Thursday January 5 Ag News

Nebraska Corn Board Joins Field to Market

The Nebraska Corn Board has joined Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture. The organization is a leading multi-stakeholder initiative that is working to unite the agricultural supply chain in defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production in the United States.

Representing all facets of the U.S. agricultural supply chain, Field to Market provides an unparalleled platform that helps the food and agricultural supply chain benchmark sustainability performance, catalyze continuous improvement and enable supply chain sustainability claims.

“Joining Field to Market as a member gives us as corn farmers a seat at the table when it comes to discussions around sustainability,” said Brandon Hunnicutt, a farmer from Giltner and a director on the Nebraska Corn Board. “Whether or not we use the term “sustainable”, farmers are continuously looking to improve how they produce crops in ways that are both economical and conserve the natural resources that we rely on.”

Field to Market engages in broad communication and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure a coordinated, outcomes-based approach to sustainable agriculture that is grounded in science. By providing useful measurement tools and resources, Field to Market helps growers and the supply chain track and promote continuous improvement at the field and landscape levels.

As an active member in Field to Market, the Nebraska Corn Board will work together with grower organizations, academia, conservation groups, public sector partners and leading companies to help to catalyze opportunities for continuous improvement in productivity, environmental quality and human well-being across the agricultural value chain.

In support of Field to Market’s vision to catalyze continuous improvement in commodity crop production, the Nebraska Corn Board is partnering with Nebraska Extension to hold a series of free workshops that will introduce producers to Field to Market’s Fieldprint Calculator tool. Using producer data on farming practices and production, this tool quantifies several environmental metrics that may impact the profitability of a field, while also allowing producers to confidentially compare their field to national, state, and local averages for these metrics.

“Producers are looking for tools to help them expose areas of potential inefficiencies in their current production practices,” said Boone McAfee, Nebraska Corn Board’s director of research. “We strongly encourage producer attendance at these workshops to learn how the Fieldprint Calculator can be used to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and sustainability on their farms.”

For more information on these workshops, visit www.cropwatch.unl.edu. For more information on Field to Market, visit www.fieldtomarket.org.



2017 NEBRASKA LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES
www.NebraskaLegislature.gov

Agriculture (8)
Rm. 2102 - Tuesday
Brasch (C), Albrecht, Blood, Chambers, Halloran, Harr, Krist, Lowe

Appropriations (9)
Rm. 1524 - Monday & Tuesday
Rm. 1003 - Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday
Stinner (C), Bolz, Hilkemann, Kintner, Kuehn, McDonnell, Vargas, Watermeier, Wishart

Education (8)
Rm. 1525 - Monday & Tuesday
Groene (C), Ebke, Erdman, Kolowski, Linehan, Morfeld, Pansing Brooks, Walz

Natural Resources (8)
Rm. 1525 - Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday
Hughes (C), Albrecht, Bostelman, Geist, Kolowski, McCollister, Quick, Walz

Revenue (8)
Rm. 1524 - Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday
Smith (C), Brasch, Friesen, Groene, Harr, Larson, Lindstrom, Schumacher

Transportation and Telecommunications (8)
Rm. 1113 - Monday & Tuesday
Friesen (C), Bostelman, Briese, Geist, Hilgers, Hughes, Murante, Smith



Midwest Cover Crops Council to Discuss Making Cover Crops Work

A pair of Iowa State University professors will represent the state at the 2017 Midwest Cover Crops Council Conference. The conference will be held in Grand Rapids, Mich. on March 15.

This year’s conference is titled "Making Cover Crops Work – Experiences from the Field" and will feature concurrent sessions on cover crop use in field crops, vegetable crops and grazing.

Andrew Lenssen, professor of agronomy at Iowa State, will represent Iowa during the conference’s business meetings. Ajay Nair, assistant professor of horticulture and extension vegetable production specialist, will present during the conference on cover crops and conservation tillage systems in organic broccoli, peppers and squash.

Iowa State is a founding member of the Midwest Cover Crops Council.

“Cover crops can improve and protect soil health,” Lenssen said. “They also recycle nutrients, which can help improve water quality. Cover crops alone won’t eliminate nitrate in water supplies, but they can decrease nitrate losses in tile drainage by 30-50 percent in Iowa.”

A goal of the council is to increase the amount of cover crops used by farmers.

