Benson Hill Biosystems, a crop improvement company unlocking the natural diversity of plants, announced today at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit that it has acquired the assets of Schillinger Genetics, also known as eMerge Genetics, an Iowa-based company currently delivering novel high-yielding, high-protein non-GMO soybean varieties.
U.S., Japanese scientists team together for solutions
A rain garden filled with native shrubs and perennial grasses and flowers can both beautify your yard and protect the environment. Now residents can see how it works.
Twin Cities research moves urban ag forward
Scientists show metabolic tradeoffs result from a specific change to the grow-defend balance.
A new study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution led by scientists from the University of Chicago challenges one of the classic assumptions about how new proteins evolve.
The research team studied seed systems in Africa. Seed systems are composed of people and businesses that make seed available, and farmers who use that seed. As a result of the research, scientists developed a model that will help them find seed-borne pathogens and provides recommendations for how to stop the pathogens from spreading.
UC San Diego Distinguished Professor Julian Schroeder has been awarded the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation.
Texas A&M AgriLife's ecopark in Dallas will welcome visitors for tours and lessons in "green" development beginning late 2019.
It's widely accepted within agriculture that maintaining genetic diversity is important. In areas where crop plants are more diverse, pathogens might kill some plants but are less likely to wipe out an entire crop.
Five years after the initial funding, the National Science Foundation has renewed the center’s grant funding at $150,000 per year for each of the next five years. CAMTech, as the center is known, is a collaboration among researchers at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the University of Kentucky and private partners.
When you hear about the biological processes that influence climate and the environment, such as carbon fixation or nitrogen recycling, it’s easy to think of them as abstract and incomprehensibly large-scale phenomena. Yet parts of these planet-wide processes are actually driven by the tangible actions of organisms at every scale of life, beginning at the smallest: the microorganisms living in the air, soil, and water. And now Berkeley Lab researchers have made it easier than ever to study these microbial communities by creating an optimized DNA analysis technique.
Getting your seeds to a healthy start
A Cornell University team has found that the economic impact of the apple industry in New York State is 21 percent larger than traditional models suggest. Researchers used the apple industry as a case study to test a new – more precise - framework for economic impact analysis.
With a few genetic tweaks, a type of soil bacteria with an appetite for hydrocarbons shows promise as a biological factory for converting a renewable — but frustratingly untapped — bounty into a replacement for ubiquitous plastics.
A pioneering study offers an easier approach to study how microbes work and could help scientists advance models of the cycling of elements and nutrients in frequently flooded soils.
The products of wastewater treatment have been found to contain trace amounts of antibiotic resistant DNA. These products are often reintroduced to the environment and water supply, potentially resulting in the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Wild bees are indispensable pollinators, supporting both agricultural productivity and the diversity of flowering plants worldwide.
International Space Station’s ECOSTRESS gathers plant data
Scientists develop a molecular map of metabolic products of bacteria in root nodules to aid sustainable agriculture.
More than 2 billion people worldwide are affected by water shortages, wildfires, crop losses, forest diebacks or other environmental or economic woes brought on by drought.
The 13th Annual Babson Sustainability Forum will take place on Babson College’s Wellesley campus, March 29, 2019, 8 am to 6 pm. The Babson Sustainability and Energy Club’s annual forum, with the theme Embracing The Future’s Goals, will host talks and elite panel discussions covering the broad umbrella of sustainability, featuring industries from agriculture and food, fashion, financing, and clean tech and energy.
In new research published in the journal Scientific Reports, Alan Chambers and Elias Bassil led a group of researchers that established a Vanilla collection with 112 potentially unique individuals.
Mar. 11 marks the 8th anniversary of Japan’s Tohuku earthquake. The tsunami that followed led to the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which spread radioactive materials throughout the area. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Mar. 1 blog explores the impact this has had on the farming village of Iitate, Japan.
Researchers link root water uptake to root traits and assess (poor) performance of common models.
