Ceres, Texas A&M Partnering in High-Biomass Sorghum Production

Laura McNamara

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station of The Texas A&M University SystemBiofuel development and marketing is getting a boost. Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station of The Texas A&M University System are collaborating in high biomass sorghum production for biofuels, through an exclusive, multi-year joint research and commercialization agreement.

These plants are not designed to produce grain, but rather vast amounts of biomass — the raw material for a new generation of biofuels made from stems, stalks and leaves.

Today, sorghum-to-ethanol production uses the grain, like corn, but the plants themselves hold the greatest potential for biofuel production, says Peter Mascia, Ceres Vice President of Product Development. He notes that new technologies are making it possible to utilize the carbohydrates that comprise plant cell walls, called cellulose.

Ceres“As these technologies mature, farmers will transition from growing as much grain per acre to producing as much biomass as they can per acre, with as little energy and agronomic inputs as possible. This means new crops and specialized hybrids like these high-biomass sorghum types will be needed,” Mascia said.

As part of this agreement, Ceres will obtain exclusive commercialization rights to TAES’s high biomass sorghum hybrids developed in the joint research program. The TAES program will receive royalties as well as financial and technology support from Ceres. Other aspects of the collaboration were not disclosed.
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Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Education, Ethanol, Farming, Research, Technology

Zimfo Bites

Melissa Sandfort

  • Fat-phobic girls are mistakenly shunning calcium-rich dairy foods, just at the time when their young bodies most need it. A recent Canadian study found no difference in changes in percent body fat over two years between girls eating varying amounts of calcium from food. The study, published in the journal Obesity, found girls concerned with body shape and size had a lower intake of calcium from dairy foods. But Dairy Australia dietitian Maree Garside said dietary advice recommended dairy foods as a key source of calcium and other essential nutrients. “Dairy foods play a vital role in growth and development. An adequate intake should be encouraged in children, regardless of their weight. Most girls should aim to eat three servings of dairy foods each day,” said Garside. To hinge on this: Including milk and other milk products as part of a healthy weight management plan may help women keep off the weight they’ve lost. In a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers found that higher calcium intakes, mostly from milk and other milk products and not supplements, was linked to less weight gain 18 months after a significant weight loss.
  • Dow AgroSciences announces its 2008 Grower Rewards program, which provides profit opportunities to growers who plant Mycogen® brand seed and use crop protection products from Dow AgroSciences. This program allows growers to earn cash rebates of up to 10 percent on their Mycogen brand seed products and Dow AgroSciences crop protection purchases for the 2008 production season.
  • Newsham Genetics, LC announced that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Monsanto Choice Genetics, Inc. The transaction will be completed as soon as practical. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The acquisition of Monsanto Choice Genetics, Inc. (MCG) will further strengthen Newsham’s expanding base of business, according to Newsham Genetics Co-CEO Brent Mitchell. As part of the agreement, a three-year research alliance has been established between the two companies. The alliance will focus on technology and the genomics platform to maximize the value created in the industry from these tools.
  • Asian Soybean Rust has been discovered in Pemiscot and Scott counties in the Bootheel of Missouri. The USDA confirmed the rust findings, which marks the first time rust has been discovered in Missouri this year. The fungus has been detected in 13 states so far in 2007, including Illinois and Kansas. At this point in the growing season, rust is not expected to have a significant impact on soybean yields.
    Zimfo Bytes

    American Hereford Beef Is What’s For The Media

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast-139 - American Hereford Association Media DayInviting the media in to learn more about your business or organization is becoming more popular these days. This past week I had the opportunity to attend a media day at the American Hereford Association. Thanks to Dave Mehlhaff, Director of Communications a number of agricultural journalists got their first look at the Association’s headquarters in Kansas City.

