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" I heard it
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AgLine"
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January 21, 2010
·
DuPont lost
case, but goes ahead with seeds
·
Farming fuel
in Middle Eastern salt marshes
·
Hip
youngsters reviving Japanese agriculture
·
California
organic certifications on the rise
·
World Ag Expo launches Attendees’ Choice awards
DuPont lost case, but goes ahead with
seeds
(Bloomberg)
– DuPont Co., the world's second-biggest seed producer, will continue creating
modified soybeans that a court ruled violate a license with Monsanto Co.
because it expects to prevail on other claims in the case.
DuPont plans to begin selling Optimum GAT soybean seeds that
include Monsanto's Roundup Ready gene as soon as 2013, Paul Schickler,
president of DuPont's Pioneer Hi-Bred seed unit, said Tuesday in a telephone
interview. U.S. District Judge Richard Webber in St. Louis ruled Jan. 15 that such a
combination violates the licensing agreement's ban on creating seeds that
resist Roundup, the world's best-selling herbicide, in two ways.
Creve Coeur-based Monsanto, the world's largest seed
producer, is facing a U.S. Department of Justice probe into competition in the
genetically modified crop industry. While the judge upheld Monsanto's effort to
block the release of Optimum GAT soybeans, Webber hasn't yet heard DuPont's
counterclaims that Monsanto is using its dominance in biotech seeds to stifle
competition and that its Roundup Ready patent is invalid.
"It's important to recognize that the whole set of
information around the dispute has yet to be presented to the judge," Schickler said.
Scott Partridge, Monsanto's chief deputy general counsel,
said DuPont's plans go against the judge's ruling. "He just entered a
ruling that they are not licensed to make this combination," Partridge
said. "They are doing so at their own peril."
DuPont will prevail on its claims, clearing the way for the
release of Optimum GAT combined, or stacked, with Monsanto's Roundup Ready
gene, Schickler said.
"We negotiated for right to stack, and we believed in
the license agreement that we received it," Schickler
said. "We also have the option to consider an appeal of this ruling."
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Farming fuel in Middle Eastern salt marshes
(Scientific
American) – A new biofuels project at Abu
Dhabi's Masdar Institute of
Science and Technology will unite Boeing, Honeywell and others in search of a
system to produce fuel and other useful products from biomass and seawater.
The Sustainable Bioenergy Research
Project is focused on integrating aquaculture and farming to create a
closed-loop system that thrives in areas where fresh water is scarce.
Waste from the aquaculture project will be used to fertilize
mangrove forests and plantations of another saltwater plant, and the resultant
biomass will be used to make aviation biofuels and clean energy.
A cooperative agreement for the project was signed Sunday at
the World Future Energy Summit in Abu
Dhabi.
The project is seen as a way to produce fuel in arid
environments with ample saltwater supplies.
Backers said the integrated seawater agriculture system
captures atmospheric carbon, promotes biodiversity by creating new habitat,
frees up scarce fresh water supplies for other uses and can potentially reduce
the impact of sea level rise on coastal communities, in addition to producing
solid biomass for energy and liquid biofuels.
"The paradigm for energy supply is shifting," said
Jennifer Holmgren, vice president and general manager of renewable energy and
chemicals for Honeywell's UOP, in a statement. "To meet the growing demand
for energy worldwide, we must identify regional biofuel solutions that are not
only sustainable, but can actually regenerate the ecosystems where they are
produced."
Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing
Commercial Airplanes, stressed the future value of plant-based fuels. "We
are forging our energy future by developing a renewable fuel supply now, not
when fossil fuels are depleted," he said. "Developing and
commercializing these low-carbon energy sources is the right thing for our
industry, for our customers and for future generations."
Etihad Airways, the national
airline of the United Arab
Emirates, will also partner on the project.
The technology being demonstrated through the project was
developed by Carl Hodges, who now leads Global Seawater Inc. and will
contribute to the project as a special adviser.
The major commercial partners did not disclose their
financial commitments for the project.
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Hip youngsters reviving Japanese
agriculture
(AFP
via Yahoo! News) TOKYO – Young Japanese are
fleeing the urban jungle for the half-abandoned countryside on a mission to
make farming cool again and cut Japan's
frightening food deficit in the process.
Organic farming converts, rice-growing Tokyo
fashionistas and other young greenfingers
have trickled back into rural Japan
where many farm towns have been slowly dying amid fast-greying
Japan's
demographic crunch.
Japan, the world's second-largest economy, now imports 60
percent of its food, and many worry about future food security if climate
change rocks global food supplies or energy costs swing international grain
prices.
In a high-tech country that grew rich on selling cars and electronics,
the young farmers are standing up to reinvent the image of agriculture.
"No matter how big Japan's economy is, no matter how
much cash it stacks up, this country will soon be unable to buy so much food
from overseas," Yusuke Miyaji, 31, recently told a crowd of young farmers.
"I want to make a job in the primary sector cool,
striking and profitable," said Miyaji, dressed in overalls, to applause
from his audience. "Kids should dream of becoming farmers, not baseball
players!"
Miyaji, who comes from a pig farming family, has created a
network called Kosegare, a word meaning farmer's son, that has attracted more than 200 young farmers and
supporters who share his sense of crisis.
"The time left for us to revamp this industry is
probably about five years," Miyaji warned his squad of youthful activist
farmers.
Under his scheme, produce is marketed under the network's
"Refarm" brand. Members share information
on organic farming and urge supportive consumers to buy directly from them to
cut distribution and commission costs.
Encouraged by the movement, Kaori Nukui, 31, who joined her parents last year to grow green
tea and shiitake mushrooms, said that after years in the city she now saw a
business opportunity in family farming.
"I had no interest before in taking over this
business," said Nukui, who had worked for Tokyo
consulting and public relations firms for seven years, as she drove a pick-up
truck to a mushroom house in Iruma, north of Tokyo.
"My mother also wanted me to marry a businessman rather
than work the land," she said. "But when I thought of starting a
business myself, I realised my parents had already
built a good foundation for me."
Data shows Japan's
farming population is quickly ageing and that many farm households have no working
heir, as birth rates have fallen and children have left country towns for the
bright city lights.
More than 70 percent of Japan's working farmers are aged 60
or older, and nearly half are over 70.
Only 8.5 percent are aged 39 or younger.
About 3,800 square kilometres
(1,520 square miles) of farmland have been abandoned and laid waste throughout
the nation. In 88 percent of cases, the owners said they were too old to work
the fields.
Japan,
which kept its food self-sufficiency ratio above 70 percent in the late 1960s,
now produces only 40 percent of its food and buys almost all its wheat, corn
and soy beans from overseas.
Domestic production of meat, particularly beef and pork, has
fallen from 96 percent in 1960 to about half in 2007.
The country grows enough rice for domestic consumption,
thanks to heavy trade protection which has also made the rice sector highly
inefficient.
The government has for years tried to reduce rice farming
acreage in order to limit supply, keep the market price high, and thereby allow
Japanese rice farmers to continue to make a living.
The new government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged to abolish the policy but keep subsidising rice farmers.
Seeing the dire situation of farmers, even girls with trendy
hairstyles and long painted fingernails in Tokyo's fashionable Shibuya shopping district
have jumped onto the rural bandwagon.
Shiho Fujita, a 24-year-old singer, music producer and
model, is leading a squad of "gal" farmers who have cultivated rice
in the countryside, and dishes out advice in her blog on growing zucchini and
tomatoes.
"It may be difficult for gals and young people to start
farming instantly," she writes. "But if the agro-industry becomes
more exciting by young people joining it, then Japan's farming will definitely
change.
"And I think, Japan needs it."
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California organic certifications on the
rise
(foodproductdesign.com)
– California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) reported an 8-percent growth in
the number of certified operations and total certified organic acreage in 2009.
The number of CCOF certified operations increased from 2,007 in 2008 to 2,168
in 2009, while the certified acreage grew from 558,137 to 603,545.
Fruit crops, especially raisin grape and citrus acreage,
experienced substantial increases. In 2009, CCOF added 1,545 new certified
organic raisin grape acres, an increase of 45.4 percent. Raisin acreage has
risen 168 percent over the last four years. CCOF certified organic citrus
acreage grew 39.2 percent. Organic berries also showed strong growth with
certified acreage increasing 20 percent; certified organic acreage for berries increased
203 percent in the last four years.
Acreage for certified organic nuts increased from 18.8
percent in 2009; pistachio orchards led the way with 42-percent growth, while
almonds increased 26 percent.
Some organic vegetable crop acreage grew while others
declined. Organic garlic experienced 533-percent growth, while lettuce, carrots
and processing tomatoes acreages declined.
CCOF certification of handler or food processor operations
grew at 9 percent, a 50-percent higher growth rate than the grower segment. The
organic beverages category is one of the largest; encompassing organic coffee,
tea, dairy and wine. Chocolate and confections are two other key areas of
growth. CCOF anticipates that the processed goods certification category will
continue to expand, especially as large scale retailers begin to enter the
market and with the introduction of private-label organic brands.
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World Ag Expo launches Attendees’ Choice
awards
Tulare, Calif. – (AgPR) – World
Ag Expo show management announced today that it has added an Attendees’ Choice
Award to the 2010 Top-10 Contest. A five-star rating system will allow
attendees to select the product that they believe most deserves the Attendees’
Choice accolades.
