FOCUS on Agriculture

Julie Borlaug is vice president of external affairs for Inari.  She is also president of the Norman Borlaug Foundation which continues Dr. Borlaug's work with a mission of fighting global hunger and extreme poverty through international agricultural development.  Dr. Borlaug was known as the father of the Green Revolution which was credited with saving a billion lives.  He received numerous international awards and recognition for his accomplishments and was one of only 5 individuals including Mother Teresa and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Congressional Gold Medals.

In this episode, Julie explains what it was like growing up as Norman Borlaug's granddaughter and how he was once upstaged by a hamster.  She addresses some of the criticisms of the Green Revolution and how Dr. Borlaug's legacy lives on in modern agriculture.  You can interact with Julie on Twitter @julieborlaug.

Chad Leman is a third-generation farmer from central Illinois. He owns Leman Farms Inc. which comprises a 3,200 head sow farm that markets approximately 90,000 pigs annually. In addition, they raise corn & soybeans, and have operated a seed dealership since 1991. Chad also serves on the board of the Illinois Pork Producers Association.  In this episode we discuss pork production and the stress placed on our food supply chain by the COVID-19 pandemic.  You can learn more about Chad's operation by visiting his farm's website, www.lemanfarms.com or following him on Twitter @ChadLeman.

Gregg Sauder has a long history of innovation in agriculture.  Beginning as a farmer simply looking for ways to improve yield, he founded Precision Planting and revolutionized planting technology.   He is currently president of 360 Yield Center.  His latest innovation, 360 Rain, has the same game-changing potential to radically improve farmer's operations by allowing them to address the challenge of unpredictable weather.  In this episode, Gregg describes his career and offers advice for the next generation of young farmers and innovators.  You can learn more about 360 Rain at www.360rain.com or 360 Yield Center's other products at www.360yieldcenter.com.

Jack Marck is managing director of the Illinois Agtech Accelerator.  Located at the University of Illinois Research Park, this program provides mentoring, funding, and office space for Agtech startups.  In today's conversation, we discuss the opportunities for new technologies to improve farmers' operations and strengthen the food supply chain.  You can contact Jack through email at [email protected].

Read about the innovative companies in the gBeta AgTech Spring 2021 Cohort at: https://researchpark.illinois.edu/article/illinois-agtech-accelerator-spring-2021-companies/.

Otrafy applies key disruptive technologies like Natural Language Processing and OCR to food safety processes and information to help quality assurance professionals manage the collection, storage, reviewing and renewal of supplier quality data.

AgVoice, a mobile voice-to-data system, allows agri-food workers to capture and analyze field-level data more efficiently and accurately, hands-free.

ClearLeaf designs and commercializes innovative pre- and post-harvest fungicides and bactericides to create sustainable crop protection strategies mitigating the negative impacts of harmful pests while maintaining balance on the farm, protecting farmers and consumers.

TellTail, Inc develops digital tools to improve the management of pig production systems by bringing together people, pigs and facilities under a single platform. Based at EnterpriseWorks and founded at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Spira uses CRISPR-edited carbon-negative algae to create replacements for artificial colors and animal proteins in the supply chain for food, cosmetic and textile companies.

Tom Jury is head of the North America Field Testing Organization at Bayer Crop Science.  His organization is responsible for growing and collecting data on millions of research plots spread across the United States and Canada.  Listen as Tom describes how the latest biological and technological innovations are used to develop hundreds of new varieties and hybrids each year.  To learn more about plant breeding and Bayer's philosophy, visit https://www.bayer.com/en/crop-science/crop-science-innovations-plant-breeding.

For an in depth history of plant breeding, check out our past series on the topic:

Episode 16: Tom Floyd - The History of Plant Breeding, Part I

Episode 17: Tom Floyd - The History of Plant Breeding, Part II

Episode 18: Devin Nichols - The History of Plant Breeding, Part III

Weaver Popcorn Company was founded by Reverend Ira Weaver in 1928.  Dr. Brad Thada is a commercial popcorn breeder and sales director for the company.  In this episode, we discuss the origins of popcorn and how new hybrids are produced and grown.  Listen for some tips for home gardeners and a little trivia thrown in for fun.  Check out popcorn.org for popcorn facts, recipes, and fun projects.  You can learn more about Weaver Popcorn at their website: http://www.weaverpopcornhybrids.com/ and follow them on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/weaver-popcorn-hybrids/.

Farmers and many others are well aware that legumes such as soybeans are able to provide some of their own nitrogen through an association with symbiotic bacteria.  Corn production requires the application of nitrogen fertilizers, which are costly in several ways.  Listen to UC-Davis professor Dr. Allen Bennet describe his team's discovery of corn that is able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, and the future implications of his research.

You can learn more about Dr. Bennett's research at https://bennettlab.ucdavis.edu/.  The Atlantic also published an interesting article regarding the discovery : https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/amaizeballs/567140/.  If you are interested in reading the scientific publication, it is available at https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2006352. For further reading about the Haber-Bosch process, check out The Alchemy of Air, by Thomas Hager,

Humans have been battling weeds for as long as crops have been cultivated.  In this episode, we discuss the history and future of weed control with Zach Lancaster, field agronomist with Bayer Crop Science.  You can learn more about the latest biotech innovation for combatting tough-to-control weeds in soybeans at www.roundupreadyxtend.com.  

Charlie Thompson is a sweet corn breeder and Vice President of Illinois Foundation Seeds.  In this episode, we explore the history and development of modern sweet corn, while investigating some common misconceptions regarding this crop.  To learn more about Illinois Foundation Seeds, visit their website, www.ifsi.com or follow them on Instagram: @IFSISweetCorn.  We also encourage listeners to check out our newly launched website, focusonagriculture.com.