Afleveringen
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In today’s episode, we begin to explore the tremendous opportunities that are emerging as a result of gene editing. This ability to apply cutting-edge technology to crops is distinctly different from transgenic or GMO approaches, and its impact could be even greater on the future of food and agriculture.
It shouldn’t seem far-fetched that breakthroughs in genetics can really impact things on the farm, because we’ve seen it before. Both the scientist on today’s episode, Dr. Dave Bubeck, and the farmer, Heather Hampton Knodle, remember clearly what things were like when transgenic crops hit the market.
Dr. Dave Bubeck is a research director at Corteva Agriscience, and has been working for seed companies for over 33 years. He works in the seed product development group and spends a lot of his time with the seed commercialization team.
“ That's the real advantage of genome editing is that we'll get to a speed of product development that is far beyond what we could do with conventional breeding.” - Dave Bubeck, Ph.D.
Heather Hampton Knodle is a fourth generation farmer in south central Illinois. Like others carrying on a legacy of farming, she has seen first hand the impact some biotechnology can have on the industry.
”There's just kind of this implicit trust that some scientist somewhere is going to be working on this. I think many people have taken for granted the type of seed and genetic technology that we've been able to tap into.” - Heather Hampton Knodle
Some Takeaways from this episode include:
We really are on the cusp of some incredible breakthroughs that could come from these gene editing tools. Advancements that have taken years if not decades through traditional breeding can be sped up dramatically for the benefit of producers and consumers.Gene editing is not just GMO 2.0 - there is a lot of nuance that makes gene editing a game changer beyond what GMOs have been able to do. Every one in the industry has a role to play in agriscience innovation. The farmer and the scientist have to trust each other that each is specializing and advancing their field for all of our benefits.Agriscience Explained is a podcast brought to you by Corteva Agriscience. Host Tim Hammerich visits with both scientists and farmers about how agricultural innovations are discovered, developed and deployed on the farm.
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In today’s episode we explore how nematodes might be impacting your crop without you even knowing it. These microscopic worms are everywhere; they are the most abundant multicellular organism on the planet. But often, they go completely unnoticed because they can’t be seen without a microscope. What we most often see in agriculture is their impact on crops. Whether you grow row crops like soybeans, specialty crops like vegetables, or permanent crops like grapes, it’s important to know your nematodes.
Corteva nematologist Dr. Tim Thoden discusses his work both from the perspective of someone fascinated with nematodes, and someone who acknowledges the enormous impact they can have on farmers.
“It is believed that the damage that nematodes globally do is around $120 billion to $150 billion US dollars per year…it's a huge economic damage.” - Tim Thoden, Ph.D.
California raisin grape grower Michael Logoluso has seen the impacts of nematodes for the past three decades. He is a farm manager for Lion Farms which is a large grower and packer of dried-on-the-vine California raisins.
“We need a few tools in our toolbox, right? So Salibro would be one of them…I think going forward it's going to make the other tools that we have available at this current time have a little more life on the shelf.” - Michael Logoluso
Logoluso and Thoden discuss the economic impact of nematodes, modern agricultural practices for managing these microscopic pests, and the development of new solutions like Corteva's Reklemel, a synthetic nematicide sold under the name Salibro. They cover the complexities of nematode management, the role of healthy soils, and integrated pest management strategies while emphasizing the need for continuous innovation and respectful treatment of the environment.
Some takeaways from this episode include:
The sheer volume of these organisms. They are the most abundant multicellular organism on the planet, and three out of every four multicellular organisms are nematodes. The fact that scientists are not only looking for effective solutions, but targeted solutions that don’t hurt soil biology. This emphasizes the need for products that are intended to fit into an integrated approach by being effective against pests but not taking away from soil health. How much these organisms fly under the radar because they can’t be seen by the naked eye. The pest might be invisible without a microscope, but the devastation they can cause is very real.Agriscience Explained is a podcast brought to you by Corteva Agriscience. Host Tim Hammerich visits with both scientists and farmers about how agricultural innovations are discovered, developed and deployed on the farm.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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In today’s episode, what does it take to build a world record hybrid? And why does it take so long to develop new hybrids? We follow the journey of the seed from inbreds to hybrids to traits to production to commercial products.
Our guide on this journey of the seed will be Corteva Agriscience digital seed lead and distinguished laureate Dean Podlich. You heard from Dean in our last episode about the history of agriscience innovation as it relates to genetics. Today, you’ll get a peak into what all goes into the latest and greatest in crop genetics, specifically as it relates to corn. Dean describes all of this work, this journey of a seed to preparation for the main event, which is what happens on farms every year across the world.
“ This is what drives this long-term genetic gain: this constant obsession about creating new variation, measuring it in all the ways that we described, and identifying ones that are going to be superior on the farm and continuing that process over and over again.” - Dean Podlich
Virginia farmer David Hula joins the show to highlight what can happen when quality genetics meets excellent management practices. Hula earned world record corn yield of 623.8439 bushels per acre with a hybrid from Corteva Agriscience.
