Fluidigm Introduces First Reusable Bio-Chip

Chuck Zimmerman

Fluidigm Corporation held a joint press conference this morning with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service to announce their new reusable bio-chip architecture which is a first for the commercial market.

These reusable integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs) will dramatically lower SNP genotyping costs and are designed to support accelerated sample throughput, while maintaining data quality of 99.75 percent or greater accuracy and 99 percent or greater call rates.

Fluidigm initially invented this architecture to support a progressive new program driven by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the chief scientific research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program’s goal is to drive high sample throughput genotyping down to a penny-per-data-point, which would enable widespread adoption of genetic analysis in vegetable and fruit seeds, livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry, etc.) and fishery management. This will significantly improve the quality and quantity of the food supply, while lowering production costs.

I spoke to Fluidigm President/CEO Gajus Worthington to learn more about the announcement and what it means to consumers today.

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

Agribusiness, Audio, Research, Technology, USDA

Ag Research Key To New Green Revolution

Chuck Zimmerman

Dr. Gale BuchananI previewed the keynote address to open the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference earlier today. Now here’s the full comments from Dr. Gale Buchanan, former USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. Dr. Buchanan was introduced by NCGA President, Darrin Ihnen, and I’m also posting his welcome message. During the next couple days I’ll be doing a lot of interviews which will be used on Corn Commentary in coming weeks. I’ll also have more for you here so keep your eyes and ears open.

You can download (mp3) and listen to Darrin’s welcome here: cutc-10-ihnen-open.mp3

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: cutc-10-buchanan-speech.mp3

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

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, CUTC, Research

iPhone 4 Announced And Available Late June

Chuck Zimmerman

Steve Jobs announced the latest version of the iPhone today. Sorry all you Android and BB fans. The only thing you’ve got going for you is that you have options to AT&T. Hopefully that will change soon. For now though just look at the next major jump in mobile communications and drool. You know you want one. I do.

When creating iPhone 4, Apple designers and engineers didn’t start with a clean sheet of paper. They started with three years of experience designing and building the phones that redefined what a phone can do. iPhone 4 is the result of everything they’ve learned so far. And it’s all contained in a beautiful enclosure a mere 9.3 millimeters thin, making iPhone 4 the world’s thinnest smartphone.

Equipment, Technology

The CUTC Keynote Will Focus On Ag Productivity

Chuck Zimmerman

CUTCThis is the welcoming committee here at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference. Actually, our keynote speaker at this afternoon’s opening general session, Gale Buchanan, former USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, just happened to be registering at the same time I was.

Gale is always happy to help anyone so I got a pre-CUTC interview with him. He will be presenting a research paper that he and two colleagues put together for the Council For Agricultural Science and Technology on the subject of agricultural productivity. He points out that productivity is extremely important and that corn is one of the most important crops we have since it can be used for so many things including both food and fuel. He also points out how important corn is for fuel production since energy is just as important to our civilization as food is. He thinks the corn industry should be proud of the work it has done in recent years and says, “It has shown us that we can have energy sourced from corn and still maintain all of the other commitments we have both in food as well as our carryover stocks as well as our export commitments.”

You can listen to my interview with Gale below.

Audio, Corn, CUTC

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Growth Energy, the coalition of U.S. ethanol supporters, launched its one month “Fuel on the Fourth” promotion offering nearly $300 in E85 fuel to Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV) owners.
  • Iowa men and women with a commitment to the future of Iowa agriculture and an interest in developing their leadership potential are invited to apply for Class V of the Iowa Leadership Enhancement and Development (I-LEAD) class.
  • The weed control and yield increase benefits of the BASF CLEARFIELD Production System are now available to a new segment of canola growers using new varieties released in the CROPLAN GENETICS brand.
  • Missouri farmers awarded one lucky winner with “Free Groceries for a Year!” as part of an effort to connect consumers with the hands that provide their food. Lois Scudero, a mother of two from St. Paul, was presented with $5,000 in Schnucks gift cards this morning at the Harvester Schnucks store located in Saint Peters.
    Zimfo Bytes

    CropLife America National Policy Conference

    Cindy Zimmerman

    CropLife America is hosting its first annual national policy conference via webcast next month.

    CropLife AmericaThe conference, entitled Modern Agriculture: Exploring its Relationship with Technology, Science & Society, will bring together leading experts in the fields of agriculture, technology and policy to discuss various issues facing modern agriculture.

    Panelists will discuss the essential role of technology to produce more food while using fewer natural resources, barriers to and opportunities for progress and innovation, and a foundational discussion of the ethics behind who decides agriculture policy. Marc Gunther, contributing editor at FORTUNE magazine and a senior writer at Greenbiz.com, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.

    The one-day conference will be web-cast on CropLifeAmerica.org, free and open to all, July 13 beginning at 9:00 am Eastern. They will also be taking questions via Twitter, and will have an open dialogue going throughout the day via social media. Follow them on Twitter @CropLifeAmerica with the conference hashtag #NPC.

    Find out more about the conference here.

    Uncategorized

    Syngenta Seeds Updates

    Cindy Zimmerman

    VipCot™ cotton has gotten new EPA approval, and the Multi-Pest Complex will soon be ready to fight black and dingy cutworms in the Corn Belt, according to the latest news from Syngenta Seeds.

