Future of Grain
HIGHLIGHTING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY IN GRAIN PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION
Tracking production in Ontario
Grain Farmers of Ontario is keeping track of crops through an interactive map. It’s designed to keep the public up-to-date on what’s happening in the fields they pass by every day, and help the media report on the progress of the growing season across the province. Planting was tracked throughout the spring, and now harvest information will be updated weekly.
With the help of a network of farmers strategically placed across the province, county by county information on the amount of acreage harvested will be available at any given time. Check it out at www.gfo.ca.
To keep this map as up to date and accurate as possible, we need your help. Send us an update on the harvest in your area throughout the season at info@gfo.ca or 1-888-265-0550. •
Genome editing
The field of genome editing is emerging as a real game-changer for the development of new plant varieties. Molecular markers are allowing scientists to identify very specific zones of plants that carry traits like taste, texture, and micronutrients. Scientists are able to capture these small segments of plants that carry desired traits and cross them into a new plant with other desirable traits. Using this technique, scientists are able to speed up the breeding cycle to seven years from about 11 years, and the resulting varieties are considered hybrids.
“The line between GM and non-GM is becoming blurred and in the next five to 10 years we will need a new definition of GM” stated Michiel van Lookeren Campagne, Head of Biotechnology at Syngenta, during a tour of their Biotechnology facility in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The understanding of biology and genomes is really fast-paced.”
The opportunities that can be unlocked through genome editing are endless. Campagne suggests that as genome editing continues to grow, North America will require new regulatory systems. •
Pioneer Hi-Bred will sell soybeans by seed count
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, will sell its soybean products by seed count per unit, rather than by weight, beginning in the fall of 2012 for varieties sold throughout Canada and the United States for the 2013 planting season. The number of soybean seeds sold per unit by Pioneer will be 140,000.
Pioneer customers will benefit from buying by seed count with a simplified, convenient and more accurate means of planning their soybean crop.
“Pioneer’s move to consistent seed count packaging is in direct response to our customers’ wants and needs, providing greater ease and accuracy of field-by-field planting,” says Ian Grant, President, Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited.
Prior to this change, Pioneer sold soybean seeds by weight (fifty pounds of seed equals one unit). Soybean seeds can potentially vary in size, based on genetics and growing conditions, affecting the number of seeds per unit. With this change to selling by count, the number of seeds per unit will be consistent. •
