Monsanto Sticky Traps Catch Variants

Chuck Zimmerman

MonsantoThe latest Talking News Release we distributed this week was from Monsanto. The topic was research from their sticky traps program to see if western corn rootworm beetles are present in soybean fields. I think this is a very interesting story. These western corn rootworm “variants” have adapted their reproductive practices by laying their eggs in soybean fields in order to survive field rotations between corn and soybeans. The variant eggs hatch during the spring, after the field has been rotated back to corn, resulting in larval feeding in first-year corn, which is not a good thing. These are some smart pests!

Agribusiness, Audio

Study Shows Biotech Crops Beneficial

Chuck Zimmerman

Cordia Biotech ConferenceBiotechnology get a lot of press, both good and bad. That’s why it’s nice to see research that focuses on realities. Thanks to a heads up from Monsanto, I found out about a new report just out today called, “GM crops: the global socio-economic and environmental impact – the first nine years 1996-2004.” Many of you are involved in marketing biotech products so you might want to see the report. There’s a lot of information in it.

Agribusiness