use of a chip. That made electronics much more high performance and affordable. That innovation has impacted ag through the use of GPS in precision applications for example. He says Fluidigm does a similar thing for biology. Biology research today uses machines much like those old vacuum tube computers except they use arrays of test tubes and hoses. Fluidigm takes all that “plumbing” and puts it on a chip. For example, a single chip (IFC) can have as much plumbing as in a 1,000 room hotel! This allows for very high throughput biological research much more cost effectively and easily. This has major implications for genetics, conservation, seed selection and quality control.

Because the technology is so small it allows this type of work to move to the field in places where it couldn’t be done before, like feedlots for example. One example is a Fluidigm client, the Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game, which uses their technology in the field to manage salmon fisheries. He says seeing the use of their technology in industries like agribusiness and the management of wildlife is extremely gratifying because it’s contributing to people’s livelihoods and helping the environment.

We’re going to learn more about Fluidigm systems and technology in upcoming stories that include interviews with key company representatives. Gajus provides a very good overview of what you can expect from Fluidigm now and in the future.

You can watch or listen to my interview with Gajus below:

On Friday, the MU Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) celebrated its silver anniversary with a gathering of friends and supporters, including Missouri Senator Kit Bond and FAPRI founder Abner Womack.

Womack has turned over leadership of the unit started in 1984 to professors Pat Westhoff and Willi Meyers, co-directors of MU FAPRI. He continues as FAPRI adviser and professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics.

“Every acre of crop land in the world and every cow in the world’s herd are represented in our models,” Womack said of the analytical team he founded 25 years ago. “Our main job remains in giving unbiased facts, based on numbers. We don’t make policy recommendations,” Womack said. “We present the facts and let policymakers determine the answers. That is our strength.”

A silver edition Web site shows a policy timeline, a history of MU FAPRI, videos, letters and quotes from supporters.

Washington State University plant pathologist Tim Murray says wheat stem rust has been in the United States since the early 1900s but this new strain could pose new problems. “The Ug99 strain is a new strain of this fungus that emerged in Africa in 1999,” he said. “That fungus has since spread in West Africa and there is concern in the United States that if it eventually gets here it could cause problems.” Over 80 percent of the wheat varieties currently grown globally are susceptible to the disease.

Scientists in the U.S. are working together coordinating a surveillance program to watch for the fungus, similar to the Asian soybean rust program. “It’s very similar to Asian soybean rust with the rusty red color on the plants and both spread by aerial spores,” Tim said.

No time frame for when, or if, the fungus could arrive in the U.S., but Tim says they are working on a recovery plan and they are investigating which fungicide will be most effective on it. “There are materials registered now that can be used,” he said.

Listen or download to an interview with Tim Murray here: