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" I heard it
through the
AgLine"
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December 9, 2009
·
Monsanto CEO
says success brought scrutiny
·
Soaring GM
seed prices concern growers
·
Texas
research focuses on hardier transplants
·
Honeybees use
deadly odor to kill siblings
·
Copenhagen
climate summit a wild ride
Monsanto CEO says success brought scrutiny
(DesMoinesRegister.com)
– Monsanto Chief Executive Hugh Grant said Tuesday that the federal
investigation into anticompetitive practices in the seed industry "is the
result of the fact that we have grown quickly and have been very
successful."
"I feel good that from day one, in 1996, we have
broadly licensed our technology to everybody who wanted it," Grant said at
the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch global markets conference in New York City.
"I think we would have had a different conversation had
we not done that," he said.
The U.S.
departments of agriculture and justice have announced a general investigation
of competition in agriculture. A government-conducted workshop focused on the
seed industry is planned for March 12 in Ankeny.
Monsanto has about one-third of the U.S. corn and soybean seed sales markets and is
generally even with rival Pioneer Hi-Bred of Johnston in market share. But Monsanto is
believed to be far ahead in the market for licensed biotechnology traits for
seeds.
Pioneer Hi-Bred filed an antitrust lawsuit against Monsanto
last summer, and its attorneys have drawn a parallel to the Justice
Department's case a decade ago against Microsoft. The software company was
accused of using its Windows platform to stifle competition.
Monsanto is using the popularity of its Roundup herbicide to
compel seed companies to use Monsanto-licensed technology in their seeds,
Pioneer's attorneys said.
Grant told investors Tuesday that Monsanto is banking on
what he called the company's "game-changing" technologies, Smartstax corn seeds and the newest generation of Roundup
Ready 2 Yield soybeans, for the 2010 season.
Smartstax will be available for
about 4 million acres in the 2010 season with full availability by 2012. The
new Roundup Ready soybeans, which were introduced for the 2009 crop year, will
be available for about 8 million acres in 2010.
Monsanto sells corn through its DeKalb, Kruger's, Fontanelle and Holden's subsidiaries. Soybeans are sold
primarily through its Asgrow subsidiary.
Smartstax has biotech traits that
enable farmers to reduce their refuge acreage from the current 20 percent to 5
percent. The refuge acreage helps prevent insects from mutating into varieties
resistant to seed traits or insecticides.
Ted Crosbie, Monsanto's director
of breeding, said limited use of Monsanto's Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans in
the 2009 crop year showed test yield gains of up to 7 percent compared with
previous generations of soybean seeds.
Pioneer hopes to be in the field by the 2010 planting season
with its Acremax corn, which also would require
reduced refuge acreage.
Pioneer said Tuesday the company is still negotiating with
the Environmental Protection Agency about how much reduction in refuge would be
allowed by Acremax.
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Soaring GM seed prices concern growers
(Farmers
Weekly Interactive) – Genetically modified seed prices are rocketing and,
with further increases for 2010, growers are starting to question the value of
GM crops, according to the Organic Centre USA.
Charles Benbrook, chief scientist at The Organic Centre said
GM seed prices had risen so sharply they were starting to rival fertilisers and agrochemicals as the most expensive crop
input.
Farmers purchasing Monsanto's Roundup Ready 2 Soyabeans in 2010 would have to pay 42% more than they paid
for the 2009 product, said Dr Benbrook, who added that seed prices were now
three times the historic norm.
Maize growers were facing similar price hikes, fuelled
partly by seed companies introducing multiple traits into their varieties, he
told a Soil Association conference in London
on 3 December.
"The more traits they include, the more they can
justify charging," said Dr Benbrook. For example, Monsanto's SmartStax maize, which is the first GM variety to include
eight individual genes for herbicide tolerance and insect-protection, will be
over twice the price of conventional seed when it is launched in 2010, he said.
"For farmers to accept this increase it will have to perform very well
indeed.
"The basic issue boils down to whether the high and
rising prices of GM seeds are justified," said Dr Benbrook. "This has
to be through increased yields, lower pest management costs, or a combination
of both."
Unsurprisingly, these increases also had a striking effect
on farm incomes. "Farmers planting RR2 Soyabeans
in 2010 will commit a projected 22% of gross income per acre to seed
purchase," said Dr Benbrook. "This is a substantial increase from
last year's 16.4%."
Relatively high crop values were supporting this inflated
seed price, he said. "But as prices drop we will start to see problems."
Growers who were tempted to move back to conventional seed
could find it difficult to get hold of, he noted. "There is a lack of
non-GM seed in the USA
and farmers are starting to get worried."
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Texas research focuses on hardier
transplants
(Texas
A&M) – UVALDE – Dr. Daniel Leskovar, a Texas AgriLife Research plant physiologist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center
in Uvalde, has been investigating ways to help vegetable plants make a less
stressful transition from the greenhouse to the field.
"This research can aid in the successful production and
possibly even the further profitability of some vegetable crops by producing
high-quality, more adaptive plants that will establish well," Leskovar said. "It could also enable some vegetable
plants to produce beyond their regular season or succeed within a stressful
growing environment."
An expert in vegetable physiology, Leskovar
said his research has been "centered in the identification and
understanding of plant adaptation mechanisms to temperature, water and
biological stresses as part of an integrated vegetable cropping system."
He and his collaborators already have been successful in creating heartier
pepper, tomato, watermelon and cantaloupe seedlings for transplantation.
Leskovar has been joined in his
research efforts by other AgriLife Research
personnel, including researchers from the Texas AgriLife
Research and Extension Centers in Weslaco and
Amarillo, and a researcher from the Institute
for Adriatic Crops in Croatia.
"Our work has primarily involved modulating naturally
occurring growth regulators in vegetable plants," Leskovar
said. "One of these is abscisic acid, or ABA, which is a hormone
naturally produced by the plant.
"Abscisic acid affects the
closing of plant stomates and controls plant
physiology such as leaf transpiration," he said. "The hormone also
slows plant growth temporarily, which is important for producing compact
transplants in commercial nurseries."
In many southern regions of the U.S, high temperatures, dry
winds and rapidly drying soil after planting are detrimental to or impair the
early growth of vegetable transplants, Leskovar said.
"Results of our previous research suggested abscisic acid was an effective tool to modulate transplant
shoot growth and enhance drought-stress tolerance of several vegetable
species," he said. "Now our research is being targeted toward foliar
spray application to control growth of mature vegetable transplants in the
greenhouse."
Leskovar noted vegetable plants
often suffer transplant shock because of an imbalance between water loss
through transpiration and water absorption through the roots, typically causing
plant wilting. He added that windy conditions or high temperatures can
accelerate water loss.
"Abscisic acid closes the stomates and reduces water loss through transpiration,
preventing further moisture loss in times of low water availability," he
said.
Research efforts to date have shown that external
application of abscisic acid to cabbage, watermelon
and pepper transplants had reduced undesirable excess shoot growth during plant
development in the greenhouse environment, Leskovar
said. They also show that its application on pepper, tomato and artichoke
seedlings was superior to that of other commercial "film-forming antitranspirants" in improving overall plant water
status.
"Practices that reduce plant transpiration have the
potential to enhance stand establishment, thus conserving soil moisture and
reducing irrigation frequency," Leskovar
explained. "Abscisic acid appears to be useful
for conditioning vegetable seedlings to withstand temporary stress from water
deficiency and to improve stand development under stressful field
conditions."
He said vegetable transplants quickly recovered their water
potential, stomatal efficiency and photosynthetic
rates, and resumed their growth after a short period of water stress in
response to the external application of the hormone.
Leskovar added that the work he
and his fellow researchers have been doing has been supported through the
interest of the industry and cooperation with commercial greenhouses in the Rio Grande Valley
and Florida.
"Another aspect of our current research is
investigating the application of gibberellic acid, or
GA, to artichoke plants so they can produce in Texas, especially in the late fall," he
said. "Gibberellic acid is a hormone which
stimulates growth and is found naturally in plants, including artichoke and
other vegetable species."
For the past several years, Leskovar
has been investigating the viability of growing artichokes as an alternative
crop in parts of Texas.
He and South Central Texas producers, including some in the state's Winter
Garden area, have been growing and assessing several varieties of green and red
artichokes.
Artichokes are normally planted in late fall, so earlier
planting can be a hit-or-miss proposition for Texas,
especially South and Central Texas, because
the plants require successive days of low temperatures to trigger bolting and
produce the edible head, Leskovar explained.
"We can mimic the effects of cold weather on the plant
by introducing gibberellic acid as a natural
treatment that will fulfill the plant's requirement for bolting during
warmer-than-needed temperatures," he said.
Leskovar noted that gibberellic acid is applied during commercial artichoke
production in other parts of the world, particularly during the summer months.
"We're using natural compounds that are part of
existing plant physiology to improve vegetables and make them less susceptible
to different stress factors," he said. "The process isn't new, but
there's still a lot to learn about the response mechanisms in plants, the best
way and amounts to apply, and what effect these will have on a variety of
vegetables during different stages of development."
Leskovar said the research will be
useful as part of an integrated cropping system strategy for developing more
stress-tolerant vegetable plants which can be grown not only in Texas, but also
other southern states with similar environmental and climatic challenges.
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Honeybees use deadly odor to kill
siblings
(wired.com)
– Here’s one way to get back at your sibling: Release a deadly odor. Honeybee
researchers have discovered the first example of a pheromone that shortens the
lifespan of other family members — in this case, older sisters.
“Just one little sniff can change your life,” said biologist
Gro Amdam of Arizona State
University, co-author of a study published Dec. 1 in The Journal of
Experimental Biology. “That’s kind of cool.”
Previous research has shown that the presence of larvae in
colonies reduces adult bees’ energy stores and shortens the honeybee lifespan.
Scientists had also found that larvae release what is known as a “brood
pheromone,” which causes adults to consume more pollen to keep up with larval
food demand. But little else was known about this rare chemical concoction
found only in bees.
When Amdam and colleagues fed
synthetic pheromone-laced syrup to adult bees, they found something surprising:
It depleted vital stores of a protein called vitellogenin
from bees’ fat tissue and shortened their lives dramatically. The life
expectancy of entire colonies dropped below 200 days, making it difficult for
honeybees to last through winter.
“Just one whiff of the pheromone has the same effect as if
the brood were present. That’s pretty mind-boggling,” said University of Arizona
entomologist Diana Wheeler, who was not involved in the study.
beesThe
pheromone causes vitellogenin to move from fat tissue
into the blood, where it is transported to the head glands and converted into a
jelly that older sisters feed to the larvae. In effect, the adult workers give
up their energy stores to rear their replacements. “It’s the group behavior
that matters in the colony, not the life of single bees,” Amdam
said. “In that way, you can sometimes think of bees as a mob.”
“It’s the most striking example of colony-level selection I
know of,” Wheeler said.
Vitellogenin is common across
egg-laying species, and its link to health and survival may very well exist in
other species. “Nature came up with this protein at some point and stuck with
it,” Amdam said. “This tells us it must be important
for life in general.”
For a long time, scientists thought vitellogenin
was a relatively uninteresting protein that only provides nutrients to embryos,
Amdam said. But she recently found it acts as an
antioxidant and regulates immune responses, aging and foraging behavior in
bees.
“The direct linkage between the sensory system and aging is
absolutely fascinating,” Wheeler said. A vitellogenin
expert, Wheeler said it’s not known whether this protein affects aging in other
species, or how it works, but this study provides the launch pad for future
research. It also serves as a warning for beekeepers, who
sometimes use brood pheromone because it increases crop pollination. The study
suggests this practice could lead to colony collapse.
Citation: “Brood pheromone suppresses physiology of extreme
longevity in honeybees (Apis mellifera),”
by B. Smedal, M. Brynem,
C.D. Kreibich and G.V. Amdam.
Journal of Experimental Biology, vol
212, Dec. 1, 2009.
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Copenhagen climate summit a wild ride
William Wheeler and Anna-Katarina Gravgaard
SPECIAL
TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
COPENHAGEN – The calls for climate action begin at the
airport, where the thousands of arriving journalists, negotiators and observers
are greeted by billboards showcasing eco-friendly hotels, drowning polar bears
and stern warnings of impending climate catastrophe. One features a polar bear
alone on an ice floe. "The Arctic cant wait: climate deal now." Another features aged
world leaders in the year 2020, with the words "Im
sorry. We could have stopped catastrophic climate change ... we didnt."
