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Crop scouting 101: How to tell when your crops need a boost

Submitted by vrobin on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 09:21

As planting begins, or continues, across various regions in North America, we should all be preparing to do the one thing that can have a significant impact on making or breaking our crops: scouting. Crop scouting is important for numerous reasons, but most importantly, it gives insight on the next steps you need to take to ensure you get the most out of your crops.

Three ways to tell if your crops need a boost:

1. Plant health

Overall plant health can be difficult to identify. The main indicators to look for include plant growth uniformity, patches of discoloration across the field and any signs of lodging. If observed, the crop may not be as healthy as it needs to be to thrive.

Soil and plant testing can identify nutrient deficiencies and other causes of decreased plant health.

2. Disease pressure

There are two key indicators of the level of disease pressure you may be dealing with: the crop’s leaves and the roots.

If the leaves are discolored and the bottom ones are beginning to wilt, you may need to speak to your agronomist about what your crop needs to get back on the path to high yields and overall crop quality.

After digging up a plant, examine the roots and look for consistent color. Also, if you have been experiencing wet weather conditions, the roots may give off a foul odor. Root rot can be caused by fungi attacking the root system, poor drainage, lack of oxygen to the root system, and phytotoxicity.  Treatment will depend on the cause, ranging from the use of fungicides to aeration, but if left untreated, root rot will eventually kill the plant. 

Increasing nutrient availability to the plants and improving plant health can  improve their ability to resist disease pressure.  Healthy plants are more likely to reach their full genetic potential of productivity.

3. Soil health

Your soil is a great storyteller. If it begins to get too dry, it will begin to crack. If it gets too wet, it turns to muck.

When you are out scouting your crops, remember to check your soil. If it is showing the indicators mentioned above, or if it lacks soil structure when you pick it up, you may want to give your agronomist a call.

If your crop scouting brings to light any of the issues listed above, ask your local trusted agronomist to thoroughly scout your field. By catching problems early, you may be able to get your crop back on the right track to achieve its full potential.

 

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Los ganadores del programa "Young Scientist" de Alltech desvelados en ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference

Submitted by mmolano on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 03:42

Las mentes científicas más brillantes buscan revitalizar la agricultura y la ganadería para las generaciones futuras

Tras alcanzar su doceava edición, el programa "Young Scientist" de Alltech sigue atrayendo a los mejores estudiantes de cada rincón del planeta

 

Dos estudiantes han resultado premiados en la doceava edición del programa "Young Scientist" de Alltech, el certamen mundial universitario más prestigioso en ciencias agrícolas. El galardón, que reconoce la investigación pionera en ciencias agrícolas, fue presentado en ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17), un evento celebrado en Kentucky (EE. UU.) del 21 al 24 de mayo que busca alentar la innovación. En su 33ª edición, la conferencia anual internacional atrajo a 4000 participantes venidos de casi 80 países para servir de punto de encuentro y debatir en torno a las posibilidades de disrupción en el campo de los negocios, la tecnología, la alimentación, la agricultura y la ganadería.

El estudiante pregrado ganador a nivel global fue Joshua C. Gukowsky, de la Universidad de Massachusetts Amherst (EE. UU.), que recibió una beca completa para cursar un doctorado y 5000$. En cuanto al graduado premiado, el galardón recayó en Jonas de Souza, de la Universidad Estatal de Michigan (EE. UU.), que obtuvo una beca postdoctoral y una recompensa en metálico de 10.000$.

La Dra. Aoife Lyons, directora de iniciativas educativas y compromisos de Alltech, y Victoria Liu, directora del programa "Young Scientist", entregaron los premios en el mítico estadio Rupp Arena durante la celebración de ONE17.

"Este año hemos animado a los estudiantes a reflexionar sobre la idea de disrupción de ONE, que pretende transformar la manera en la que percibimos y trabajamos en el sector agroganadero a fin de impulsarlo y lograr que sea sostenible", destacó la Dra. Lyons. El jurado internacional, liderado por el Profesor irlandés Maurice Boland, quedó gratamente impresionado por estos estudiantes de enorme talento y su apuesta sin fisuras por la educación científica.
 