    Dave Mehlhaff Leads a SessionIn this week’s program I’ve got an interview with Dave that we did before I left the excellent concluding lunch session we had. Dave says the feedback he received was very positive and that he plans to do it again next year. I lobbied for a weekly media day or lunch but I don’t think that’s in the budget. He says we’re going to be seeing and hearing a lot more from the AHA in coming months.

    Dave’s pictured setting things up for us in our first session in the AHA office.

    The program concludes this week with music from the Podsafe Music Network. This week’s song is “Mass Media” by a Mark Heimonen.

    You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 139 (15 min MP3)

    Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:

    zimmcast139-9-30-07.mp3

    The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes

    Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, ZimmCast

    Learn a Little Bit About The New Media Expo

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Me interviewing Tim BourquinThe Podcast and New Media Expo is over and now it’s on to the next step on the road. I’m in Bakersfield, CA spending some time with the ZimmComm web guru. We went out and ate some great sushi/sashimi this evening and have a meeting tomorrow morning to talk about some new AgWired developments among other things.

    Before the end of the Podcast and New Media Expo I got to interview the founder, Tim Bourquin. I was surprised to learn that Tim has a unique background that includes work as a police officer. He just saw a need for an expo of this kind when he got into podcasting and so he started one.

    Next year Tim’s moving the conference to Las Vegas to as he puts it, “move it to the next level.” Over 2,000 people were registered here for this year’s conference and my guess is that there’s still a lot of growth potential. For example, I’ll bet some international expos would work well like in Europe or Asia.

    Thanks to Gary Cooper, Southeast AgNet, for taking the picture while I interviewed Tim in front of the trade show entrance.

    You can listen to my interview with Tim here: pnme-07-bourquin.mp3

    Podcast and New Media Expo Photo Album

    Audio

    ConocoPhillips CEO to Talk of ‘Shared Energy Future’ in Detroit

    Laura McNamara

    Detroit Economic ClubThe Chairman and CEO of ConoPhillips will speak on “Our Shared Energy Future” before the Detroit Economic Club on Wednesday October 3, 2007. James Mulva will discuss current U.S. energy policy and layout plans for incorporating renewable fuels at Burton Manor in Livonia, MI.

    In a speech titled, “Our Shared Energy Future,” Mr. Mulva will describe the shortcomings of current U.S. energy policy, and why this is a critical issue for other industries and all citizens. He will also call for a new, comprehensive national energy policy that incorporates four major tenets: diversifying our energy sources, including fossil fuels as well as renewable and alternative forms of energy; lowering the carbon intensity of our energy supplies; improving the efficiency of energy use throughout the U.S. economy; and the critical need for greater government and private investment in technology and education.

    ConocoPhillipsConocoPhillips is the third-largest integrated energy company in the United States, based on market capitalization, oil and gas proved reserves and production; and the second-largest refiner in the United States.

    The Detroit Economic Club was formed in 1934 as a platform for the discussion and debate of important business, government and social issues. It is known internationally as a top speaking forum for prominent business and government leaders, who address members and their guests at the Club’s 35 meetings a season.

    Agribusiness, Biodiesel, Environment, Ethanol, Technology

    K-State Research Developing Biosecurity Tracking Software for Cattle Producers

    Laura McNamara

    Kansas State UniversitySoftware enabling cattle producers to safeguard the health of their herds will soon be online. Researchers at Kansas State University are developing software that will help producers maintain secure feedlots and give them an informational database for understanding the impact of specific diseases.

    The feed yard security project is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Animal Health Department. Mike Sanderson, associate professor of production medicine at K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine is heading research that involves surveying feed yards across the state, from those with about 1,000 head of cattle to those with more than 125,000 head. The research is leading to the development of software to evaluate biosecurity and biocontainment at feed yards.