But amid the throngs camped out around the entrance to the
summit venue, a carnival atmosphere reigns. On Monday, while Danish Prime
Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen addressed delegates at
the opening ceremony, teenaged activists outside chanted: "It's hot in
here, theres too much carbon in the atmosphere."
Nearby is a 12-foot-tall statue of a grim, hooded figure beside an electronic
billboard with a red digital display showing a growing tally of climate
refugees and carbon emissions.
Inside the venue, past the metal detectors, delegates from
192 nations are involved in negotiations. Thousands of journalists are there as
well, milling around the conference grounds and jockeying for space at computer
stations. Most watch the proceedings on closed-circuit television, writing
stories from rows of banquet tables lined end to end.
"It is our mission," Mr. Rasmussen continued,
"to come to the aid of those who already suffer and to deliver a long-term
solution to the mounting problem of global warming. This is our task. This is
why we need a strong and ambitious climate-change agreement here in Copenhagen ... . I am painfully aware that you have different
perspectives on the framing and precise content of such an agreement. And I am
sure that no one in this hall underestimates the difficulty we are facing in
finding a common approach in the coming two weeks."
The hard part
On Tuesday, negotiators, who have been intimately involved
in setting the agendas and terms of the various blocs, continued their efforts
to find common ground on the issues of who will cut greenhouse gases and by how
much, how much it will cost, and who will pick up the tab. Among the subjects
of disagreement are appeals from developing countries for money and technology
from industrialized nations to help reduce emissions and adapt to the unavoidable
impacts of some degree of climate change.
In a press conference Tuesday, Yvo
de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate
Change, urged the conference to produce an agreement that can be put into
action immediately.
"That's what this conference needs to be about -
turning words into real action the day the conference is over ... negotiators
need to come up with, over the following week, solid proposals that can
constitute the foundation stones of an agreed outcome in Copenhagen," he said.
Negotiators have six days, he said, until their government
ministers arrive, then two additional days until they are joined by more than
100 heads of state. Some things will undoubtedly have to wait for the
ministers' arrival, he said, including "rich countries targets and how
they can be made more ambitious," as well as the "question of
finance."
But Mr. de Boer said he was "confident" that the
summit can produce some agreements, such as more money to help developing
countries confront climate change. "My challenge to people is to get the
basic work done in the first week," he said. "Make sure that the
foundation stones are in place, make sure that we have clarity on what needs to
be done on adaptation, mitigation, technology, finance, capacity building and
forests to ensure that action begins once the Copenhagen conference is over."
The pessimists
But not everyone is optimistic about what lies ahead.
On Saturday, a large demonstration is expected to move from
central Copenhagen to the Bella Center.
The demonstration is expected to gather tens of thousands of international
activists from 60 countries and 400 different organizations, as Climate Justice
Action's spokesman, Knud Vildby,
told the Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Danish media report that things may turn violent, which has caused
the Danish newspaper Borsen to protect its newsroom.
In a YouTube video called "COP15 - Call For
Protest," the organization NTAC, or Never Trust A COP, shows pictures of
burning streets and black-clad activists, which the Danish press has suggested
means violence during the summit. Organizers have asked NTAC not to participate
in the demonstrations, according to Jyllands-Posten.
Meanwhile, Danish police are getting ready for the biggest
standoff in their history. In an abandoned warehouse, 15 minutes outside the
city center, the police have made room for 3,500 potential troublemakers.
Forces from all over the country have been brought to Copenhagen.
The New York Times reports that Germany
and Sweden have contributed
vehicles and bomb-sniffing dogs and that the European Union has allowed Denmark
to reintroduce border checkpoints, if needed. Last week, the Danish police held
a press conference showing off their latest equipment, including
a large water cannon that can be used for dispersing crowds.
"Resist the false solutions of the COP15 climate talks!
... See you on the streets!" reads a recent statement from Climate Justice
Action, which has vowed to "take over the [summit] for one day and transform
it into a People's Assembly."
On Dec. 16, the group plans to try to take over the Bella Center,
according to some media reports. The Jyllands-Posten
reported that Climate Justice Action is working with accredited activists and
nongovernmental organizations with access to the Bella Center
so that the protests would take place within the center, as well as pushing
their way in from outside.
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End Transmission