Interview With Mary-Dell Chilton

Chuck Zimmerman

Mary-Dell ChiltonI thought it would be appropriate to make my last post from Syngenta Media Day include an interview with Mary-Dell Chilton. Mary-Dell says she’s way past retirement age but still gets in early each day to get to work. Why? Because she thinks it’s exciting and important.

In my interview with her she talks about the turning point in the development of what we now know as biotechnology. She also thinks that the safety of the food made from the products developed by Syngenta is completely safe. She says the testing is rigorous for example.

You can listen to my interview with the first Executive Director of this facility here: Listen To MP3 Mary-Dell Chilton Interview (5 min MP3)

Agribusiness, Audio, Biotech

Scientific Communications Manager

Chuck Zimmerman

Jane BachmannBesides the work that Gibbs & Soell did in putting together today’s Syngenta Media Day it also takes some work inside the company. The person doing that is Jane Bachmann, Scientific Communications Manager.

Jane was a scientist first and now handles communications work. She’s involved with a media interview of a Syngenta scientist in the picture. I thought it would be interesting to learn more about what she does for the company and what her challenges are.

For one thing, she says that communicating what Syngenta does to consumers is important so that they can feel confident about the safety of the food that’s produced by growers who plant their seeds.

You can listen to my interview with Jane here: Listen To MP3 Jane Bachmann Interview (5 min MP3)

Agribusiness, Audio, Biotech

Biotechnology Discovery Engine

Chuck Zimmerman

Roger KembleRoger Kemble is head of crop genetics research for Syngenta. Here he’s being interviewed by AgDay TV.

After they were done, I got to ask Roger a few questions. One of the things we talked about was the facilities and investment Syngenta makes in R&D each year. He called the facility we visited the “discovery engine” for the biotechnology business.

You can listen to my interview with Roger here: Listen To MP3 Roger Kemble Interview (6 min MP3)

Agribusiness, Audio, Biotech

Learning About Syngenta Seed

Chuck Zimmerman

Bruce HowisonThe final stage of our media day at Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc. was an opportunity for interviews. A couple of the guys escaped me but I have several for you.

First up is Bruce Howison who we met earlier today. Bruce is head of marketing for Syngenta Seed. I asked him to give us an overview of the current work being done in the seed business. Once he mentioned amylase corn we got right into the whole ethanol production discussion since it’s a hot topic and one Syngenta is very excited about.

You can listen to my interview with Bruce here: Listen To MP3 Bruce Howison Interview (9 min MP3)

Agribusiness, Audio, Biotech, Corn, Ethanol

Getting Into Genomics

Chuck Zimmerman

John SalmeronAfter lunch we had two final presentations. The first one was done by John Salmeron, Group Leader, Applied Genomics.

John gave us an overview of both GM and Non-GM genomics work being done by Syngenta. His research group supports seed product development.

Scott ValentineLast but not least on the program was Scott Valentine, Project Leader, Corn and Soy Traits. Scott provided some specifics and focused on drought tolerant corn. When asked about when we should expect to see that corn on the market he said that his bosses ask him that all the time. Sometime, “soon.”

Agribusiness, Biotech, Corn

Bug Resistent Corn

Chuck Zimmerman

Iodine TestWe couldn’t get out of the research area without talking about bugs. Particularly bugs that chew on corn plants.

In this picture a scientist is performing an insect bioassay. They’re continuing to perfect traits in corn plants that will kill harmful insects while not causing harm to beneficial insects.

We got to view comparisons of plants with the traits and without after exposure to harmful insects. It was very easy to see the difference in root mass, leaf damage and size of the plants overall.

Agribusiness, Biotech, Corn

Making Corn For Ethanol

Chuck Zimmerman

Iodine TestAfter visiting the greenhouses we toured into a lab where we got an enzyme lesson. We also got to watch a real time demonstration.

In the picture a scientist is performing a simple iodine test on ground corn amylase to demonstrate the presence of starch. Amylase is an enzyme currently added to the ethanol making process. Syngenta researchers are working on a trait in corn that will produce a high content of the enzyme. This will make ethanol plants more efficient and hopefully create new opportunities for growers.

If I understand it correctly, the amylase helps convert the starch in the corn into sugars more quickly, which speeds up the processing time. I’ve got an interview coming up soon in which this is explained in more detail.

Agribusiness, Biotech, Corn

Seeing The Greenhouses

Chuck Zimmerman

Scientist In GreenhouseThe longest part of our tour was in the greenhouses. Our host here was Dawn McNamara.

She says they have 50,000 square feet of space here. About half of the greenhouse space is 20 years old and half was built around 2000. The newer green house areas have taller roofs so they can grow taller plants. We saw some corn that was about 16 ft. tall! It was very jack-in-the-beanstalk like.

They have 10 full time workers in this area. All the plants are color code labelled and bar coded. This allows them to very easily control the plants and the data coming from them. All their seed stock is bar coded too.

Agribusiness, Biotech

Cultures To Plants

Chuck Zimmerman

Callus CultureOur next stop on the tour today was where plants are being grown which will be transplanted to soil and pots.

These are kept in sterile, light-controlled rooms.

I’m not a scientist so you’ll have to contact a Syngenta representative if you want the exact term to describe what you’re seeing in these dishes. The label is “callus culture.” If you know what that means please post a comment.

Agribusiness, Biotech

Scientists Working With Samples

Chuck Zimmerman

Scientist & GelsThe first stop on our tour was the area where plant analysis is being done. We couldn’t take pictures at this point so I’m using some from the ones provided to us. We actually received some pens in our media kits that contain a built-in memory stick. Pretty cool.

The plant analysis group has 24 members who are analyzing for things like dna and protein. It’s a high throughput facility. They literally deal with hundreds of thousands of plants at a time.

In order to get this done they’ve developed some robotic sample handlers that help get this job done. Our presenter in this area was Mary Fielder.

Agribusiness, Biotech