"Hablo en nombre de todos los jueces del jurado de este año para felicitar a los ganadores de esta edición"prosiguió la Dra. Lyons"Los estudiantes no solo cuentan con unos valiosísimos conocimientos, sino que también son el vivo reflejo de unas aptitudes y curiosidad que, en nuestra opinión, demuestran su potencial como líderes científicos del mañana".

Este año el programa recibió más de 150 formularios de nominación de 134 profesores que ejercen en las 121 universidades de 36 países más importantes de todo el mundo. Para poder participar, los estudiantes fueron propuestos por su profesor y presentaron un artículo científico en una temática como salud animal y nutrición, métodos de análisis agrícolas, seguridad de la cadena alimentaria y trazabilidad, salud pública y nutrición u otra materia relacionada con las ciencias agrícolas.

Los artículos de los estudiantes participantes compitieron primero por regiones: América del Norte, América Latina, Asia Pacífico o Europa y África. Los finalistas de cada región, ocho en total, fueron invitados a asistir, con todos los gastos pagados, a la semana de descubrimiento de Alltech celebrada en Lexington (Kentucky, EE. UU.), donde un jurado de reputados jueces seleccionó a los ganadores de la edición de 2017.

"Muchas gracias a todos. Es un gran honor recibir este premio"se congratuló Jonas de Souza, el estudiante graduado ganador. "Gracias a la Dra. Aoife Lyons por organizar este certamen para apoyar a los nuevos y jóvenes científicos. Todos somos ganadores en este programa".

La investigación de Jonas de Souza consistió en modificar la proporción de varios ácidos grasos (ácido palmítico, ácido esteárico y ácido oleico) en la dieta, con y sin semillas enteras de algodón, y estudiar el efecto de estos cambios en las vacas lecheras.

"¡Oh! Muchísimas gracias, realmente no me lo esperaba", confesó Joshua C. Gukowsky, el estudiante pregrado premiado. "Lo primero, y lo más importante: quiero dar las gracias a mis padres y a mi familia".

La investigación de Joshua C. Gukowsky giró en torno a la detección de residuos de antibióticos en los alimentos que consumimos.

La inscripción a la edición del programa de 2018 se abrirá en septiembre de 2017.

Para más información sobre ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, visite one.alltech.com. Únase a la conversación online con la etiqueta #ONE17.

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Contest calls for equestrian sport’s best articles, photography and broadcasts

Submitted by aeadmin on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 00:00

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – They chronicle the tragedies and triumphs of the world’s greatest athletes, human and horse. They write, photograph and broadcast rain or shine, carrying the heavy weight of their storytelling gear from stadiums to media centers, rising before the sun and sustaining themselves with caffeine and love of the story when day has faded into darkness.

The McCauley’s Alltech A+ Award turns the spotlight on these storytellers. Honoring the best of equine journalism, the awards program is now in its eighth year and includes a new partner, McCauley Bros.

Nestled in the heart of Kentucky’s Bluegrass region, home and nursery of the world’s finest horses, McCauley Feeds (McCauley’s) has been nourishing champion equine athletes since 1938. McCauley’s, now an Alltech company, is a dedicated equine-only nutrition company specializing in the formulation of premium feeds and nutritional supplements. They are home to one of the equine community’s most trusted technical teams, aligning expertise and practical experience with personalized problem-solving.

From affordable maintenance to elite performance products, McCauley’s covers a wide range of needs and delivers quality-assured nutrition programs to all horses and horse owners. McCauley’s facility is a medication-free plant, dedicated exclusively to the production of premium equine feeds.

“The International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists (IAEJ) is delighted that Alltech, through their company McCauley’s, has renewed their support for the A+ Awards,” said Pamela Young, president of the International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists. “We’ve had some great entries and winners since Alltech and the IAEJ first collaborated on these awards in 2010. I think I can speak for all our members when I say Alltech’s generous support is much appreciated by everyone who works tirelessly to convey the excitement of competition and the beauty of man’s relationship with horses. I am equally pleased that McCauley’s has agreed to expand the broadcast category to include our friends in radio and television.”

