The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced its decision to deregulate Monsanto’s dicamba-tolerant trait technologies ― Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans and Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton. “This announcement marks an important milestone for farmers around the world,” says Robb Fraley, Monsanto’s chief technology officer. “Weeds represent a key pest to agriculture operations around the world…
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Dow’s Insect Resistant Soybean Trait Conkesta will be the brand name for Dow AgroSciences’ novel insect-resistant trait that, when commercialized, will provide soybean farmers with the broadest spectrum for insect control against lepidopteran pests. Upon regulatory approvals, Conkesta will be offered as a stack with the company’s Enlist soybean traits in elite and high-yielding varieties.…
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With consideration given to the value of numerous seed treatments being applied to soybeans, it is important to know what seed treatments have merit and why seed treatments should be used. The soybean board asked a consortium of private agronomists to run field trials on common seed treatments. Traditionally molybdenum and bacterium to aide rhizobium…
DetailsRead more about new laws, including the use of drones, that came into effect the week of Dec. 1 in North Carolina. Click on the link below to the News & Observer article: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/29/4364017_from-drones-to-bb-guns-new-laws.html?sp=/99/102/110/&rh=1
DetailsDo fungicides pay for themselves in North Carolina soybean production? The soybean board asked a consortium of private agronomists to explore this question. The group includes Tidewater Agronomics, Fowler Crop Consulting, McLawhorn Crop Services, Protech Advisory Services, and IMPACT Agronomics. The research was funded by the soybean board and conducted on private research farms across…
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Early emergence in soy is the exciting and mostly untested assumption that farmers can realize more yield by getting the young plants to emerge (1) as early as possible, (2) as quickly as possible and (3) as uniformly as possible. Dr. Ron Heiniger and Dr. Jim Dunphy at North Carolina State University think that early…
DetailsAt the North Carolina Agriculture & Biotechnology Summit on November 18-19, thought-provoking speakers explored the intersection of science, politics and economic development in the biotechnology industry. There was a healthy component of farmer participation on the podium, but unfortunately not enough farmers were able to attend to push the coffee break discussions towards addressing the…
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The controversy over GMO labeling occupies a central place in the discussion around food systems and farming. This was evident at the recent N.C. Agriculture & Biotechnology summit during a panel moderated by Tamar Haspel, a journalist at the Washington Post. Another panel at the conference raised the issue of a society caught in a…
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After Ohio soybean farmer Keith Roberts unloads his soybeans at the elevator, he often reflects on where they will be going next. “Ohio soybeans offer an abundant and renewable supply of ingredients for food and livestock feed,” says Roberts, chair of the Ohio Soybean Council’s (OSC’s) New Uses Committee. “In addition, soybeans make it possible
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The association has been reaching out to consumers this fall 2013. The soybean fountain and educational messages about soybean production and seed technology at the North Carolina State Fair were seen by tens of thousands of people. The fountain turned out to be very popular with most visitors feeling compelled to sink their hands down…
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A special report titled “Feeding the World” in a recent issue of The Economist magazine examined how we will cope with world food production in the coming decades. The report concluded that the focus on a “food crisis” has produced competing perspectives on the main problems with food and agriculture, and led to different proposals…
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The tools of farmers are becoming so precise that almost unheard of issues (for farmers) are moving to the forefront. Farmers have adapted Global Position System (GPS) technology just like engineers, surveyors, and the military. Unlike Joe and Susy Sixpack in the family wagon, who also have adapted GPS for plotting the course to the…
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