The Story That Was and Wasn’t
It’s Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. You’re doing a Google search on genetically modified crops in Europe. One of your search results is from the U.K.’s Daily Mail web site – an announcement that Monsanto is closing wheat breeding stations in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Czech Republic. You look at the article’s date: [...]
Farm Press Publications Honor “High Cotton” Winners
Farm Press Publications has announced the winners of its annual “High Cotton” Awards, and three of the four winners are Monsanto customers. The awards, given through a grant by the Cotton Foundation, recognize cotton producers in each of the four Farm Press coverage areas who both produce good yields and take care of the land [...]
Progressive Farmer Recognizes Customers
Last month, Progressive Farmer Magazine announced that five farmers had been named as the 2012 Best Young Farmers and Ranchers. Four of the five are Monsanto customers. Ryan and Misty Bivens operate a farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky. Chad and Summer Goldman farm near Grandview, Indiana, and also help Chad’s father with his farm. Scott Rasa [...]
What Do You Say?
What do you say? What do you say to man who risks a good portion of his family wealth every year, so you can eat? What do you say to the man who starts working at 4 a.m. and doesn’t stop until he tumbles into bed bone-tired? What do you say to the family who [...]
Catholic Relief Services and the Horn of Africa
In 1943, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) was formed to help resettle war refugees in Europe. Established by the U.S. Catholic bishops, the agency focused on helping people recover from a conflict that resulted in the deaths of tens of millions, and tens of millions more displaced and made homeless. Almost 70 years later, CRS has [...]
The Voice in the Cab
He’s the voice in the cab. He gets up with the farmer long before dawn. She’s chatting while the farmer gets the first pot of coffee of the day going. He’s talking about the business. She gives an update on the weather. He notes the current prices on the commodities exchange. She’s talking about comments [...]
Shoulders Broad Enough for 7 Billion
Here’s a quiz: what are three most populous countries in the world? (Answer below*) Today, based on various estimates by a host of authorities, the world’s population has reached seven billion people. The number staggers the imagination, and a lot of people are trying to explain or illustrate what “seven billion” means or looks like. [...]
Helping Restore a Piece of St. Louis’ Past
Greenwood Cemetery was founded in 1874 by Herman Kreuger, a native German and member of St. Peter’s German Evangelical Church, to serve the African-American community of St. Louis. Situated on 31 acres, it is divided into 22 burial sections. Krueger’s descendants maintained the cemetery through the 1970s. It was sold in the 1980s, and gradually [...]
DEKALB’s “Big Reveal”
We usually talk about serious topics in this space. Today, we’re having a little fun. Every day for the last 5 days, DEKALB has been posting a puzzle piece on Facebook, and today it pulled all of the puzzle pieces together to reveal the secret. DEKALB has teamed up with Paul Jr. Designs of American [...]
The Kindness of Strangers
Monsanto has a number of community and youth programs underway, like community grants and youth scholarships. They range in size from $1500 to $2500, and are designed to give back to or invest in the community and its young people. The money from the programs can be used in a number of ways – schools, [...]
“It’s Our Community,Too”
On April 22, severe thunderstorms raked the St. Louis metropolitan area, spinning off several tornados and causing a wide swath of damage. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured or killed. The St. Louis airport sustained significant damage, especially Concourse C which remains closed. The tornado that struck the airport traveled across Highway I-170 (a connecting [...]
Amid the Damage, A Night of Miracles
On Friday night, my wife and I were on our way out to dinner in St. Louis, about two miles from home, when we heard the tornado sirens start. We turned around and went home, our “dinner out” turning into microwaved leftovers on a card table in our basement. We were fortunate; our part of [...]
Thinking About Dirt
Earth Day, 1970. The first one. I was a college freshman at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. An entire array of events was planned on the large tract of land in front of the Student Union, known as the Parade Ground (and still known as that) for when ROTC was mandatory for freshmen boys. [...]
Food is in the News
Food has been in the news a lot lately. Prices are up, commodity markets are churning, and people are looking at the “geopolitics of food” and wondering what role food prices have played in the current unrest in the Mideast and North Africa. Two weeks ago, Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post called it the [...]
World Water Day
The United Nations designates March 22 as International World Water Day, to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. There’s no question how important water is to world food production – agriculture accounts for 70 percent of the consumption of freshwater. Monsanto, other companies, universities, governments and [...]
Talking about Water
We’ve been livetweeting Monsanto’s Water Utilization Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, where Monsanto and some 250 growers have been meeting to talk about a new biotech trait that more efficiently utilizes water. A couple of time during the meeting yesterday, people following the conversation online asked: why does Monsanto care? One suggested a plot to take over the [...]
The 9 Billion-People Question
Last week, The Economist Magazine published an extensive series of articles with the summary title of “The 9-billion people question: A special report on feeding the world.” The articles examine what is going to be required to feed more than two billion additional people by 2050. A few selected quotes from the report’s introduction: • [...]
The 2010 ISAAA Report on Biotech Crops
“Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2010.” It’s a rather calm-sounding official title for an important compilation of data on what’s happening with agricultural biotechnology around the world. On Tuesday, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) released its annual report. This one also provides a 15-year overview, with the first biotech [...]
“We have to grow a good crop this year”
AgriNews, which covers agriculture in both Illinois and Indiana, had a story Monday about a Community Bank Ag Conference in Mendota, Ill. Normally, I don’t closely follow agricultural banking news, but the headline caught my attention: “Hybrids play major role in meeting world food needs.” One of the speakers at the conference was Steve Freed, [...]
“Restarting the Green Revolution”
In the Wall Street Journal this morning, columnist Holman Jenkins Jr. writes about “restarting” the green revolution: “Food prices are up, and output and productivity are falling behind. Not enough attention is being placed on regulation-induced stagnation.” The column is behind the Journal’s subscription firewall, so to see the entire article thing you’ll need to [...]
The Beachell-Borlaug Scholarships
Monsanto’s Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program was created in 2009 as part of the company’s commitment to increasing crop yields – and doing so sustainably. Administered by Texas AgriLife Research, an agency of the Texas A&M University System, the program is named for Dr. Henry Beachell and Dr. Norman Borlaug, whose lifelong work laid the foundation [...]
Honors for Two Young Monsanto Employees
Two young Monsanto employees received special recognitions recently. Doug Hubner, general manager of Monsanto’s Hubner Seeds business, has received the 2010 Future Giants of the Industry Award from the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). The award is given annually to recognize leadership, innovation and commitment to the seed industry. Cited for his passion, dedication and [...]
Purdue Study Finds Benefit to No-Till Farming
Researchers at Purdue University reported last month the results of a study on no-till farming and crop rotation – that using these practices in farm fields can significantly reduce field emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. Specifically, no-till farming – leaving crop residue on the soil and not using a tractor to turn it [...]
Advances in R&D
Today, Monsanto announced advancements in nine projects as part of the company’s annual research pipeline update. Progress was reported for four yield and stress projects being undertaken in collaboration with BASF, and five projects involving corn, soybeans and canola. You can read details here. It’s important work, with an important purpose: make agriculture more productive. [...]