“Last year Iowa had less than 2 percent of its 24 million acres of row crops planted to cover crops after harvest,” Lenssen said. “Cover crops can also tremendously decrease erosion, which is a long-term threat to the productivity of our soils.”

Registration is available online for the conference. Registration is $85 until Jan. 31, when it jumps to $100. Graduate student registration is $50 until Jan. 31 and $60 after that date. Registration will remain open until March 1.

Visitors to the MCCC website will find it has been newly updated. The new website design allows for users to find resources and access the site on mobile technology more easily.

The website also includes the MCCC Cover Crop Calculator, which allows users to determine the best cover crop to be used in their farm operation. The calculator provides information on species adaptation down to the county level for each state within the MCCC.



Weekly Ethanol Production is Higher

According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production averaged an unprecedented 1.043 million barrels per day (b/d)—or 43.81 million gallons daily. That is up 15,000 b/d from the week before and a record high to end a banner year for ethanol production. Weekly production averaged more than 1 million b/d for ten straight weeks to finish the year. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at a record 1.037 million b/d for an annualized rate of 15.90 billion gallons.

Stocks of ethanol remained unchanged at 18.7 million barrels.

Imports of ethanol were nonexistent for the 19th straight week.

Gasoline demand during the holiday week averaged 355.5 million gallons (8.465 million barrels) daily, the lowest since the week ended 1/29/2016. Refiner/blender input of ethanol averaged 845,000 b/d, a 48-week low.

Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production was 12.32%–a new record high.



USGC Education Mission Focuses on Growing Ireland and Israel Markets

Grain trade experts from the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) visited Ireland and Israel late last year to meet with customers in those markets, which have become increasingly important if non-traditional importers of U.S. corn and co-products.

Ireland has imported 95,000 metric tons (3.7 million bushels) of U.S. corn in the first three months of this marketing year, which is nearly half the amount it imported the prior marketing year, 170,000 metric tons (6.7 million bushels). Israel imported 386,000 metric tons (15 million bushels) of U.S. corn in the last marketing year.

Both countries also imported significant quantities of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and corn gluten feed, with Ireland importing 460,000 metric tons and Israel importing 327,000 metric tons of the two products combined.

All told, these two countries imported 1.34 million metric tons of corn and corn co-products from the United States since January 2016, and buyers in both countries see potential for increasing their purchases from the United States given the competitive pricing of corn and DDGS against other exporters. 

Alvaro Cordero, USGC manager of global trade, and Dr. Alvaro Garcia from South Dakota State University visited feed grain importers in both countries to highlight buying opportunities.

“The Israeli buyers are very savvy price buyers, however they admitted that they are missing out on significant price opportunities to buy larger vessels out of the U.S. right now,” Cordero said.

Cordero provided importers with information on freight rates spreads, which are currently very narrow, and encouraged importers to be more aggressive in their purchases of U.S. products in the coming months in order to take advantage of this buying opportunity.

Ireland has significant import opportunities also in both the poultry and ruminant sectors.

“Buyers in both countries are underutilizing U.S. DDGS, and trips like this once again highlight the importance of buyer education programs,” Cordero said.



2016 Annual Report Focuses on Strategic Approach, Efforts to Sustainably Grow Demand

NCGA's annual report for the 2016 fiscal year is now available online.  A printed copy of the report, which highlights the association's achievements over the previous year and features current financial information, will also be sent to all active members.

Click here to view the full report.... http://www.ncga.com/upload/files/documents/pdf/Yearly%20Reports/NCGA_2016-Annual-Rpt_Fnl.pdf?utm_source=NOTD+1-5-17&utm_campaign=News+of+the+Day+Nov.+17&utm_medium=email. 

"As the saying goes, change is the one thing we can count on," said NCGA Chairman Chip Bowling, a grower from Maryland.  "Certainly, we've seen a lot of change in the last few years in terms of technology, production, pricing, sustainability, consumer expectations and market demand. This is why over the last two years we've worked diligently to examine every facet of your national membership organization to ensure we are in a position to continue to propel the corn industry forward to create a plan that matches our vision: Sustainably feed and fuel a growing world.

Themed "Focused on Sustainable Demand," the 2016 report spotlights efforts made by NCGA throughout the year to reach long-term, strategic goals to improve the future of the industry by increasing demand. Including perspective from grower leaders, information about the activities of NCGA's action teams and committees and updates on its major image programs, the report provides a comprehensive resource for anyone looking to delve further into what NCGA does on behalf of our nation's farmers.