The theme for this year’s contest is “Partnership.” Articles, interviews and photos entered should convey the unique partnership between humans and horses. Winners receive $500 and a display award. Entry to the McCauley’s Alltech A+; Award is open now to submissions in the following categories:

Article

Broadcast (including webcasts, podcasts, videos, radio and television)

Photography

For details and requirements of entry, please visit www.equijournalists.com &lt;http://www.equijournalists.com&gt;, and see contest news on the home page or click on “Awards.” The deadline for submission is January 30, 2018.

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<p> McCauley Feeds has been nourishing champion equine athletes since 1938.</p>

Ser disruptivo o quedarse atrás en un mundo exponencial

Submitted by mmolano on Mon, 06/05/2017 - 03:46

- ONE: La conferencia de ideas de Alltech alienta el debate en torno a las tecnologías innovadoras

- En su 33ª edición, la conferencia anual bate récords y atrae a 4000 asistentes venidos de casi 80 países

ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17) resultó ser el escenario perfecto para que 70 ponentes, entre los que figuraban las mentes internacionales más brillantes en ciencia, agricultura, ganadería, tecnología y negocios, compartieran con todos los asistentes aquellas tecnologías que tienen el potencial de revolucionar la agricultura y la ganadería del mañana y convertir en realidad el siguiente gran avance en productividad.

En cada uno de los rincones de la industria agroganadera, la llegada de las tecnologías digitales y las aplicaciones está provocando una disrupción en los sistemas de producción y las cadenas de suministro, dando pie a modelos de negocio totalmente diferentes y permitiendo a ganaderos, productores y empresarios agrícolas trabajar con un nivel de precisión y detalle nunca antes soñado.

El cambio que va a vivir la tecnología va más allá de lo que podemos imaginar”, señaló el Dr. Pearse Lyons, fundador y presidente de Alltech. “Las cosas cambian a un ritmo trepidante, y las empresas necesitan empezar a pensar como start-ups:lánzate y crece rápido”.

El Dr. Lyons, que compartió su visión personal tras más de 36 años en el negocio, enumeró los cinco elementos clave para lograr el éxito en este mercado siempre cambiante:

  1. Rapidez
  2. Liderazgo
  3. Cultura
  4. Formación
  5. Apuesta por una dinámica única de “diversión”

Estamos en medio de una revolución agrícola, y está ocurriendo justo aquí, justo ahora; es muy emocionante”, recalcó Robert Walker, CEO de KEENAN, que presentó a los asistentes tecnologías disruptivas basadas en los datos.

Durante su charla, Robert Walker hizo explicó cómo KEENAN, una empresa especializada en la fabricación de maquinaria agrícola, se asocia con empresas tecnológicas como Vodafone o Intel para poder ofrecer a los ganaderos, a través de un sistema informático en la nube, información inmediata sobre la ración de sus animales.

Peter Diamandis, fundador de la Fundación XPRIZE y cofundador de “Singularity University”, abordó las innovaciones disruptivas, destacando que lo único constante es el cambio, y que la velocidad de cambio está acelerándose.

Para permanecer en la vanguardia de cualquier industria, las empresas y los emprendedores deben pensar de forma exponencial, ya que la tecnología exponencial transformará todas y cada una de las industrias”, afirmó.

Peter Diamandis recibió el Premio Humanitario de Alltech, un reconocimiento anual que se concede a una persona de carácter decidido que recurre a sus logros para influir de forma positiva e inspirar a los demás.

La conferencia de tres días también contó con la participación de George Blankenshi (antiguo directivo de Tesla Motors, Apple Computer y GAP Inc.), Lisa Bodell (fundadora y CEO de futurethink), Jack Bobo (vicepresidente senior y director general de comunicación de Intrexon), entre muchos otros ponentes. El programa se clausuró con el fenómeno mundial Riverdance, el afamado espectáculo de danzas tradicionales irlandesas que inundó el escenario principal del Rupp Arena.

- ONE17 atrajo a cerca de 4000 participantes venidos de casi 80 países de todo el mundo.

- La conferencia volverá a abrir sus puertas en Lexington (Kentucky, EE. UU.) del 20 al 23 de mayo de 2018.