    Syngenta SeedsSyngenta Seeds just announced that EPA has approved a natural refuge option for its VipCot™ cotton technology.

    VipCot* cotton contains the transgenic cotton events COT67B, which produces the Cry1Ab protein, and COT102, which features the novel Vip3A protein. Vip3A is the same protein found in Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera™ trait in corn and is a totally new mode of action in both cotton and corn. The natural refuge option for VipCot affects growers in 16 cotton producing states but does not apply to areas where pink bollworm is a key pest including Arizona, California, New Mexico, and some parts of Texas.

    Syngenta Seeds also noted that the first signs of possible black cutworm and dingy cutworm infestations are being seen throughout the Corn Belt as agronomist moth traps have reported significant captures of black cutworm in Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa. Growers are being urged to scout fields now to determine if treatments are necessary, but the arrival of the Agrisure Viptera 3111 multi-pest complex could make that obsolete.

    “With Agrisure Viptera 3111, growers will be better able to manage these pests without worrying about costly spraying and scouting,” said Syngenta Seeds agronomy marketing manager Bruce Battles. Once the remaining key import market approvals are received, growers will have the option of planting seed with the new Agrisure Viptera™ 3111 trait stack to protect against black and dingy cutworm damage without scouting.

    Corn, Cotton, Seed, Syngenta

    Shady Dale Rodeo

    Chuck Zimmerman

    This was one of my favorite photos from the Shady Dale Rodeo. I took an extra day before the start of the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference which starts tomorrow in Atlanta. It was a fun time with family and friends.

    The Shady Dale Rodeo, now in it’s 27th year, is presented by Masonic Lodges Walton #200 and Jasper #50 of Jasper County. The Shady Dale Rodeo is a IPRA sanctioned professional rodeo event. It has been voted the Number One Outdoor Rodeo in the Southeast many times. The Shady Dale Rodeo is put on by an all volunteer crew of local Masons, Shriners, and other citizens of the surrounding area. In addition to the rodeo action you can enjoy a full line of concessions including pit cooked barbecue and fresh baked goods.

    Of course I took more photos than this one and put them in a photo album. It was a Zimmerman family and friends day of horses, bbq and rodeo.

    Rodeo

    The Antique Tractor Show

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 262Antique tractors are a passion for Michael Hinton. He decided there needed to be a good resource for people who share that passion so he started The Antique Tractor Show. This website is meant to be a place to find information and to enhance the effort he’s teamed up with Frazier Dailey who has Antique Tractors Forum.

    Michael Hinton
    The Antique Tractor Show is a site dedicated to Antique Tractor Enthusiasts all over the globe. If you use antique tractors, collect antique tractors, or just enjoy looking at antique tractors, welcome to our site! The Antique Tractor Show chronicles those individuals who indulge their passion for buying, restoring, and displaying Antique Tractors through an expanding series of web-based Shows. Our goal is to carry on the legacy of keeping the great tractors of the past, ever present long into the future.

    Listen to my conversation with Michael to learn more about what he’s doing.

    Since I just attended the Shady Dale Rodeo the program ends with a song titled, “Rodeo Has Got My Heart” by Trinity Lane from Music Alley.

    Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, Novus International, and Leica Geosytems for their support.

    You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast below.

    The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our a Subscribe page.

    Audio, Tractor, ZimmCast

    Becoming A Researcher in China

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Zachary Larson, Borlaug Summer Intern, is on location at Nanjing Agricultural University and providing us with updates this summer of his trip. Here’s his latest. You can also find a photo album he’s got started here: Borlaug Summer Intern Photo Album

    How to become a researcher in a few easy steps, Part 1

    So here I now am in China.

    Lab life here in China is a bit hectic, and I have certainly been thrown into the middle of it. It is a bit hard to keep your head on straight in a small lab full of 50 grad students, several professors, and a couple of other university students helping out. It is not something that one can get used to quickly, but it is a pace of life that has its own quirks and benefits.

    Any time you go into a new working environment there are going to be misconceptions on your own part of what you are going to be doing. Personally, I thought going into the research lab was going to be one of the easier parts of my journey here. Instead it has turned out to be one of the hardest. I have no problem carrying on everyday conversations in Chinese and I have some background in basic genetic techniques from Iowa State. However being in the lab here requires a much greater depth of understanding in both the genetic research that the professors and graduate students here are taking, and the vocabulary that they are using.

    So, the last week’s activities can pretty much be summed in that I have learned the functions and experiments of this lab by just following the students here, asking copious amounts of questions, and just getting to know the students and my professor better.

    So far, I have learned that this lab, while obviously focused on wheat research, is solely focused with researching and breeding wheat varieties that are resistant against the highly potent red scab and speck wheat diseases. These two diseases are present within wheat populations around the world, but in China they have been traditionally problematic.

    While this research seems small, the amount of work in trying to understand a small part of the wheat genome is mindbogglingly. These problems are the main research of the this lab, and the some forty students here all have their own individual problems to research with in this lab. My level of understanding still a bit basic, and it will certainly take me a lot more time to finally get a firm grip on what I am doing as I go further a long in my work here.

    Education, International, University