Increase in crop losses to insect pests in a warming climate

This article was originally published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Below is an abstract for the article and a full link is provided below.

Insect pests substantially reduce yields of three staple grains—rice, maize, and wheat—but models assessing the agricultural impacts of global warming rarely consider crop losses to insects. We use established relationships between temperature and the population growth and metabolic rates of insects to estimate how and where climate warming will augment losses of rice, maize, and wheat to insects. Global yield losses of these grains are projected to increase by 10 to 25% per degree of global mean surface warming. Crop losses will be most acute in areas where warming increases both population growth and metabolic rates of insects. These conditions are centered primarily in temperate regions, where most grain is produced.

Read more by clicking here. 

 

WSSA Advocates for Weed Controls That Protect Soybean Export Value

This Press Release was originally posted by the Weed Science Society of America. The original post can be found on their website here. 

For Immediate Release WSSA Advocates for Weed Controls That Protect Soybean Export Value WESTMINSTER, Colorado – August 27, 2018 – Experts from the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) will attend the 2018 Farm Progress show in Boone, Iowa, this week to highlight system-wide strategies for protecting soybean export values by reducing weed seeds in harvested soybean crops.

The U.S. is a major exporter of soybean, which represents more than half of the nation’s $39 billion in annual grain exports. When weed seeds are detected in exported crops, the importing country may impose additional inspections or treatments, or may reject or destroy the shipment. Recurring violations can lead authorities to suspend exports from a given region or to close their import markets entirely.

“Herbicide-resistant weeds have led to a rise in the number of weed seeds finding their way into harvested crops,” says Lee Van Wychen, Ph.D., executive director of science policy for WSSA. “We need a proactive, system-wide strategy to reverse this trend and protect economically important foreign markets.”

WSSA representatives attending the Farm Progress show will promote a system-wide approach developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to reduce weed seeds in harvested soybean crops. WSSA is among nearly two dozen public agencies, scientific societies, industry organizations, grower groups and trade associations to endorse APHIS’ recommendations, which span weed control during planting, harvesting, storage, handling and transport.

Examples include:

 Regularly vary management practices to eliminate weeds, avoid development of resistant weeds and discourage the buildup of any one weed type.

 Use herbicide mixtures with multiple sites of action, including a combination of pre- and post-emergence herbicides with residual control.

 Rotate crops to lower weed densities, increase crop yields and improve soil quality.  Plant with narrow spacing between rows to allow plants to form a closed canopy and out-compete weeds for sun and water.

 Remove late-season weeds that have escaped.

 Adjust combine settings to remove weed seeds.

 Regularly clean storage bins, augers and legs, transport vehicles and farm equipment to prevent weed spread and cross-crop contamination.

The full list of recommended best practices is available for download at the USDA APHIS website.

During the Farm Progress event, WSSA experts will be available at the USDA Farm Service Agency booth (#817, Northeast Exhibit Field) to address grower questions and concerns about on-farm weed management practices.

About the Weed Science Society of America

The Weed Science Society of America, a nonprofit scientific society, was founded in 1956 to encourage and promote the development of knowledge concerning weeds and their impact on the environment. The Society promotes research, education and extension outreach activities related to weeds, provides science-based information to the public and policy makers, fosters awareness of weeds and their impact on managed and natural ecosystems, and promotes cooperation among weed science organizations across the nation and around the world. For more information, visit www.wssa.net.

Press Contact:

Lee Van Wychen
Executive Director of Science Policy, National & Regional Weed Science Societies
Lee.VanWychen@wssa.net
202-746-4686

Discovery of nitrogen fixation in corn announced

This article was originally published by Eric Hamilton of Michigan Farm News. The following is an excerpt from the article. A full link is provided at the bottom. 

A discovery 10 years ago that seemed too good to be true required eight years of public-private collaboration of researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of California, Davis, and Mars Inc., before they were confident to publicly share their findings.

The news could eventually be a game-changer for corn-producers worldwide, with reduced production costs while also addressing environmental challenges. Researchers say further research is required to determine if the trait can be bred into commercial cultivars of corn, the world’s most productive cereal crop.

Read the full article here. 

BASF closes its acquisition of vegetable seeds business from Bayer

This article was originally posted by BASF. A link to the full article is below.

On Aug. 16, BASF closed the acquisition of Bayer’s global vegetable seeds business, mainly operating under the brand Nunhems®.

The transaction adds a well-recognized brand with a very successful business track record to BASF’s portfolio.

The acquired vegetable seeds business comprises 24 crops and about 2,600 varieties. It also includes well-established, strong R&D and breeding systems with more than 100 unique breeding programs in more than 15 crops.

Click here to read the full article

Beck’s Hybrids calls on EPA to restrict dicamba use to pre-plant only

This article was originally published by Farm Media News. 

Indiana-based Beck’s Hybrids, which claims to the fourth-largest soybean seed seller in the United States, marketing soybeans in 11 Midwestern states representing 60 percent of the total soybean acreage in the U.S., has weighed in on the highly-controversial dicamba drift issue.

In a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Richard Keigwin, Director, Office of Pesticide programs, Becks Chief Executive Officer, L. Sonny Beck called on EPA to modify the label for XtendiMax®, Fexip an®, and Engenia® to restrict dicamba in its current formulations to pre-plant only.