“Our committee selected 10 great products to receive Top-10 New Product
awards,” said Bernie Cargle, 2010 World Ag Expo
Chairman. “Now it’s up to our attendees to decide which product deserves the
Attendees’ Choice Award.”
Prior to the expo, attendees are invited to vote online at worldagexpo.com/attendeeschoice. During the expo votes
will be cast at the New Product Pavilion. The product that receives the most
votes will receive special acknowledgement after the expo.
“This new addition to the Top-10 New Products Contest is really exciting,” Cargle said. “When the dust settles from the 2010 Expo we
will know which product was viewed by attendees as the top product of 2010.”
A panel of agribusiness professionals from across the nation including farmers,
ranchers and industry professionals selected the Top-10 New Products and 10
Honorable Mention Products from more than 70 entries. The Top-10 New Products
will be showcased inside the New Product Pavilion on Expo Lane and R Street and will be toured on Feb. 8
during World Ag Expo’s Media Day. An estimated 100,000 attendees are expected
to attend World Ag Expo, which is the largest annual exposition of its kind.
“These products showed the most potential to advance ag
production and have the most potential to power global agriculture,” Cargle said. “Attendees can find out more about the Top-10
New Products and the 10 Honorable Mention Products before the expo at worldagexpo.com.
The 2010 Top-10
New Products are:
AutoFarm OnTrac2 GPS, Novariant
- AutoFarm, Fremont,
CA
The OnTrac2 GPS Assisted Steering System works with two-wheel and
four-wheel drive tractors, combines, sprayers and spreaders. With unit in place
farming operations are performed with greater accuracy, covering more ground
faster and more efficiently.
Cooling Station,
Heat Relief Solutions, Napa,
CA
Self-contained
mobile heat-relief facility helps prevent heat illness among farm workers. The
16-foot, all-steel tandem axle trailer is highway legal and can carry a total
of 300 gallons of potable water. Features include an aluminum shade canopy; a
commercial two-stage oscillating fogging fan plus an optional satellite fan
that can be used with a water misting pump up to 200 feet from the trailer; and
two 10-gallon food-grade drinking water tanks with dispensers for large cups.
Forklift
180-degree Bin Inverter, Schieler Harvester, Terra Bella,
CA
This fork lift
attachment for dumping bins of fruit, nuts or other bulk items, does what no
conventional hydraulic bin dumper can – it allows the bin to turn over a full
180 degrees to completely empty the bin of its contents. The attachment saves
growers time and money.
Gripple T-Clip, Gripple,
Inc., Aurora, IL
An innovative
wire-gripping device, called the Gripple T-Clip
offers a revolutionary way to start or terminate a fence. It replaces the time
and trouble of knotting or stapling wires at the end post with a fast, simple
twist and push action.
Hoof Supervisor
System, Feed Supervisor Software, Dresser, WI
Hoof Supervisor, a
new computerized chute-side data recording system, enables hoof trimmers to
collect report and analyze results of their work more efficiently.
Magswitch Magnets, Forney Industries, Fort
Collins, CO
Magswitch Magnets offer farmers and ranchers a faster,
more precise and easier-to-use alternative to clamp, hold, position or lift
ferrous steel for fabrication, welding, wood working projects and general
repair projects.
LWR Manure
Treatment System, Livestock Water Recycling, Calgary, Alberta
An innovative
alternative to a lagoon is designed to protect profits and the environment by
converting dairy and swine waste into clean potable water, dry solids and a
nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer.
One Shot Tree
Recognition System, Nelson Mfg. Co., Inc. , Yuba City, CA
The One Shot limits
spray applications to trees offering an inexpensive yet dependable and
effective way to minimize chemical costs and drift when spraying
orchards.
44 Super Magnum
Sand Pump, McLanahan Corporation, Hollidaysburg, PA
The new 44 Super
Magnum Sand Pump is the only pump on the market specifically designed for
handling sand and manure. It fills a void in the agricultural market where
there is a need for a vertical, rubber-lined, high-wear pump.
Stinger Automatic
Load Securing System, Stinger, Inc., Haven, KS
Trying to throw
straps against high winds, fussing with tie-down ropes and crawling on top of
the load when securing a trailer full of large square straw bales are a thing
of the past with the new Automatic Load Securing System. The hydraulically
operated system features two straps suspended between a stationary bulkhead at
the front of the trailer and a sliding bulkhead at the rear. To secure the
load, press a switch, activating hydraulic cylinders carefully securing the
load.
World Ag Expo
occupies more than 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, hosts more than
1,600 exhibitors and draws an estimated 100,000 attendees over its three-day
exposition. All attendees are encouraged to preregister and save $2 per ticket
at worldagexpo.com.
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