Conjugation of hay
Alfalfa's formula for success: Science, technology và time
In an era of cell phones, same day grocery delivery and air travel, it’s no wonder we’ve grown accustomed lớn instant gratification. Well, most of us.
Bạn đang xem: Conjugation of hay
Stephen Temple, Director of Biotechnology at Forage Genetics International (FGI), is patient when it comes lớn seeing his work bear fruit. With an eye to the future, his outlook isn’t focused just on the next quarter or even next year, but rather the next 10 or 15 years. That’s how long it can take a scientist khổng lồ have his or her work thoroughly tested and approved by regulators & out in the market. This long-term vision is what drew Stephen to a career in science & technology -- và what drew him to lớn a career in agriculture at Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Choose your own adventure
Stephen will never forget the day when one of his mentors at the Rothamsted Research Station in the United Kingdom (UK) showed him around the research facility -- they were studying how agrobacteria was able to transfer DNA khổng lồ plant cells. “I was exposed to the cutting edge of giải pháp công nghệ in plant sciences. I could see the possibility và how it could impact agriculture -- I wanted to be a part of it,” says Stephen.
After completing his PhD, serving as a research fellow, working for Los Alamos national lab and New Mexico State University for 7 years, Stephen subsequently found himself running an alfalfa research lab at the University of Minnesota. It’s here where he was noticed by an up-and-coming company focused on the future of agriculture: Forage Genetics International (FGI), a subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc. In 1999, Stephen went to lớn West Salem, Wisconsin khổng lồ join the FGI team. At the time, it was a risky move. Plant biotechnology was still in its early days and didn’t have a road map, but Stephen knew that this meant he could do something significant. “Farming is a tough business. I knew the science I was passionate for could help farmers tackle some big challenges,” says Stephen.
Alfalfa
Pause for a moment lớn think about some iconic images of a farming community. Cows, corn fields, a tractor --and haystacks. Often, those haystacks are made up of dried alfalfa, a perennial crop plant high in protein. The protein makes it an important ingredient in livestock feed -- particularly for dairy cows. Decades ago, alfalfa growers had no choice but to use conventional breeding techniques to build those haystacks.
But, decades of research và development done by the West Salem team have brought two game changing commercial products khổng lồ the market for alfalfa growers:
Digestibility and flexibility: Lignin is a critical part of a plant cell’s genetic makeup -- helping make plants sturdy. However, it can also limit a cow’s ability lớn digest alfalfa, which can reduce the feeding chất lượng needed for milk production. HarvXtra® alfalfa, a forage biotechnology developed by a small team at West Salem, along with partnerships with USDA and The Noble Foundation, reduces the amount of lignin in the alfalfa plant while maintaining the plant’s structure and agronomic characteristics. High-quality forage can provides the opportunity for greater profit potential or increased forage utilization by the animal. Those benefits can make a huge difference in a farmer’s income. What’s more, HarvXtra alfalfa gives farmers flexibility lớn delay harvest if needed. “Before, when heavy rains came it would put the harvest at risk,” says Stephen. “HarvXtra alfalfa builds in flexibility of timing. Farmers don’t typically take vacations, but with HarvXtra alfalfa they could.”
So, thanks to modern ag technologies -- not to lớn mention the blood, sweat và tears of some talented scientists -- FGI has helped revolutionize alfalfa production. & now, the FGI team is taking HarvXtra alfalfa to international markets. Farmers in Canada and Argentina are (or will be soon) using the hàng hóa to compete in their local markets. Stephen: We’ve changed the industry, but we aren’t stopping there.
Xem thêm: Chương 4: Hiđrocacbon, Nhiên Liệu, Ôn Tập Hóa Học 9 Chương 4 Hiđrocacbon
Land O’Lakes member owners regularly visit the facility to lớn learn about FGI’s portfolio of products. “These are smart business people running multimillion dollar operations. Their success doesn’t happen by chance --it’s our purpose khổng lồ help them progress,” says Stephen.
And, the learning goes both ways. Stephen listens lớn the issues they are facing. Their visits keep the West Salem team close khổng lồ their primary customer: the farmers. This grounds the team’s day-to-day work in that critical long-term vision of advancing the forage industry. Stephen is particularly excited about two innovations on the long-term pipeline:
The power of the flower:When purple pops, it’s time khổng lồ harvest. “If we can delay the timing of when alfalfa flowers, a grower will see significant increases in biomass, which can lead lớn increased yields on less land.” Though a commercial product may not hit the market for a decade or more, this kind of innovative giải pháp công nghệ is needed on a planet trying khổng lồ feed more with less.
More protein on the scene: When cows digest alfalfa, a portion of the protein benefit is lost during digestion. “If you feed legumes containing condensed tannins khổng lồ cows, you see an increase in protein efficiency --the tannins bind khổng lồ the protein lớn increase protein use efficiency.” Knowing this has got scientists like Stephen searching for ways to lớn engineer alfalfa plants khổng lồ produce condensed tannins.
A united enterprise
Though FGI is a part of WinField United, Land O’Lakes’ crop inputs, insights and technology business, Stephen’s work crosses all of Land O’Lakes, Inc.’s diversified business areas. “Our primary customers are dairy producers, which include dairy members of the Land O’Lakes system,” says Stephen. “Their milk gets processed into Land O’Lakes dairy foods products, lượt thích the butter and cheese.” On the other side, FGI’s work in alfalfa also directly connects with Purina, the animal nutrition business. Stephen regularly consults with animal nutritionists khổng lồ understand how alfalfa can be optimally used to tư vấn a healthy animal diet.
The strength of this farm-to-fork enterprise model, rooted in cooperative values and a purpose of Feeding Human Progress™, is what gives Stephen the daily space and tư vấn to bring growers the innovation of tomorrow. After all, Feeding Human Progress doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, hard work, và a whole lot of science & technology.
