Brownfield

Onions in the sand

Using an article on the AgriMarketing website as a resource, Brownfield's Ken Anderson wrote this story this morning: 

Saudi Arabia has abandoned its own domestic wheat production program and is investing heavily in foreign agricultural production projects—many in Africa.  The country’s goal is to ensure its food security and help stabilize domestic food prices.

Citing The Brock Report as its source, the article says the Saudis are urging companies to invest in farm projects abroad after dropping their own 30-year old domestic wheat program to reduce water usage.  One private Saudi firm is reportedly planning to spend 400 million dollars by 2011 to produce wheat and corn in Egypt and Sudan.

Brownfield's Jerry Passer added some personal comments after reading Ken's piece:

Interesting, I visited one of the Bedouin farms where wheat was being grown in Saudi Arabia.  As I remember, the U.S. Foreign Ag Service was heavily involved in this project. The program was in its infancy and they were optimistic at that time (about 25 years ago) they could become self- sufficient in wheat production. Seemed strange to see wheat growing out of the sand.

The Bedouin farmer had hired a U.S. farmer to come in and run the operation. I believe he was from Ohio.

It doesn’t surprise me that the Saudis are investing in crop production in Egypt.   We also visited there on the same trip with Agriculture Secretary Block. The Egyptians had several areas where they were growing onions and edible beans. I have a slide of the biggest onions I have ever seen growing out of the sand.

Foreign corresponding

Bayer CropScience invited seven media representatives along on the 2009 Herbicide Innovations Tour in Germany last week.  The three farm broadcasters posed for a picture with Bayer CropScience hosts at the company's Frankfurt headquarters. 

Cyndi Young, farm broadcaster;  Hans Kraehmer, Research Herbicides - Head of Profiling & Safeners; Meghan Grebner, farm broadcaster; Michelle Rook, farm broadaster; Jeff Springsteen, Marketing Manager, Corn Herbicides; Hans Santel, Global Product Development Manager, Corn Herbicides.

Small world

Of all the seats on all the airplanes at all the airports through which we could have flown, it turns out that Luftansa Flight 430 from Frankfurt to Chicago was the flight!  The person sitting beside me on the flight back to the states after the 2009 Bayer CropScience Herbicide Innovation Tour was Jerry Hatfield, Lab Director at the National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.  (The laboratory is part of USDA's Agricultural Research Service.)

Turns out the good doctor was in Oslo, Norway last week for a Global Climate Change meeting. 

Last glimpse of the Rhine

We sure had some cold, wet, windy weather while in Germany for the 2009 Bayer CropScience Herbicide Innovations Tour, but the skies were finally beginning to clear off the day we left Germany.  I was able to catch a glimpse of the Rhine River as I flew out of Frankfurt airport Friday.  The Rhine is a signficant waterway in Germany, linked by canals to other major Western European rivers.  It is also the longest river in Germany. 

The Rhine's origin is in the Swiss Alps.

Valuable relationships

Tom Bauman, Extension Weed Specialist at Purdue University, was one of the 30 weed scientists and agronomists selected by Bayer CropScience to participate in the 2009 Herbicide Innovation Tour in Germany.  Like everyone else on the trip, Tom enjoyed touring Bayer CropScience facilities, hanging around with peers from across the country and having some fun while visiting Germany.

In working with farmers upon his return to Indiana, he'll share much of what he has learned here - from new innovations to what's in the pipeline.

Tom values the relationship he has with Bayer CropScience and the company's interest in his views and concerns.

Tom Bauman's interveiw (2 min., mp3)

Dr. Gordon Roskamp

Dr. Gordon Roskamp, professor of agronomy specializing in weed science at Western Illinois University was one of the 30 weed scientists and agronomists selected by Bayer CropScience to participate in the 2009 Herbicide Innovation Tour in Germany.  Dr. Roskamp has been teaching at WIU for 33 years.  Actually, he was there when I was a student, and although I did take some agronomy classes, unfortunately, none that Dr. Roskamp taught.

Gordon Roskamp, along with Mike Gordon from South Dakota State University, Mark Bernards, University of Nebraska, Daniel Stephenson from Louisiana State University and Phil Westra from Colorado State, gave presentations Thursday afternoon.  From what I could tell, the presentation topic was at the discretion of the scientist.  They each spoke of research underway at the university they represent and "where and how" Bayer CropScience products fit in and were faring. 

(Ok, I know scientists give the impression of being dry and boring, but this group - actually the entire group I've traveled with this week - is far from that!)

I sat down with Dr. Roskamp Thursday evening to get his take on the tour.  He said what he saw and learned this week will be put to good use in the classroom.