    Sanderson’s other project is the development of a Web-based modeling tool to help cattle producers evaluate the impact of cow-calf diseases on their herd. Although such modeling is common regarding the financial risks of beef production, Sanderson said that in the beef industry it is more unusual to find such modeling tools for disease risk.
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    Farming, Livestock, Research, Technology

    Agritechnica Hands Out Innovation Awards

    Laura McNamara

    2007 Agritechnica in Hanover Germany Agritechnica organizer Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft – German Agri-cultural Society has awarded 7 Gold Medals and 33 Silver Medals for leading innovation in agriculture. Agricultural companies worldwide submitted a total of 331 innovations to DLG, making this year’s submissions the highest number of submissions in twelve years.

    “This can be assessed as a clear indication that agricultural machinery manufacturers are starting an innovations campaign in the coming years. At the same time it underscores Agri-technica’s status as the world innovations bourse for the branch,” DLG said.

    Gold medalists include:

    John Deere Vertrieb, D-Bruchsal – E-Premium Series

    Satconsystem, D-Obertheres – Kinderfinder

    Amazonen-Werke H. Dreyer GmbH & Co. KG, D-Hasbergen – High-performance precision seed drill EDX with Xpress grain singling

    Amazonen-Werke H. Dreyer GmbH & Co. KG, D-Hasbergen – Argus camera for automatic setting of fertiliser spreaders

    RAUCH Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH, D-Sinzheim – RAUCH two-disc fertilizer spreader AXIS 30.1 EDR (Electric Drive) with purely electrical output transfer

    New Holland CNH Deutschland GmbH, D-Heilbronn – Grain Cam broken grain and NGC sensor

    Bernard Krone GmbH Maschinenfabrik, D-Spelle – Comprima F 155/NovoGrip – optimised round baler“

    Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Equipment, Farm Shows, Farming, John Deere, New Holland, Technology, Tractor

    Organizing the New ADM

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Susan BrattonI’m not here to create a lot of content but hey, it’s what I do. So I made a point of meeting the founder and CEO of Personal Life Media, Susan Bratton. She produces 22 podcasts a week and is one of the main organizers of the Association for Downloadable Media.

    After our initial meeting of the new organization today I interviewed her. She explains how why she and some others have gone to the trouble of creating a new organization. Basically it has to do with creating some new media industry standards that will allow those of us who create content to better monetize our products. I’m all for that. Hopefully we can convince some of the research people to add a category for farmers or at least rural audiences.

    You can listen to my interview with Susan here: pnme-07-bratton.mp3

    Podcast and New Media Expo Photo Album

    Audio

    Creating New Media Measurement Standards

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ADM MeetingThe Association for Downloadable Media is holding its first ever meeting in advance of the Podcast and New Media Expo. So I’m on the ground and ready to learn more about how new media works and how we can improve the product we produce.

    Everyone is interested in metrics and that’s one of the main things we’re supposed to accomplish with this new group – a method to standardize advertising standards and measurement reporting. Right now we’re hearing from people who have submitted their names for board positions and I guess we’ll be holding an election after we’re that.

    I’ll primarily be posting onto ZimmComm.biz but also here when I find something I think you’d be interested in. And of course I’ve got a photo album started: Podcast and New Media Expo Photo Album

    Uncategorized

    New Media Revolution in Agricultural Communications

    Chuck Zimmerman

    e-agricultureThe FAO is just concluding e-Agriculture Week in Rome.

    A week-long dialogue focusing on the use of information, communication, and associated technologies in sustainable agricultural development and food security. “e-Agriculture” is an emerging field comprising the enhancement of agriculture and rural development through improved information exchange, communication and learning processes, based on the use of internet and other digital technologies by actors in agriculture locally, regionally and worldwide.

    Basically they’re talking about usine Web 2.0 strategies for agricultural communications. That would be blogging and podcasting! I guess we’ve started a worldwide “revolution.”

    I’ve got an audio clip with Mr Anton Mangstl, Director, Knowledge Exchange and capacity Building Division (FAO). He talks about an “e-Revolution that can make reform and changes happen in FAO” …starting with a Director’s blog?”

    Listen to Mr. Mangstl here: fao-web.mp3

    Audio, Podcasts