Nomination Period Now Open For the 6th Annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy®, established under the leadership of dairy farmers, is accepting nominations for the sixth annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards honoring exceptional dairy farms, businesses and partnerships for their socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound practices.

"Communities – urban and rural – benefit from the individual and collective efforts of dairy farmers and dairy companies that work to advance sustainability," said Barbara O'Brien, president of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. "We are excited to collect and share success stories that exemplify this commitment, and we continue to depend on people to nominate themselves, their business partners and their neighbors."

Nominations are open through March 3, 2017. All segments along the U.S. dairy value chain and those who promote dairy-related health and wellness are eligible to submit nominations in the following categories:

-    Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability: Recognizes three farms that serve as examples of socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound dairy production. Successful nominees take a holistic approach to sustainability and provide replicable results that can inspire greater industrywide change.

-    Outstanding Dairy Processing & Manufacturing Sustainability: Recognizes dairy processors and manufacturers whose businesses exemplify the triple bottom line of sustainability. Successful nominees have demonstrated both measurable progress and corporate commitment.

-    Outstanding Achievement in Resource Stewardship: Recognizes dairy operations (both on and off the farm) that have measurable success in managing their resources with optimal efficiency and quality. Successful nominees have implemented efficiencies or innovations in areas such as energy, water and soil conservation, manure and waste management and/or renewable energy generation.

-    Outstanding Achievement in Community Partnerships: Recognizes collaborations (both on and off the farm) that improve lives and communities by making positive impacts on health and wellness, hunger relief, workforce development and/or environmental stewardship. Successful nominees will demonstrate instances in which organizations collaborate with other stakeholders in their community to develop practical and effective solutions for shared challenges and goals.

Winner Benefits
The U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards have honored 39 businesses in the past five years. Help us celebrate others who make sustainability a reality every day. The 2017 winners will receive:
-    An expense-paid trip to Chicago in June 2017 to the awards ceremony and dairy sustainability events
-    National and local recognition of their stories and passion for sustainability
-    A featured case study on USDairy.com/Sustainability to share insights and lessons learned with industry peers
-    Opportunities to work with others in the dairy community to help advance sustainability

Program Details
The awards are part of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy's commitment to Americans to ensure a socially responsible and ever-improving dairy community.

An independent panel of judges evaluates all nominations based on measurable results and the potential for other dairy farms and businesses to adopt the practices. Nominations are also evaluated for demonstrated learning, innovation and improvement as well as scalability. Judges and sponsors will be announced soon.

Visit USDairy.com to submit your nomination by March 3, 2017. There is no fee to enter. Winners will be announced in June 2017.



USDA Dairy Products November 2016 Production Highlights

Total cheese output (excluding cottage cheese) was 1.01 billion pounds, 2.7 percent above November 2015 but 2.6 percent below October 2016.  Italian type cheese production totaled 436 million pounds, 2.6 percent above November 2015 but 2.3 percent below October 2016.  American type cheese production totaled 395 million pounds, 3.9 percent above November 2015 but 1.0 percent below October 2016.  Butter production was 144 million pounds, 5.7 percent below November 2015 but 1.5 percent above October 2016.

Dry milk powders (comparisons with November 2015)
Nonfat dry milk, human - 127 million pounds, down 0.9 percent.
Skim milk powders - 48.1 million pounds, up 7.0 percent.

Whey products (comparisons with November 2015)
Dry whey, total - 73.5 million pounds, down 6.9 percent.
Lactose, human and animal - 87.2 million pounds, up 5.7 percent.
Whey protein concentrate, total - 37.6 million pounds, down 8.9 percent.

Frozen products (comparisons with November 2015)
Ice cream, regular (hard) - 52.0 million gallons, down 5.3 percent.
Ice cream, lowfat (total) - 27.8 million gallons, up 3.6 percent.
Sherbet (hard) - 1.97 million gallons, down 22.1 percent.
Frozen yogurt (total) - 4.56 million gallons, up 1.5 percent.



Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim confirm Closing of business swap on January 1st 2017

Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim confirmed today that the strategic transaction signed in June 2016, which consists of an exchange of Sanofi’s animal health business (Merial) and Boehringer Ingelheim’s consumer healthcare (CHC) business, has been successfully closed in most markets on January 1st 2017.  This closing marks the successful outcome of the business swap which started with exclusive negotiations in December 2015. The closing of the acquisition of Merial in Mexico and the Merial and CHC swap in India have been delayed pending receipt of certain regulatory approvals but both are expected to close early 2017.

The Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim, Hubertus von Baumbach, said: “This important achievement is the result of a mutually beneficial agreement implemented in the spirit of a shared vision. Driven by the desire to serve the needs of our customer, and enabled by value of our innovative product portfolio, the combined strength of the two organizations will improve Boehringer Ingelheim’s competitiveness in the Animal Health business segment that is so strategically important to our company. We are delighted to welcome the employees of Merial to our team.”

Olivier Brandicourt, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi, stated: “With this successful closing of the business swap with Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi is building a strong and innovative CHC Global Business Unit. The integration of Boehringer Ingelheim’s highly skilled CHC team and its well established products, allows Sanofi to enhance our positions in core strategic categories in a promising CHC market. Indeed this market serves the growing expectations of consumers to be more in control of their own health and wellness.”

Over the last months, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim have diligently prepared for the integration of the businesses and employees as of the first day under new ownership. In the interest of all customers and to ensure uninterrupted business continuity, it is both companies’ priority to achieve a smooth integration of the transferred businesses.

Alan Main, Executive Vice President Consumer Healthcare and member of Sanofi’s Executive Committee, will ensure Sanofi’s CHC business including the former Boehringer Ingelheim CHC brands will continue on its growth path. The Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health business unit will be headed by Dr. Joachim Hasenmaier who will remain as Member of the Boehringer Ingelheim Board of Managing Directors.



SA Seed Sales Boost Monsanto Profits

Monsanto Co., in the middle of being bought by Bayer AG, said it returned to profitability in its latest quarter, helped by strength in South America.

In the first quarter, which ended in November, revenue from seeds and genomics, Monsanto's biggest business, surged 32% to $1.85 billion. The company said it remained on track with its expansion of Intacta RR2 Pro soybeans in South America, expecting to reach a target of 45 to 55 million acres in its current year.

The company has sought to increase penetration of soybean technologies and improve soybean costs to drive growth in the seeds and genomics segment. Growth in the segment during the quarter was also helped by a more than 25% increase in planted corn acres in Argentina and more than a 10% increase in corn acres planted in Brazil. Sales in Monsanto's agricultural productivity segment, meanwhile, slid 2.2% to $802 million.

Bayer started courting Monsanto in May and in September Monsanto agreed to sell itself in a $57 billion deal, which would pivot Bayer heavily toward agriculture in a long-range bet on high-tech crops to sustain a growing global population.

Executives from the companies believe combining Monsanto's prowess in engineering seeds with Bayer's much broader pesticide portfolio will bolster their research and development operations, benefiting farmers and adding jobs with increased resources over time.

The deal, which would rank as the largest-ever takeover of a U.S. company by a German firm, is moving toward regulatory reviews in the U.S. The election of Donald Trump as president has raised questions around large-scale merger deals and foreign investment in U.S. companies. Monsanto said Thursday it still expects the transaction to close by the end of 2017.

Monsanto reported net income of $29 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a year-prior's net loss of $253 million, or 56 cents a share.



The BioAg Alliance advances new microbial solutions for agriculture

The BioAg Alliance, Monsanto’s and Novozymes’ collaboration to improve crop harvests through products containing naturally-occurring microbes, today announced results from its 2016 field trial program and shared an updated research pipeline. Yield increases among top microbial strains averaged over 3 bushels per acre for corn and over 2 bushels per acre for soy.

Among the pipeline highlights is the Corn BioYield 2 project, which builds upon the recently-launched Acceleron®  B-300 SAT. Field trial results in 2016 showed Corn BioYield 2 project strains – combined with Acceleron B-300 SAT - increasing corn yields by up to an average of 5 bushels per acre over a base Acceleron seed treatment. A Corn BioYield 2 product is expected to launch in 2019. In earlier stages of development are other yield-increasing products for corn and soy, and a microbial product that can protect soy plants against nematodes. The Alliance also announced that it will start developing new products for wheat, the third crop in its pipeline.

The BioAg Alliance will introduce two new products in 2017. Acceleron B-300 SAT is a corn inoculant based on a fungus found in soil. The fungus grows along the roots of corn plants and increases nutrient uptake to the plants. Acceleron® B-200 SAT stimulates the growth of beneficial microbes in the soil to improve nutritional uptake of soy plants, which can lead to improved soy plant health.

