‘Let’s Talk Todes’ video series highlights what the future holds in nematode management By
5/3/2021 Scientists are developing soybean plants using technologies like CRISPR that could be more resistant to soybean cyst nematode (SCN) and southern root-knot nematode (SRKN) in the future, says Melissa Mitchum, University of Georgia nematologist. As part of The SCN Coalition’s “Let’s Talk Todes” video series, their new “Research Collection” series features scientists discussing the latest technology being used to combat parasitic nematodes. “Whenever we need to add genes, we can make transgenics in the laboratory,” says Wayne Parrott, University of Georgia plant geneticist. “But half of the time we want to remove genes, and we use CRISPR gene editing for that. This allows us to provide a much wider variety of traits to soybean growers, and we’re getting it done faster.”
Reading the book “One of the chapters talked about the difference between
what we do and
how we do it,” says the Cleghorn, Iowa, farmer. “For thousands of years, we’ve planted crops that harvest sunlight and use water to make something of value that people want or need.” How farmers do it, though, echoes continuous change. “Sometimes, you have baby-step progress, and then you have leaps,” he says. “There is just some incredible stuff coming, and I think we have proven that we can do more with a less negative environmental footprint.”
Meet Carbon Markets Carbon market backers place a new spin on the what we do and how we do it mind-set. It mimics the what-we-do crop production mantra, although carbon is a different crop than conventional ones such as corn, soybeans, and small grains.
The conversation around biodiesel is ever evolving. A new study demonstrates switching to biodiesel results in a number of significant health benefits such as decreased cancer risk, fewer premature deaths, and reduced asthma attacks.
The fuel research, conducted at 13 sites in the U.S. exposed to high rates of petroleum diesel pollution, used well-established EPA air dispersion modeling tools coupled with health risk assessments and benefit valuations to assess the public health benefits and resulting economic savings of converting from petroleum-based diesel to 100 percent biodiesel, known as B100.
Biodiesel is a readily available, low-carbon, renewable fuel made from a diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil, and animal fats. U.S. manufacturers rely on U.S. soybean oil as the primary feedstock for biodiesel, and it was the first domestically produced and commercially available fuel to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of an advance