About “Beyond the Rows”

Beyond the Rows is a Monsanto Company blog focused on one of the world’s most important industries, agriculture. Monsanto employees write about Monsanto’s business, the agriculture industry, and the farmer.avatar Monsantoco Posts

Authors:

  • avatar
  • avatar
  • avatar
  • avatar
  • avatar
  • avatar
[x] close

Tag Archives: Water

Tennessee Johnny Dodson

On the Farm with Tennessee Farmer Johnny Dodson

This trip was long overdue. I’ve been lucky enough to talk to Halls, Tennessee farmer Johnny Dodson several times before – I vividly remember some Midwestern soybean farmers borrowing a cotton boll to show Johnny he wasn’t the only cotton person in Kansas City for a meeting and other chances to talk with him about how things were going on the farm or his ideas on topics of current interest.

Each time, Johnny said I should visit the farm sometime. I meant to do it for years so when someone was headed out on vacation & I heard there was … Full Article »

Tags: , , , , , ,

Originally published
August 11, 2011 by Janice Person

Innovation Conserves Water in Hawaii

Water is a limited resource. According to FAO, agriculture is the world’s largest consumer of water. Between now and 2050 the world’s water supply will have to feed and create livelihoods for an additional 2.7 billion people. It is essential to identify ways to preserve this precious resource.

By making key changes in irrigation and fertigation practices, Monsanto Hawaii’s production research and manufacturing teams have saved more than 11 million gallons of water or enough water for more than 150 households for a year.

The research team undertook a series of studies at the Molokai and Kunia locations in … Full Article »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Originally published
August 1, 2011 by Monsantoco

We're all in this together…

Editor’s note: Rory Herron is one of two UK interns spending their summer at Monsanto’s global headquarters, under a program with Scotland’s Saltire Foundation. The Saltire Foundation is an independent charitable organization representing a new vision for Scotland, providing invaluable opportunities through experience, learning and business networking. Its undergraduate internship programme offers Scotland’s students the chance to spend 8 weeks working at a top multinational company with the aim of encouraging candidates to develop their confidence, skills and capacity to succeed.

By Rory Herron

I’m the youngest of seven children. Before I was born in Ireland, my parents and … Full Article »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Originally published
July 29, 2011 by Monsantoco

Producing More Vegetables in Peru

By Sara Duncan

Imagine increasing productivity by 1,000 percent without adding hours to the day. In just two production cycles, Monsanto employees in Peru increased the yield of cucumbers by 985 percent at their Homefarm Ica vegetable seed production site. The team also more than doubled the yield of melons, watermelons and tomatoes, tripled the yield of lettuce, and increased the yield of seedless watermelon by almost 700 percent. How did they do it? They looked at their farm and made production changes to make it more efficient.

“When I became Ica’s site manager, I realized–based on my previous De … Full Article »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Originally published
July 26, 2011 by Monsantoco

Gothenburg Learning Center Highlights Agricultural Conservation

By Sara Duncan

Water limitations are constant constraints to western agricultural production. In 2008, Monsanto pledged to reduce, by one-third, soil, land, water and energy resources required to produce a unit of its corn, soybeans and cotton crops between 2000 and 2030.

Using a combination of advanced breeding, biotechnology and improved farm-management practices, the company is helping farmers make the most efficient use of precious resources that are vital to meeting growing demand for food, fiber and fuel. In 2009, Monsanto opened a learning center in Gothenburg, Nebraska, dedicated to showcasing efforts to support sustainable agriculture.

“The most difficult part … Full Article »

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Originally published
June 30, 2011 by Monsantoco

The Future of Food

As a Brit living in the United States, I have immensely enjoyed all the attention my former stomping grounds have been receiving lately due to the Royal Wedding. Watching my future king walk down the aisle, and having my American friends and family celebrate with me, was incredible and exciting.

So when His Royal Highness (HRH) the Duke of Cambridge’s father, otherwise known as HRH The Prince of Wales or Prince Charles and my immediate future king, visited the U.S recently to speak on food and agriculture at the Future of Food conference in Washington D.C., I paid attention.… Full Article »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Originally published
May 31, 2011 by Mark Sutherland

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 other organizations have been working for years on how to reduce water consumption by agriculture and yet increase production. Considerable work is underway in developing new agronomic practices, new and improved seeds from breeding, and new biotech traits — all aimed at reducing … Full Article »

Tags: , , ,

Originally published
March 22, 2011 by Glynn Young

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 world’s water supply; such is the tenor of part, fortunately small, of the online conversation in general.

We care about water because our customers – farmers – care about water. It’s that simple. Water is the single greatest limiting factor in agriculture. In … Full Article »

Tags: , , , ,

Originally published
March 8, 2011 by Glynn Young

Farmers: Environmentalists That Are Making a Difference

I spend time each day looking through online farm publications. I have a list that I follow, ranging from news aggregators to the web versions of farm magazines, and I’m usually looking for so-called “hard news.”

Recently, I was looking at Indiana Prairie Farmer, and I almost passed this headline by: Five Farm Families Receive Conservation Awards. But I clicked on the link, and found a story about five farm families being honored by the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The names were listed, and then I wondered, were any of them our customers? And if … Full Article »

Tags: , , , ,

Originally published
February 11, 2010 by Glynn Young

Monsanto a Water Bully? Not So

Last week a misleading article about Monsanto appeared in The Guardian, a UK-based newspaper. The article made many inaccurate claims about Monsanto’s water use and our presence on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. The story gained a lot of attention and sparked a heated debate in the comments section, with participants from Molokai refuting Mr. Pearce’s claims. The buzz around the article spread when The Huffington Post featured Fred Pearce’s story. Due to the inaccuracies, my colleagues in the UK office responded to the story. Below you can find the letter we sent to The Guardian and posted to our … Full Article »

Tags: , ,

Originally published
September 8, 2009 by Kathleen Manning