The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is giving $3 million in grants to address critical issues affecting agriculturally-important plants and animals. This news release from the agency’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) says the science developed from these grants will provide timely assistance and have an immediate impact for the agriculture community. The awards were made under the …
Corn Patent Improves Process for Bio Based Plastics
The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) has just been issued a new patent relating to the imporved process used in making bio plastics. The patent specifically pertains to the compound isosorbide, which allows the use of more bio material in plastics and improves other properties, such as a plastic’s melting temperature. The patent, titled “Dianhydrosugar Production Process,” eliminates the need for an …
AGree Report Looks at Local Foods
The demand for local foods continues. In an attempt to support the farmers, ranchers, retailers, hospitals and schools who are working to meet those demands, AGree has examined local food systems and released six recommendations. The Local Food: Revitalizing Community-based Food Systems report shares the views of stakeholders, provides information about common myths and gives an overall viewpoint of nationwide …
Alltech Young Scientist’s Now Hear “You’re Hired”
Beginning in 2016, the annual Alltech Young Scientist program, the world’s largest university-level competition in agriscience, will offer fully-funded Ph.D. and post-doctorate positions to the global undergraduate and graduate winners along with the award and cash prizes. “The Alltech Young Scientist program has uncovered some of the best and brightest emerging research talent in agriscience, and Alltech wants these leaders …
Ding Wins National Potato Council Scholarship
The National Potato Council (NPC) is pleased to announce the winner of the 2015-15 $10,000 academic scholarship. Shunping Ding, a PhD. student in Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a graduate student who earned the award for her interest in research benefiting the potato industry. Ding is an enthusiastic researcher and dedicated student, who has proven to be a leader both …
Visit to @BASFAgProducts Midwest Research Farm
Out in the Illinois countryside just a little southwest of Champaign is the BASF Midwest Research Farm (MWRF), which the company has developed into a showcase for the latest in crop development trials and stewardship practices. “Several years ago we were farming about 45 acres worth of plots at this site and not really doing a whole lot of customer …
AGree Report Calls for Food & Ag Research Reform
A new report calls for reforms in food and ag research. AGree, a group that’s supported by leading foundations that fund food and agriculture, international development, and health and well-being, unveiled its comprehensive report on food and ag research, “Research & Innovation: Strengthening Agricultural Research,” which includes nine recommendations to strengthen the impact of public research dollars by reforming the …
Allergen-Free Peanuts Among USDA Innovations in FY 2014
Allergen-free peanuts is just one of the many innovations in ag during fiscal year 2014 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The agency’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) says USDA received 83 patents in FY2014, up from 51 patents in 2013, leading to new patents and inventions with the potential for commercial application and potential economic growth. “USDA has a proven …
New BASF Research Station in India
A new BASF research station in Pune, India will focus on the areas of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and other solutions beyond crop protection products. Experts in biology, farm managements, and workers have been hired for the new facitlity. The center will research ares of global interest for the agriculture community, but it will also investigate issues specific to India, such …
BASF Sponsors Student Space Research
Three twelfth-grade students will have the scientific and financial sponsorship of BASF as they launch their research project to the International Space Station (ISS). The students from the ag program at Edith Stein School in Ravensburg, Germany have created an experiment to test the growth of plants in microgravity conditions. Up to this point research being done on crop growth …