“ That is probably the most stressful time that I have is picking the hybrids. Because we try to position hybrids for particular acres.” - David Hula
The journey of a seed is rigorous, nuanced, and complex. It starts with a seemingly infinite number of possibilities and involves slowly narrowing those down through what Dean Podlich describes as a gauntlet process to eventually end up with a couple dozen products with potential.
Some takeaways from this episode include:
There is so much that goes into the journey of a seed, from the germplasm to prediction and selection to hybrids to transgenes and the regulatory process that comes with that to production and commercialization. It’s a multi-year global process that requires an enormous effort along the way. The analogy of the R&D process being like preparing for the Olympics. All of the work that goes into the agriscience and innovation is important, but the race still needs to be run on the farm.David Hula’s paradigm of recruiting and surrounding themselves with the right team. It fits well with this Olympics theme. These relationships are more than just company/customer, they should be a trust-based collaborative effort to maximize productivity and profitability on the farm.Agriscience Explained is a podcast brought to you by Corteva Agriscience. Host Tim Hammerich visits with both scientists and farmers about how agricultural innovations are discovered, developed and deployed on the farm.
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In this episode we look back at the history of agriculture to help inform the future. Specifically, we explore how genetics have propelled the current agriculture industry and how we can leverage that technology to solve future problems producers will face.
Agriscience digital seed lead and distinguished laureate Dean Podlich joins the show to share his perspective of the historical development of crop hybrids as the overseer of digital solutions to help develop seed products with Corteva Agriscience.
“ If you go back a hundred years ago, the average bushels per acre in the US is somewhere between 25 and 30 bushels per acre. You fast forward to today, it's in the high 170s. So you're talking about a 7x increase in productivity on the farm over the last a hundred years. And, and that in itself, it's just an incredible story. It's really one of the best examples of innovation and technology as an industry in the history of agriculture, and that's happening for corn in the US.” - Dean Podlich
Two farmers are also included in this episode. Illinois producer Heather Hampton-Knodle shares the economic concerns that are on the minds of many farmers. David Hula who farms in Virginia describes the importance of genetics on all of his acres, including his world record corn yield of 623.8439 bushels per acre with a hybrid from Corteva Agriscience.
“Our corn is handling the droughts much better. Part of it is management, but the corn themselves are doing better…The corn hybrids are clearly better from disease, standability, stay green, drought tolerance, and of course yield.” - David Hula
The episode explores historical advancements in crop genetics, emphasizing the significance of Henry Wallace's work with hybrids and Raymond Baker's contributions to germplasm. Today, scientists and farmers continue to build on their work with modern tools, including digital tools and gene editing, to enhance productivity and sustainability on farms.
Some takeaways from this episode include:
The combined history that has led to a 7x increase in productivity on the farm due to the combination of genetics and management componentsRaymond Baker’s work to take throwaway inbreds and turn them into the Iowa yield contest winners. The fact that the germ plasm from Raymond Baker have been evolved to the high yielding hybrids we benefit from today. This underscores the fact that innovation often leads to more and quicker future discoveries and improvements. Digital being an important part of the process to improve genetics and dating back at least to the 1950s. That long history of data enables scientists to take full advantage of modern tools like gene editing and artificial intelligence.Agriscience Explained is a podcast brought to you by Corteva Agriscience. Host Tim Hammerich visits with both scientists and farmers about how agricultural innovations are discovered, developed and deployed on the farm.
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In today’s episode: what can you expect from this new podcast? There are a lot of other great agricultural shows out there, so why this one and why now?
For these questions, we visit with Corteva Agriscience executive vice president and chief technical and digital officer Sam Eathington. His perspective as a family farmer turned plant breeder turned innovation leader shines through as he shares the motivation behind this podcast.
"Let's have conversations with scientists and farmers. So scientists who might be creating something and a farmer who's trying to use it. And I think that's going to bring a really unique perspective and I think create some unique conversations about the technology.” - Sam Eathington
Throughout this episode, Eathington highlights a number of topics that will be explored in future episodes of this podcast including gene editing, biologicals, hybrid wheat, crop protection, biofuels and others.
Some takeaways from this episode include:
There is some incredible cutting-edge science and technology that goes into farming that we will share on this podcast from both the scientist’s and the farmer’s perspectives. Gene editing is here and it’s changing the game. After all of the incredible advancements we’ve seen thanks to genetics, we are still just scratching the surface of what’s possible genetically in crop production. Innovation can help not only make farmers more productive, but more profitable. Sam’s provides an excellent example of this related to biofuels.Agriscience Explained is a podcast brought to you by Corteva Agriscience. Host Tim Hammerich visits with both scientists and farmers about how agricultural innovations are discovered, developed and deployed on the farm.
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This is the motivation behind this podcast series, Agriscience Explained, brought to you by Corteva Agriscience. Join us as we push the boundaries from science to solutions.