Visite one.alltech.com para conocer lo más destacado de la conferencia. Las presentaciones estarán disponibles en junio a través de “Alltech Idea Lab”. Regístrese para acceder gratuitamente en ideas.alltech.com.

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La innovación comienza con la disrupción

Submitted by mmolano on Fri, 06/02/2017 - 03:51

El Dr. Pearse Lyons, presidente y fundador de Alltech, subió al escenario con una sonrisa entusiasta - una sonrisa que claramente ocultaba un emocionante secreto. Afortunadamente para los 4.000 asistentes de la audiencia, ONE: La Conferencia de Ideas de Alltech (ONE17) estaba recién comenzando, y los secretos de cómo ser disruptivos estaban a punto de ser revelados.

El tema de la conferencia, “Disrupción de lo Disruptivo”, busca desafiar el statu quo y sacudir a la industria desarrollando y promoviendo productos e ideas que ahorran tiempo y dinero, mejoran la eficiencia y son fáciles de utilizar.

Aidan Connolly, director de innovación y vicepresidente de cuentas corporativas de Alltech, enfatizó sobre la importancia de abarcar en la agricultura nuevas tecnologías disruptivas para la granja.

“Si usted no entra en la disrupción, usted saldrá del negocio”, explicó.

Acoger a la disrupción es sinónimo de dar la bienvenida al futuro, y el futuro agropecuario cuenta con una agricultura más eficiente, resultados más rápidos y ahorros.

Connolly detalló las 8 tecnologías que tienen el poder de transformar la agricultura a través de la innovación disruptiva:

  1. Impresión 3D

  2. Robots

  3. Drones

  4. Sensores

  5. Inteligencia artificial

  6. Realidad aumentada

  7. Realidad virtual

  8. Cadena de bloques

“La innovación es clave para causar la disrupción de una industria”, expresó Connolly.

Si bien es importante para las empresas aceptar la disrupción, ¿qué necesitan estas para lograr la disrupción en un mercado competitivo, en constante expansión?

El Dr. Lyons dio su mensaje muy claro: “Las empresas comunes venden productos; las grandes empresas venden sueños”.

Para ser un disruptivo en su industria, una empresa debe vender no sólo lo que está interesada en producir, sino también lo que el consumidor quiere; es una calle de dos sentidos.

“Ser disruptivo es tener los sueños de su gente alineados con los suyos, y sus sueños alineados con los de ellos porque, a la final”, dijo el Dr. Lyons, “ellos son los que cuentan”.

Además de alcanzar los sueños a través de la disrupción, explicó que estos sueños e ideas no son suficientes - las empresas también deben tener ideales. Establecer el camino para una disrupción exitosa, el Dr. Lyons explicó los ideales no negociables de Alltech:

  1. Mantenernos como una empresa privada

  2. Reinvertir tiempo y dinero en nuestras empresas, productos y empleados

  3. Velocidad: No hacerlo correcto, hacer que suceda

  4. Divirtiéndonos

Al comenzar con un sueño, los innovadores y los emprendedores pueden comenzar su viaje a la disrupción. La disrupción, después de todo, comienza con sólo UNA gran idea.

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Disrupción digital: Una entrevista con Aidan Connolly

Submitted by mmolano on Fri, 06/02/2017 - 03:47

El siguiente artículo es una transcripción editada de la entrevista de Tom Martin con Aidan Conolly, director de innovación y vicepresidente de cuentas corporativas de Alltech.

Tom:                 

Las innovaciones tecnológicas tienen la capacidad de transformar todos los eslabones de la cadena alimentaria, desde la semilla hasta el tenedor. Nos acompaña el autor de estas palabras, Aidan Connolly, director de innovación de Alltech, para hablar sobre la disrupción y el ritmo acelerado del cambio. Gracias por estar con nosotros.

Aidan:         

Gracias.

Tom:                 

“Disrupción de los Disruptivo” es el tema de esta conferencia. ¿Suena un poco como el caos, o lo estamos interpretando demasiado literal?