Read the full article here.

NPSEC News – August 23rd, 2018


 

NPSEC News – August 23rd, 2018

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE 2018 NPACSE WORKSHOP!

We had a wonderful few days in San Antonio with all of you at the 2018 National Pesticide Applicator Certification & Safety Education Workshop. It was an event filled with informative presentations, wonderful people, and a great place to kick off our Collaboration Teams.

If you’d like to access the powerpoint presentations from the workshop, just click here. For future reference, the slides will be available on npsec.us – navigate to Resources in the menu bar – then click on Helpful Links.

There are still a couple of presentations that were updated last minute, but we will upload those as soon as they are available. 

Shop the NPSEC Store

The NPSEC Store is a good place to find EPA-approved materials with expanded 2015 WPS content. This is where you can order NPSEC, PERC, WPS, and state-specific products. For PERC products, PSEPs get a 5% discount if they purchase the products using the code we mailed you at checkout. We track all PERC sales by state and send 5% of all net sales in a particular state or territory back to the PSEP as a gift.

\

 

NPSEC News – August 14th, 2018


 

More information about the National Pesticide Applicator Certification & Safety Education Workshop and Collaboration Teams

Monday 4:00 – 4:50

Training Potluck Selected Dishes to Share
(something new that could be shared, strategy or resources)
 
Modeled after the tradition of the popular AAPSE Lightning Round presentations at former national meetings, we have 10 spots for presentations of new educational materials, resources, or delivery methods.

Click here for the word document for more details. There may be more than 10 spots depending on length of participants presentations. 

Contact Kerry Richards krichards@npsec.us or Courtney Weatherbee cweatherbee@npsec.us
 
Wednesday 8:00 am – 8:30 am
 
Collaboration Team – Session Leaders
 
During Wednesday morning’s session we will have allocated time to establish five Collaboration Teams: 

  1. Respirators
  2. Pollinator Protection
  3. IPM/Pesticide Safety Communication
  4. Dicamba
  5. Certification and Training  Rule Implementation

 
The purpose of Collaboration Teams is outlined below. Talking points and guidance will be provided for the Collaboration Team Session Leader to:

  • Provide the team with an overview of the role of Collaboration Teams and their members
  • Keep the conversation on track and moving forward 
  • Identify appropriate information to meet the team’s goals
  • Make sure session information is captured, and summarized to provide guidance for future activities.
  • There will be a Basecamp folder link to upload session information
  • Establish next steps and potential future virtual meeting opportunities

 
Goals of Collaboration Teams:

Collaboration Teams are groups of individuals (PSEP/SLA/Industry) that have a shared interest and will focus their efforts on a specific pesticide related issue. The primary goals of a Collaboration Team are to: 
 
• Identify existing resources 
• Identify resources in development 
• Identify gaps in available resources 
• List potential resources for development 
• Prioritize resource development 
• Develop an Action Plan for creation of needed resources 
• Peer Review materials
 
Collaboration Team – Upload Resources to Share
 
As indicated above, one of the primary purposes of Collaboration Teams is to identify existing resources and resources that are in development. If you have any resources you would like to share relevant to any of the subject areas for the Collaboration Teams in San Antonio, feel free to upload them to the corresponding Basecamp folders as per the directions below, or bring your electronic files to San Antonio for us to upload.
 
These materials will initially only be shared with those people participating as members of the Collaboration Team.
 
To upload information to a Basecamp Collaboration Team Folder:
 
1. Click here. 

2. Sign in or create and account
 
3. In the Docs and Files section, click on the corresponding Collaboration Folder
 
4. Once you are in that folder select the appropriate sub folder:

  • Existing Resources
  • Potential Projects

5. Click on the New Button in the top left corner 
6. Click on upload Upload file, locate the file and follow the prompts

 

BASF acquires Bayer Assets

This article was originally published by Vegetable Growers News. A link to the article is placed below.

BASF has closed the acquisition of a range of businesses and assets from Bayer. The transaction is a strategic complement to BASF’s crop protection, biotech and digital farming activities and marks its entry into seeds, non-selective herbicides and nematicide seed treatments. “This strategic move adds excellent assets to our strong agricultural solutions portfolio and enhances our innovation potential. Overall, it ensures an even more comprehensive and attractive offering to our customers,” said Dr. Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and Chief Technology Officer of BASF SE.

Read the full article from Vegetable Growers News here. 

 

Breaking News: Court orders EPA to Remove Chlorpyrifos from Sale in the U.S.

This article was originally published by Micheal Biesecker of the Associated Press. 

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration endangered public health by keeping a widely used pesticide on the market despite extensive scientific evidence that even tiny levels of exposure can harm babies’ brains.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to remove chlorpyrifos from sale in the United States within 60 days.

Read more of the Article here from the Associated Press.

Display Tables Now Available for NPACSE Workshop

NPSEC is pleased to announce the opportunity for attendees or interested business organizations to display at the 2018 National Pesticide Applicator Certification & Safety Education Workshop in San Antonio, August 20-22, 2018. Any attendee/organization that has registered for the Workshop can reserve a display table to showcase their work, services and products during the full duration of the Workshop. 6’ display tables will be located in the main Workshop ballroom and can be reserved for a cost of $500.00.

Please visit the NPACSE Workshop Registration page to register a display table by clicking here.