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| Business Briefs - Jan. 13, 2010 |
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Syngenta expands biotech R&D in China
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Syngenta held a groundbreaking ceremony last month for the permanent site of Syngenta Biotechnology (China) Co., Ltd. (SBC). SBC, the first foreign-invested biotech research institution in China, officially started operations in 2008 at a temporary location in the Zhongguancun Life Science Park in Beijing.
Syngenta has grown the facility to more than 70 employees and has committed an estimated total investment of over $100 million in the initial five years.
SBC is one of two global research facilities for Syngenta, both of which are supported by a number of additional research and development sites. SBC specializes in early research of agronomic traits for key crops such as corn and soybean and focuses on yield improvement, water optimization, disease control and biomass conversion for biofuel.
OmniSTAR, Meister win 2009 CEBA Award
WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — The creative effort for OmniSTAR’s Global Positioning System media campaign has been named by American Business Media as the winner of the association’s 2009 Creative Excellence in Business Advertising (CEBA) Award, in the category of Integrated Media Campaign with a budget under $100,000.
The awards were featured in a special advertising section in Adweek and Brandweek magazines. OmniSTAR’s integrated campaign included print ads in Meister Media’s PrecisionAg Special Reports and CropLife magazines, as well as a brochure and informational DVD that was used by the company as a lead generator and communications tool at trade shows and in sales presentations.
OmniSTAR is the U.S.-based arm of the Dutch geosciences firm Fugro. It sells subscription GPS services that allow farmers to plant crops and apply chemicals with greater accuracy that result in increased crop yields.
Rushville Air Evac Lifeteam base honored
RUSHVILLE, Ind. — The Rushville Air Evac Lifeteam base was awarded the 2009 Most Improved Base of the Year Oct. 3 at Air Evac Lifeteam’s annual awards banquet in West Plains, Mo. The base was chosen out of 88 bases throughout 14 states.
The Most Improved Base of the Year is presented to the base in the Lifeteam system that has shown the greatest marked improvements in staff retention and market expansion during the prior 12 months. The base is located at 109 E. Conrad Waycourt.
Air Evac Lifeteam is a membership-supported air ambulance company that provides emergency care and rapid medical transport to rural communities throughout the central United States. For more information, call 800-793-0010 or visit www.lifeteam.net
Ky. Food Innovation Center awarded grant
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, chaired by Gov. Steve Beshear, approved the University of Kentucky for $358,904 in state Agricultural Development Funds for the development of the Food Systems Innovation Center.
The goal of the Center is to become a sustainable entity that will provide a wide scope of research and development services. The Center will help Kentucky food processors create healthy, profitable and safe food products by providing nutritional analysis, consumer evaluations, microbiological consultation and other processes to better enable farm-based food producers access to markets.
This project was one of 11 proposals approved at the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board’s October business meeting.
Agribusinesses support FS4JK efforts
URBANDALE, Iowa — Two agribusinesses recently made donations to Farm Safety 4 Just Kids (FS4JK). Their continued contribution will support the organization’s efforts to keep kids safe and healthy by strengthening and expanding FS4JK’s network of volunteers.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) funds will support FS4JK’s Outreach Coordinators in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri. The coordinators conduct safety programs for youth and their families in or near communities where ADM plants are located.
And the Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Co., recently funded a $14,000 grant.
FS4JK relies on corporate funding from businesses like these to develop up-to-date farm safety and health resources in addition to sustaining the grassroots volunteer program. Since 1987, FS4JK has grown to include a network of more than 131 volunteer chapters throughout the United States and Canada.
DuPont, Dow cross license soybean traits
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — DuPont and Dow AgroSciences announced they have entered into a commercial cross-licensing agreement that will enable the two companies to deliver expanded herbicide-tolerant soybean options to farmers in the next decade.
Dow is licensing non-exclusively its proprietary herbicide tolerant trait technology for soybeans to DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred. Pioneer is licensing non-exclusively its proprietary Optimum GAT trait for soybeans to Dow. Both companies have given the other rights to stack additional traits with their respective technology. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Dow expects to submit herbicide-tolerant trait technology data to U.S. regulatory agencies this year and anticipates
commercialization early in the next decade pending regulatory authorizations. When stacked together, the Optimum GAT trait from Pioneer and the new herbicide-tolerant trait technology being developed by Dow would produce soybeans that are tolerant to 2,4-D, glyphosate and ALS herbicides. |
| 1/13/2010 |
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