“We have great new products on the market that will help farmers produce more crops in a sustainable way,” said Colin Bletsky, Novozymes’ Vice President for BioAg. “We continue to increase our understanding of how plants and microbes interact and this is reflected in our strong pipeline. It will help propel biological solutions from agricultural niche to industry mainstream over the coming decade.”

“This year’s field trial results are especially encouraging given the backdrop of overall record crop yields in 2016,” said Juan Ferreira, Vice President of Monsanto’s Vegetable Seeds, Seed Applied Solutions and Crop Protection businesses. “Our field testing program remains the largest, most extensive and integrated compared to others in the industry. We are automating our data collection and integrating our field testing network, and with each season of field trials, we are getting even better at evaluating microbe and environment interactions to understand and optimize precise product placement.”

BioAg Alliance biological products are derived from naturally-occurring microbes such as bacteria and fungi. The Alliance markets BioYield products, which help plants with nutrient uptake, and BioControl products, which help protect plants against pests and diseases. The products can be applied to seeds before planting, to soil in-furrow, or to growing crops. They can be used by farmers that grow broad-acre crops such as corn and soy, and on fruits and vegetables. Microbial products can increase crop yields and complement or replace agricultural chemicals and fertilizers, while helping farmers reduce the amount of CO2 produced from their land.

BioAg Alliance products are currently used on more than 80 million acres of farm land, primarily in North and South America. The Alliance envisions that BioAg products will be used on 250-500 million acres globally by 2025.

The 2016 field trial results were announced as part of Monsanto’s annual pipeline update. For more information, go to www.monsanto.com/pipeline.

Pipeline highlights
    Acceleron® B-200 SAT enhances soy plants’ nutritional uptake. The product existed in Novozymes’ portfolio before the formation of The BioAg Alliance, but is now being applied as part of Monsanto’s Acceleron product line. Acceleron B-200 SAT is available in 2017.
    
    Acceleron B-300 SAT is the world’s first upstream corn inoculant. It increases plants’ ability to take up nutrients and is an improved formulation of the JumpStart® inoculant (Penicillium bilaiae), a product that existed in Novozymes' pipeline before the formation of The BioAg Alliance. Acceleron B-300 SAT has been shown to increase yields by an average of more than 3 bushels per acre and is available in 2017. Read more here.
    
    The Corn BioYield 2 project combines Acceleron B-300 SAT with the signal molecule LCO (lipo-chitooligosaccharide) to enhance natural growth processes such as root and shoot development and improve nutrient uptake. Corn BioYield 2 strains have delivered up to an average of 5 bushels per acre yield increase in 2016 field trials. Estimated launch: 2019.
    
    The Corn BioYield 3 project – The BioAg Alliance is testing multiple microbial strains for a new corn inoculant. The leading strains have shown to increase yields by more than 3 bushels per acre. Corn BioYield 3 is anticipated to be the first product invented and developed from discovery to launch through The BioAg Alliance.
    
    The Soy BioNematicide project is expected to provide an additional tool for growers to control nematodes, microscopic parasitic worms that damage plants. This microbial product is expected to show activity against different nematodes, including soybean cyst nematode. The Alliance will continue field tests to confirm efficacy in combination with a range of other chemical and biological seed treatments.



Syngenta warns: Palmer amaranth top of weed watch list yet again

Syngenta agronomists warn that last year’s most notorious weed, Palmer amaranth, will continue to hold its place as the No. 1 weed to monitor in 2017. Not only has the weed continued to spread northward to new states, it also is now showing resistance to multiple herbicide modes of action.

Palmer amaranth has earned its title as one of the most threatening weeds because it has shown the ability to reduce soybean yield by up to 79 percent and reduce corn yield up to 91 percent. Found for the first time in Minnesota this fall, Palmer amaranth hasn’t spread to North Dakota yet, and researchers with the North Dakota State University Extension urge landowners to keep it that way. This comes a year after South Dakota reported its first detection of Palmer amaranth in 2015.

The weed’s spread is accelerated by its ability to produce nearly half a million seeds that are relatively small and travel easily, according to Purdue University Extension.

“Palmer amaranth is quickly moving across a larger geography than we’ve seen with any other resistant weed. The movement is occurring through equipment, feed, seed and even waterfowl,” said Kevin Bradley, associate professor at the University of Missouri.

