- Railroad Commission of Texas, will test an innovative power generation system on a Texas dairy farm. “The Railroad Commission of Texas is honored to receive funding both from PERC and NRCS,” said PERC Agriculture Advisory Committee member Dr. Steve Jaeger.” The support of both organizations proves we are on the right track to find environmentally friendly technologies for the U.S. agriculture industry.” NRCS provides grants to organizations that will develop or utilize innovative technologies to provide solutions to environmental issues affecting the agriculture industry. PERC also supported the project with a grant. The Railroad Commission of Texas’s Alternative Fuels Research and Education Division (AFRED) will manage the project to monitor the efficiency of a combined heat and power (CHP) system in generating electrical power and supplying hot water to the dairy. The CHP system will utilize three propane-fueled micro-cogenerators to produce the electricity.
- Farm Aid, The New School and Food Systems Network NYC gathered community food and farm activists, local and state policy makers and policy analysts Wednesday to identify strategies for strengthening family farm agriculture, advancing food security and helping connect more people with family-farm identified foods. The New York Food Policy Forum: Fresh Ideas on Farms and Food emphasized the importance of strengthening family-farm agriculture through New York and federal policy changes. “The New York Food Policy Forum is a vibrant example of this legacy of encouraging cooperative action among activists, advocates and political figures. Together, we’re building a good food future for New York City and the nation,” said Farm Aid executive director Carolyn Mugar.
- Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, and Exelixis Plant Sciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of Exelixis, Inc., has announced that the companies have signed a major research collaboration agreement which includes the purchase of selected assets by Dow AgroSciences’ affiliate Agrigenetics Inc. The agreement is focused on the development of new tools for gene discovery and validation of novel crop traits. The asset purchase by Dow AgroSciences includes certain intellectual property and physical assets used for crop trait discovery.“This asset purchase and collaboration will accelerate our gene discovery and validation efforts as we work to bring revolutionary solutions for our customers,” said Daniel R. Kittle, Ph.D., vice president of Research and Development for Dow AgroSciences.