One thing I was happy to see was the relationship that Dr. Roskamp and his peers have with the key players at Bayer CropScience.  He agreed.  He said BCS is really interested in knowing the good and the bad and look for the weed scientists and agronomists at universities across the country to be honest and open with them. 

I had lunch with Dr. Roskamp at the Heidelberg Castle Wednesday and greatly enjoyed that conversation and the one you can listen to here.

Listen to Dr. Roskamp's interview (9 min., mp3)

Heading home

I wrote a long and colorful story about my day just now and the internet access "hiccupped" and I lost what I'd written so I'll just write a brief post now.  Most of the participants in the Bayer CropScience Germany adventure are heading home today. The flight I was on was 9 hours and 45 minutes from Frankfurt to Chicago.  I am now waiting in Chicago for my 5:50pm flight to Kansas City.  I have so many stories left to tell you about our time in Germany, so please, come back to visit.  I have pictures and more interviews that, due to limited internet access in Frankfurt, just didn't make it up while we were in Germany.

Stay tuned.  There's more to come!

Herbicide resistance

There was a lot of talk this week during the Bayer CropScience Innovations Tour about herbide resistance. 

During our Frankfurt Bayer CropScience facilities tour this morning, we learned that each year, about 2,000 seed samples from farmers all over the world are sent to Frankfurt, grown under glass and treated with various herbicides until it becomes clear whether the weeds have become resistant.  Obviously, because it takes so much time (the weeds seeds can only be tested after the crop has been harvested) the farmer only gets recommendations for weed and resistance management in time for the following season.

For the past few years, Bayer CropScience researchers have been able to more proactively combat resistance by providing recommendations on the resistance management for affected farmers by the end of the same season or even in the same season.  Modern molecular biology and biochemistry methods allow researchers to investigate plants in order to detect the presence of resistance. 

The advantage is that farmers can send in potentially resistant weeds while the crops are still growing, without having to wait for them to set seed at the end of the season.

It's amazing!  And there's more good news:  farmers in the north central region of the United States will have the opportunity to participate in a pilot project in 2009 in which they will be able to send in seed samples from weeds they believe could be herbicide resistant. 

Bayer CropScience Germany facilities tour

We listened to several interesting presentations this morning at Bayer CropScience headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany before heading out for a facilities tour.  We visited four "stations" on our tour.  The first stop and step one in the life of a new product is where compounds are tested on little trays of grass and camomile (at least that's the plant they were using during our visit.)  Computers are relied upon in this area. 

 
As the gentleman who hosted us said, "This could be the starting place for the next great compound."

It's very cool.  They tests thousands of compounds.  Those with potential go on to the next phase of testing, or intermediate herbicide testing.  It is in this phase where for they first time they distinguish between pre-emergence and post-emergence.  Jan Dittgen showed us examples of the plants for each of the weeks of the intermediate phase of testing. 

The last step before the field is herbicide profiling.  Deter Feucht explained that his objective is recommendations for first field trials.

Trials are done inside in the greenhouse during the cold season and outdoors in warmer months. They test both tank mix and pure compounds because they see value in testing both. 

 What weeds are used in this third phase?  A variety.  Remember, Bayer CropScience provides product for farmers in many different countries.  They bring in weeds from other countries if there are some they want to test that they do not have here in Germany.

Herbicide research strategy

The Bayer CropScience Herbicide Innovation Tour's first stop Thursday morning was at the company's Frankfurt, Germany site where 800 people are employed.  Dr. Hansjoerg Kraehmer, Head of Profiling and Support for Bayer CropScience was our first presenter.  Dr. Kraehmer (Hans) explained that herbicide tolerant crops are dominating the business right now and with a declining number of products to meet the need, there is challenge and opportunity ahead.

Hans said there have been no new modes of action since 1985.  Research and development (where he says you start with bright ideas and hopefully end up with something to market) is a 5-step process at Bayer CropScience:

1- Early Discover
2 - Optimization and investigation
3 - Field trials
4 - Project phase
5 - Launch

He also pointed out that of the 200,000 to 400,000 compounds tested each year, 100 will make it to the field (field trials) that year.  Out of the 100 taken to the field, only 1 will make it to the project phase.

Taking out his crystal ball, Hans sees the herbicide market remaining dynamic.  He also expects to see new regulations and new hurdles on the horizon. 

Bayer, he pointed out, has delivered one compound per year on average since 1990, which is above the average for companies in this business. 

I sat down with Hans for an interview following his presentation where he also addressed consolidation in the industry and what the organic foods market means to the industry.