States are now also reporting the first confirmed cases of multi-herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth. This October, the University of Missouri identified a population of Palmer amaranth with resistance to both glyphosate and PPO-inhibitors. The more a mode of action is applied, the more easily Palmer amaranth adapts before quickly spreading herbicide-resistant genes. The combination of its ability to develop resistance, its aggressive and competitive growth, and its extended emergence period makes Palmer amaranth especially difficult to control.

“You’ve got to have a certain amount of fear to attack resistant weeds. I had to see up close and personal the damage that Palmer amaranth can do,” said Tim Hambrick, agriculture extension and NC Cooperative Extension agent. “That was a turning point for me in understanding the damage resistant weeds can cause and the time and effort needed to fix those fields over several years.”

To avoid spreading Palmer amaranth to nearby fields and other states, growers can regularly mow ditches, waterways and field borders; they should also meticulously clean machinery such as combines.

To prevent or delay resistant Palmer amaranth in fields, growers can adopt an integrated weed management program that includes both a comprehensive herbicide portfolio and complementary cultural practices such as crop rotation.

“Diversity is the key in trying to maintain the sustainability of the herbicides we have available, so they remain effective for the future,” said Don Porter, Syngenta herbicide technical lead. “We must be good stewards of the chemistries and learn from our experiences – and mistakes – over the past 20-plus years.”

Syngenta offers growers an effective weed control program in soybeans that starts with BroadAxe® XC or Boundary® 6.5 EC herbicides for pre-emergence weed control of Palmer amaranth with long-lasting residual.

“When resistant Palmer amaranth came along, we started using Boundary herbicide as a pre-emergence herbicide and have been doing so for the last three years because of its really good Palmer amaranth and annual grass control,” said Trey Koger, a grower in Belzoni, Mississippi.

“Boundary helps us go into the season clean, and Flexstar® GT 3.5 herbicide helps us control the grass and broadleaf weed species,” Koger added.

In corn, Syngenta has helped manage resistance threats with premix products like Acuron® and Acuron® Flexi herbicides, which contain multiple, effective modes of action.

“We want to stay ahead of Palmer amaranth, knowing that we already have other pigweed species we’re struggling with,” said Paul McGuire, a grower in Urbana, Ohio.

“We decided to try Acuron this year because we wanted a product with longer-lasting residual control. With Acuron, we were able to start clean ahead of planting and then depend on its strong residual to keep even our toughest acres clean.”



Syngenta Selects NRGene Tech to Accelerate Crop Breeding

Syngenta, a leading global agrochemical and seed company, has chosen NRGene's GenoMAGICTM cloud-based software package for more comprehensive evaluations to accelerate trait discovery and breeding across diverse crops. NRGene is the leading genomic big data company.

“We were very pleased with our preliminary evaluations and are taking a more thorough look at the potential of GenoMAGIC in our research and development,” says Joseph Clarke, Principal Research Scientist, Syngenta. “The genetic diversity management strategies behind GenoMAGIC are a step above conventional means and enable clear value gains for downstream analytics, directly impacting cost and timeline models.”

The GenoMAGIC software analyzes unlimited volumes of genomic data, identifying broad sequence polymorphisms and haplotypes. This enables scientists and breeders to easily relate genomic sequences with beneficial traits, making genomic selection and trait mapping much more productive. Data use is accelerated, making breeding both faster and more cost effective. GenoMAGIC is being licensed non-exclusively to organizations involved in genetic research and breeding.

Syngenta continuously evaluates, develops and adopts cutting-edge technologies, like GenoMagic, to ensure the most relevant information is being used the right way to produce better performing seeds more cost effectively.

The Syngenta-NRGene two-year relationship has resulted in denovo assembly of multiple genomes across several crop species and creation of pangenomes that show strong potential to add value in breeding and genetic research. During 2016, Syngenta tested GenoMAGICTM by incorporating its own genetic diversity and field data to evaluate the benefits gained by GenoMAGIC analysis.  Moving forward, the sophisticated genome management and data mining process behind GenoMagic will be evaluated more comprehensively at larger scale for broader value gains across the breeding process.

"The relationship between Syngenta and NRGene has already borne significant fruit,” says Dr. Gil Ronen, NRGene's CEO. "Syngenta’s broad and diverse data cataloged within GenoMAGIC will continue to make breeding much more productive and efficient.”