![]() Similarly, gene editing (also referred to as targeted mutagenesis), is a process that uses enzymes to make smaller, more precise changes or mutations to a specific DNA sequence of a living organism.īy contrast, genetic engineering provides a faster and even more precise way to achieve desirable traits. Ruby red grapefruits were created this way and can also be sold as organic. It is the process of exposing seeds to radiation or certain chemicals to create random mutations, from which breeders then select the most desirable mutations for future cross-breeding or commercial release. One widely used traditional breeding approach is called mutagenesis. Plant breeding methodologies can be confusing and difficult to understand. The larger questions are who gets to use it, how much does it cost, and how heavily is it regulated? ![]() That’s why genetic modification of crops is here to stay. Weeds and pests adapt to new herbicides and pesticides faster than we can develop them. “What really excites me is getting the equipment we develop into their hands.” “Producers are some of the most adaptable, creative people I know,” Wardle said. ![]() However, Wardle and his research team, in collaboration with Jay Ham’s Agricultural Sciences Micrometeorology Lab in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, are revolutionizing data collection by 3D printing some of the components and using a free data service connected to a mobile app.įinding ways to equip farmers with affordable technologies helps them operate more efficiently based on real-time data collected from their own farms. His program is conducting extensive research on several agricultural water quality issues, one of which is soil moisture monitoring. “People don’t understand just how technology driven ag is,” said Erik Wardle (M.A.G.R., ’06), director of the CSU Water Quality Program, speaking at the American Sugarbeet Growers Association meeting at CSU’s Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center on July 14. “Colorado State is doing a really good job of developing meaningful projects and the researchers are doing industry-leading research on a global scale that is contributing to a crop that’s economically important to the state,” said Larson. Addressing that reality hasn’t been part of traditional seed breeding and we’re going to need to be able to adapt more quickly.”Īs part of that strategy, WSC invests $200,000 – more than 50% of its research budget – at CSU each year. According to Larson, “we’re going to need crop and technology changes so much faster because climate change is imparting all kinds of funky things we’ve never seen before. One area posing unique challenges is climate change. “Consumers today are very interested in knowing where their food is coming from, how it’s produced, and what the environmental impacts are,” said Larson, who oversees programs that collect grower and sustainability data and provide it to consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers. In 2002, it was purchased by the farmers and renamed the Western Sugar Cooperative. ![]() The WSC has its roots in the Great Western Sugar Company, which was founded in the early 20th century (Archives & Special Collections at CSU Libraries preserves the records of the Great Western Sugar Co.). It is vertically integrated, which means the farmers own everything from the planting of the seed to the selling of the sugar. The Western Sugar Cooperative is wholly owned by roughly 800 beet growers and shareholders living in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Montana, and collectively produces more than three million tons of sugar beets per year.
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