A research team managed to overcome the challenges inherent in the DNA of the soybean cyst nematode to sequence its genome. The project could lead to better management practices to combat the top pest that threatens Iowa soybeans and allows plant breeders to see both sides of the “arms race” between soybean cyst nematodes and the defense mechanisms of soybeans.
Researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis develop a method to learn more about how a new type of pesticide degrades in the environment.
Planting Kura clover, a pasture legume, with prairie cordgrass can improve microbial activity in the soil, thus reducing the amount of fertilizer needed to produce the potential biofuels crop.
Catharine Young, New York state senator representing western New York and a staunch advocate for agriculture and economic development statewide, has been named director of the New York State Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech. She will begin work in her new role March 11.
Researchers find gusty winds increase surface evaporation that drives summer rainstorms in the Tropical West Pacific.
Research offers evidence that microbes and organic matter raise toxin levels, potentially helping improve mercury monitoring.
The Indigenous Peoples of British Columbia have been harvesting shellfish from specially-constructed clam gardens for at least 3500 years, according to a study released February 27, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE
While fossil fuel emissions in New Delhi account for 80 percent of the air pollution plume during the summer, emissions from biomass burning (such as crop residue burning) in neighboring regions rival those from fossil fuels during the fall and winter.
After years of advocating for funding to improve the infrastructure for grape research, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Feb. 26 $68.9 million to build a new federal grape genetics research lab at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, New York.
Salisbury University has signed the first agreements with prospective industrial hemp growers under a new Maryland Department of Agriculture pilot program to legalize the crop with a university research component.
Maasai farmers do not kill lions for retribution whenever they lose sheep or cattle, new research shows.
Florida State researchers have been awarded $8 million to restore Apalachicola Bay and revive the region's imperiled oyster industry thanks to money the state recovered from the BP oil spill.
Crop differences go beyond appearance and taste. Certain plants are more efficient in how they grow and reproduce. The Feb. 22 Sustainable, Secure Food blog explains how this difference in plant metabolism is important for future food security.
Scientists at UC Davis will utilize data from Hungry Planet Intelligence and Benson Hill Biosystems’ computational platform Breed, powered by CropOS™ to predict combinations for seed optimization.
The Texas Land Trends project of Texas A&M’s Natural Resources Institute, or NRI, has published a special series report describing Texas landowner participation in land conservation easements and their value to agricultural production, water and wildlife.
New research finds that some yeast picked up a whole suite of genes from bacteria that gave them the new ability to scavenge iron from their environment. It’s one of the clearest examples yet of the transfer of genes from one branch on the tree of life to another.
As National Strawberry Day approaches on Feb. 27, University of Florida scientists have found another variety that can grow in South Florida. It’s largely unknown to American consumers, it’s temptingly tasty and it’s good for local markets, UF researchers say.
Simply protecting small forests will not maintain the diversity of the birds they support over the long run, a Rutgers-led study says. Forests need to be carefully monitored and managed to maintain their ecological integrity.
What would be the purpose of a flower that doesn’t bear seeds? Research with crop wild relatives suggests the extra flowers make a small but significant contribution to yield.
Mississippi State-developed vaccination technologies are being commercialized to help the catfish industry save millions for the state that leads the nation in production.
Great forest fires are ever more frequent globally and their consequences more severe and destructive.
By taking a more holistic approach to challenging issues facing Florida, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers will share more and better information about water and land use, including farming and urban landscapes, with the establishment of a new center.
Plants are master chemists, and Michigan State University researchers have unlocked their secret of producing specialized metabolites. The research, published in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, combined plant biology and machine learning to sort through tens of thousands of genes to determine which genes make specialized metabolites.
With 1.3 million active duty military personnel nationwide, coordinating and finding accessible healthcare and social services for their 1.7 million family members is a major challenge. A WVU professor is working to address these challenges and needs through the Military Families Learning Network.
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