Croptastic Episode 42: Charles C. Mann
This is a particularly exciting episode as we’re joined by Charles C. Mann, the New York Times bestselling author of “1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus,” and “1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created.” Charles shares insights with us about his more recent book, “The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World,” and chats with Shely about the lessons the story of Norman Borlaug and William Vogt have for the future of agriculture.
InnerPlant Secures $300K from United Soybean Board for Satellite Detection of Crops Fluorescing When Stressed
InnerPlant Secures $300K from United Soybean Board for Satellite Detection of Crops Fluorescing When Stressed
Funds from the USDA’s soybean research and promotion program or “checkoff” will support the first-ever detection of human-made signals from soy plants when under attack by pathogens to make farmers more efficient and sustainable
DAVIS, Calif. (Sept. 14, 2023) – InnerPlant, the seed technology company enabling the earliest possible detection of stress in crops to make farming universally more efficient and sustainable, today announces $300K from the United Soybean Board (USB) for the satellite-based detection of crops fluorescing when under stress from pathogens. The funding supports the development, construction and validation of a first-of-its-kind satellite-mounted device to detect optical signals given off by crops engineered by InnerPlant to fluoresce in response to stress like an attack from pathogens or a lack of water or nutrients.
“Providing data directly from plants at the scale required by modern agriculture will give farmers critical knowledge they need to protect yields while reducing inputs,” explains Reza Bloomer, InnerPlant Director of Business Development. “The USB’s support shows their innovative and forward-thinking approach to ensuring that America’s soybean farmers have the best tools possible for their operations.”
The USB is funded by an assessment or “checkoff” collected from the net market price of soybeans and administers coordinated programs for promotion and research, as well as for collecting consumer and industry information related to soybeans.
Studies show that farmers lose as much as 20% of yields or $800B worldwide due to pathogens despite overapplication that sees as much as 30% or $250B of pesticides wasted – negatively impacting our air, water and soil.
Earlier detection and more responsive, plant-specific interventions offer a way to prevent waste and losses but historically farmers lacked early actionable data. Satellite-based detection provides a scalable way to give farmers the early warning they need to better care for crops and soils.
“The soybean checkoff is designed to advance the industry and help farmers improve their soybean operations,” points out Nancy Kavazanjian, a USB volunteer farmer director. “The ability to detect crop pest stress from space as much as weeks before any stress is visible to the human eye is an innovation that will deliver massively on those goals by helping us grow our soybeans more efficiently and sustainably.”
The InnerPlant imaging device is scheduled to launch in Q1 of 2024 and its successful deployment will mark the first time in history that a signal from a human-engineered organism is detected from orbit. In addition to supporting the launch, USB funds will also support additional related activities including field testing to validate orbital detection, procuring imagery from other public and private satellite operators and post-processing of signals. The entire suite of activities will culminate in the clear demonstration of satellite-based detection of human-made crop signals for the first time in history.
About InnerPlant
InnerPlant is a team of curious scientists and entrepreneurs creating an innovative new category of seed technology that harnesses plant physiology and unlocks data at scale to boost global agricultural yields and sustainability. The company was founded in 2018 by Shely Aronov and Rod Kumimoto. InnerPlant was recently recognized with a Special Mention TIME Best Inventions and was named a finalist in General Excellence by Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards. For more information visit: innerplant.com.
Media Contact
Sean Yokomizo
Communications/Media Relations
sean.yokomizo@innerplant.com
925.878.1200
Croptastic Episode 27: David Wallerstein Big Solutions to Big Problems
David Wallerstein, Chief eXploration Officer and Senior Executive Vice President of Chinese Internet titan Tencent joins this Croptastic episode to talk about the need for big solutions to the planet’s biggest problems. His water-focused documentary, “Day Zero” is available on Amazon Prime.
Mr. Wallerstein has held a number of positions at Tencent since 2014 and Senior Executive Vice President since 2001. Mr. Wallerstein has also served as an independent member of Lilium board since September 2021.
