A $1 million grant from John Deere will fund the development of a new John Deere Technology Innovation Center at the University of Illinois. Illini students and faculty will use the center for studies and research in agriculture, business, engineering and information technology. The new facility, which is expected to be ready by July, is located in the University Research …
Citrus Robots from Energid
Citrus growers will soon have a new employment option: robots. Energid Technologies is developing a robotic citrus harvester for bulk fruit removal. Energid Technologies Corporation has been funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Small Business Innovation Research Program to develop a new robotic citrus harvesting system. This system will combine the intelligence of robotics with the efficiency …
Schwarzenegger to Speak at BIO International Summer Convention
The state of sustainable agriculture in developing countries will be one of the main issues addressed at the BIO International Convention this summer. The Biotechnology Industry Organization is hosting the convention in San Diego from Tuesday, June 17 through Friday, June 20. Biotechnology leaders from around the globe will be descending upon San Diego, one of the leading biotech hubs …
Mysterious, New Beef Could Vanish
An agricultural research facility in Florida fears the 10 percent reduction in ag research funding will close its doors… and abruptly abort research on a nameless, mixed breed of cattle. The St. Petersburg Times reports: Indeed, few people have ever seen cattle like these. Unless you’re knowledgeable in bovine research, the cross-bred calves huddled in tall grass of the pastures …
Alltech Founder Dr. Pearse Lyons
Alltech’s founder and President, Dr. Pearse Lyons, is holding up a gene chip. It’s what the company’s new, first-of-it’s-kind Nutrigenomics Center is all about. Dr. Lyons says that when he started his career he could only dream about the type of laboratory that the researchers here will be working in. I, along with everyone at Alltech, am very excited about …
Alltech Hosts Kentucky Governor
Kentucky’s Governor, Steve Beshear was on hand this morning to cut the ribbon to open the Alltech Nutrigenomics Center. He says that he’d love to see a facility like this in every county in the state. He wants Kentucky to project an image of a state that encourages technology, industry and engineering as well as race horses and good bourbon. …
NAMA Wrap-up
In the words of NAMA Executive Director Jenny Pickett (pictured right), organizers of this year’s “Leading the Charge” Agri-marketing Conference “knocked it out of the park.” This was Jenny’s first conference as the Executive Director, though she has been a part of NAMA for a long time. Jenny stepped up as executive director last year when the previous director, Eldon …
Green Wine
No, not the color green. Environmentally green. Parducci Wine Cellars says its the first winery to go carbon neutral. And, the winery is now operating on 100 percent solar and wind power. Parducci effectively transferred all of its energy needs to non-polluting, renewable sources by supplementing its on-site solar power with Green-E(R) certified wind energy purchased from the Bonneville Environmental …
Family Farm is Saving Lungs with Cow Dung
Pennsylvania is honoring a family farm operation that has developed a new “manure digester.” The farm developed the new system in collaboration with NativeEnergy. The project is meant to help residents will breathe easier with cleaner air. High quality carbon offsets provider NativeEnergy is proud to announce the Brubaker Farms’ family dairy farm methane project, a new anaerobic digester/generator system …
DuPont Gets “Fast” With Nitrogen
Arcadia Biosciences is teaming up with Dupont to improve nitrogen use efficiency in corn. DuPont’s Pioneer Hi-Bred will use Arcadia technology to deliver a technology that DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development VP William S. Niebur says “will help farmers increase the productivity, profitability and sustainability of global corn production.” Farmers around the world depend on a combination of nitrogen …