News
November 2022
Maryland’s Thompson Honored by Southern Crop Production Association
Lindsay Dodd Thompson was named the 2022 recipient of the Southern Crop Production Association (SCPA) Don W. Beise Award for exceptional service to SCPA and southern agriculture at their annual meeting. Read the full press release here.
January 2022
Enlist Re-registration
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed the registration amendment process for Enlist One and Enlist Duo herbicides from Corteva. Many of the updates are related to mitigation of negative impacts on endangered species. More information can be found online here.
August 2021
Delaware Maryland 4R Field Day
The Delaware-Maryland 4R Alliance hosted their annual 4R Field Day on Thursday, August 26th at Corteva’s Chesapeake Farms in Chestertown, MD. The event was attended by 100 farmers, agribusiness professionals, government, and conservation partners. Paticipants enjoyed a four-station rotation where they learned about the 4R’s of nutrient stewardship. Read the full press release here.
October 2020
Dicamba Update
EPA announced their approval of new five-year registrations for two dicamba products and is extending the registration of an additional dicamba product. All three registrations include new control measures to ensure these products are used effectively while protecting the environment. Read the full press release here.
September 2020
New Funding Announced to Support Advanced Nutrient Management in Chesapeake Watershed
The Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association was granted $990,000 over three years from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to provide education, training, and cost-share to increase the implementation of 4R Nutrient Stewardship practices across Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Partners will increase the implementation of 4R nutrient stewardship practices that will improve water quality and benefit the economic and social goals of local farmers. Read the full press release here.
August 2020
2020 DE-MD 4R Virtual Field Day
The Delaware-Maryland 4R Alliance held their 4th annual and first-ever virtual 4R Technology Field Day on August 25th. This online event reached over 200 participants and provided continuing education credits for agricultural technical service providers. Learn more about the event here.
March 2017
Dow Enlist Duo® Herbicide Registered by EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently registered Dow’s Enlist Duo for use on cotton and in 34 states, including Delaware and Maryland. This means the Enlist Duo can be applied to Enlist cotton, corn and soybeans on the majority of U.S. row crop acres, once all necessary state registrations are received. The herbicide is a combination of glyphosate and new 2,4-D choline, as well as glufosinate. Tolerance to these three modes of action offers growers more flexibility and better performance in their weed control programs.
In addition to controlling weeds, Enlist Duo stays on target. Enlist Duo® herbicide features Colex-D® technology, which provides four key benefits: minimized potential for physical drift, near-zero volatility, low odor, and improved handling characteristics. Read more.
Plenish High Oleic Soybean
Soybean oil is by far the most widely used edible oil in the United States. However, in the last decade, soybean oil has lost market share to other oils due to the transition of the food industry away from partially hydrogenated oils, which are the primary dietary source of trans-fats. Plenish high oleic soybeans developed by DuPont Pioneer are a key product innovation with the potential to take back markets lost to alternative edible oils. The oil from Plenish high oleic soybeans has a fatty acid profile similar to olive oil, with an abundance of heart-healthy monounsaturated oleic acid and a 20% reduction in saturated fats compared to traditional soybeans. Read more.
November 2016
Why These Moms Are Avoiding Non-GMO Labels
We all have noticed the intensive labeling that has taken over our food packages. “Natural, no artificial preservatives, made with real sugar, heart-healthy, USDA certified organic, no high fructose corn syrup, grass-fed, immune support, antioxidant plus, gluten-free, cage-free, fat-free, free-range” and more. A group of moms, who are also scientists and active communicators, are avoiding non-GMO labels, and the ubiquitous Non-GMO Project (NGP) label in particular.
The mothers explain that they avoid the label because “NGP leads consumers to believe that choosing non-GMO is consistent with values that consumers (including ourselves) seek out, such as healthy diets and sustainability. However, choosing non-GMO is often inconsistent with these values and we are concerned about the impact of an expanding non-GMO market share. The financial, environmental and health impacts of adopting non-GMO ingredients include changes in food formulations, reduced nutritional quality, higher prices, increased pesticide use, and reduced food availability. Consequently, we would like companies to know why we and many others actively avoid the Non-GMO Project’s labels.” Full story.
October 2016
MD Senator Receives CropLife America’s State Legislator Award
Senator Thomas “Mac” Middleton (D – District 28) is a recipient of CropLife America’s (CLA) 2016 State Legislator Award. This award honors those who demonstrate outstanding leadership in the area of state legislative issues and who promote initiatives that preserve, protect and advance the ability of farmers to provide a safe, affordable and abundant food supply to America. CLA is a national trade association representing the crop protection industry that advocates for and promotes the responsible use of innovative, safe, and environmentally sound crop protection products that are essential in the production of food, fiber, and renewable or alternative fuels. Full story.
Model Predicts Elimination of GMO Crops Would Cause Hike in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
A recent study out of Purdue University analyzed how a global ban on GM crops would raise food prices and add the equivalent of nearly a billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Not surprising, that the study found that poorer countries would be the hardest hit by increased food costs. It also states that in order to compensate for lower crop productivity, more pastures and forests would need to be converted to cropland. “Some of the same groups that want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions also want to ban GMOs. But you can’t have it both ways,” said Wally Tyner, the James and Lois Ackerman Professor of Agricultural Economics. “Planting GMO crops is an effective way for agriculture to lower its carbon footprint.” Full story.
Get to Know GMOs
October was celebrated as “Get to Know GMOs” Month. With over 18 million Google search results for the term “GMO” alone, and many misconceptions pervading the internet, it is important to educate consumers on the importance of GMOs. This year’s focus was “are GMOs safe for the environment”. GMO Answers spearheaded this movement, sharing information about the role of GMOs in sustainability, biodiversity, and land use all month.
GMO Answers is an initiative committed to responding to questions about how food is grown. Their goal is to make information about GMOs in food and agriculture easier to access and understand. GMO Answers is funded by the members of The Council for Biotechnology Information, which includes BASF, Bayer, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, Monsanto Company and Syngenta. If you have not visited the GMO Answers website yet, follow the link below and check it out. It is truly a great resource for all. https://gmoanswers.com/