Croptastic Episode 26: Dr. Rattan Lal on Soil and Water Conservation
Joining this Croptastic episode is Dr. Rattan Lal, Distinguished Professor of Soil Science and Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University. He’s won many awards including the World Food Prize – the Nobel Prize of food and agriculture – in 2020.
Over his career spanning more than five decades and four continents, Dr. Lal has promoted innovative soil-saving techniques benefiting the livelihoods of more than 500 million smallholder farmers. We’re lucky to have Dr. Ratan Lal on this Croptastic episode.
Read Dr. Ratan Lal’s Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.
Croptastic Episode 25: Gonzalo Fuenzalida on Agricultural Biologicals
This Croptastic episode’s guest is Gonzalo Fuenzalida the CEO and co-founder of Andes Ag. Gonzalo joins the show to chat about agricultural biologicals and where they and other technologies fit in the future of agriculture.
Through its novel seed treatment technology, called ‘Microprime’, Andes is reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. Gonzalo works to seamlessly integrate the power of microbes within seeds to dramatically cut the need for synthetic fertilizers.
Company genetically modifies plants to light up when facing stress – CGTN America
See how California startup InnerPlant has modified plants to light up when they are facing stressors.
The technology could greatly improve farming as 20-40 percent of global crop production is lost due to disease and invasive insects, according to UN data.
CGTN’s Mark Niu visits their labs.
Croptastic Episode 24: Kater Hake on the Cotton Farming
We’re joined this episode by Kater Hake, Vice President of Agricultural and Environmental Research at Cotton Incorporated. Today Kater and Shely chat about the state of cotton farming and some of the challenges that cotton and other crops face in the future.
In his current role, Kater is responsible for the cotton production research program, and leads a team of eight scientists who develop and support innovative problem-solving research to increase the profitability and sustainability of cotton farming in the U.S.
Capture the Beauty of Nature through Photography
Many years ago, I worked for my parents who own a video production company. Because it is a family business, you inevitably end up wearing many hats and being the czar of many different jobs. I mainly managed projects and worked as a video editor. On production, there were times that I was called on to work as an audio tech and was made to wear headphones on long production days. In those days, having a really good set of headphones that picked up every nuance of sound was essential to making sure the client got what they needed. Naturally, my first impression of these headphones is based off of the look of them. They have a classic over-the-ear style that is highlighted by a blue light that indicates the power for the noise canceling. The padding on the ear pieces seems adequate for extended usage periods.
They are wired headphones, but the stereo mini-plug cable is detachable. Something else I noticed right of the bat was the very nice carrying case that comes with them. It has a hard plastic exterior with a soft cloth interior that helps to protect the surface of the headphones from scratches. I never truly appreciated cases for headphones until I started carrying them from place-to-place. Now I can’t imagine not having a case. Once I gave the headphones a thorough once-over exam, I tried them on. As I mentioned, they have a classic over-the-ear style and just looking at them, the padding on the ear pieces seem adequate and the peak of the headband seemed to be a bit lacking, but you don’t really know comfort unless you try on the product. So, I slipped the headphones on and found them to be exquisitely comfortable.
If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough.
Oprah Winfrey
Now that I had the headphones on my head, I was finally ready to plug and play some music. I plugged the provided cable into the jack on the headphones and then the one on my iPhone. Then I called up Pandora. I tend to have a very eclectic music purview and have many stations set up for different moods. the sound quality of these headphones was remarkable. There is an amazing depth of sound and incredible highs and lows that make listening to music a truly breathtaking experience. In order to test how voices sounded, and the overall art of mixing, I pulled up Netflix on my iPad Air and watched a few minutes of a movie to hear all the nuances of the film.
None of them were lost. In fact, I ended up hearing sounds that I hadn’t heard before. Echoes…birds chirping…wind blowing through trees…breathing of the characters…it was very impressive what the headphones ended up bringing out for me.