Aidan:                 

Bueno, hay que recordar que aunque Alltech se ha convertido en una organización muy grande que emplea a más de 5.000 personas, todavía somos dirigidos por un empresario. Aún estamos liderados por el hombre, el Dr. Pearse Lyons, que creó y comenzó la compañía, y él disfruta mucho de la disrupción de las cosas. Si usted trabaja para Alltech, lo sabrá. Así que la conferencia refleja el hecho de que él ve el mundo cambiando excesivamente y que el pensamiento convencional no va a resolver los problemas que estamos enfrentando. Tenemos que pensar de manera diferente sobre cómo enfrentar esos problemas, y si lo hacemos, de la manera correcta, nos beneficiaremos de nuestras soluciones.

¿Qué es la disrupción?

Tom:                 

Esta palabra, “disrupción”, se está convirtiendo en algo de moda, y el autor de la teoría se ha quejado de que el término frecuentemente se utiliza para invocar el concepto de innovación en sustento de lo que sea que la persona desea hacer. ¿Qué, a su juicio, define la disrupción significativa?

Aidan:                  

Bueno, es algo de lo que se escucha mucho y, obviamente, se escucha a universitarios, personas, académicos, hablando sobre esto. Pero prácticamente, siento que la innovación se trata de hacer lo mismo pero mejor, mientras que la disrupción consiste en hacer cosas que implican que lo que hacemos hoy sea obsoleto, y esa obsolescencia en las viejas formas de hacer las cosas se utiliza en exceso como una frase, esto no se puede cuestionar. Escuchamos a la gente hablando de cosas que son bastante convencionales y cómo van a causar la disrupción, pero además hemos visto grandes disrupciones en todos los mercados en los últimos tres a cinco años. Pensamos en el modelo de Uber causando la disrupción en la manera que nos movemos de un lugar a otro, vemos como Netflix causó la disrupción en el modelo de adquisición de nuestras películas, y usted ve que los negocios están realmente luchando para hacer frente a la disrupción, especialmente, en nuestra área, sectores como la industria alimentaria, supermercados, centros comerciales que están vacíos, etcétera. Así que el nivel de disrupción que estamos viendo sólo nos exige a todos en el negocio a pensar de manera diferente sobre lo que hacemos y a realmente prepararnos ya que ese negocio no va a ser el mismo - no va a ser como de costumbre.

Tom:                 

El ritmo actual de la disrupción parece estar bastante acelerado. ¿No vendrá pronto algo que cause la disrupción de su generador?

Aidan:                 

Por supuesto. A veces uno siente que la disrupción es como si estuviéramos en una cinta transportadora. Caminamos a lo largo, y justo al momento de llegar a un punto, tenemos que seguir caminando porque, si no, empezamos a retroceder. Por lo tanto, no hay duda de que el nivel de cambio en la sociedad ya no nos permite tener un nuevo modelo de negocio o idea y esperar mantenerlo durante 10 o 15 años. Usted tiene que estar en una ruta continua de innovación disruptiva.

Yo diría que tal vez no es tan diferente de como pensamos. Durante 200.000 años hemos mantenido la existencia del cazador-recolector. Empezamos a cultivar hace unos 10.000 años. Eso llevó al desarrollo de las ciudades, la civilización, el tiempo para pensar, la innovación, el arte y todas las cosas creativas que estamos haciendo actualmente. Tenemos que asumir que aunque estamos viendo la aceleración, que nos ha parecido alucinante en los últimos 10 años, esta va a continuar. Incluso podría acelerarse.

Para seguir leyendo, haz click aquí (serás redirigido al BLOG de ALLTECH).

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¿Se perdió una ponencia de ONE: La Conferencia de Ideas de Alltech?

Submitted by mmolano on Thu, 06/01/2017 - 03:52

Las sesiones completas están publicadas en el Alltech Idea Lab. Durante ONE: La Conferencia de Ideas de Alltech (ONE17), 70 conferencistas, incluyendo las mentes internacionales más brillantes de la ciencia, agricultura, tecnología y negocios destacaron las tecnologías que tienen el potencial de revolucionar la agricultura y hacer posible el siguiente gran avance en la productividad.

Visite ideas.alltech.com

La conferencia volverá a Lexington, Kentucky, Estados Unidos, del 20 al 23 de mayo de 2018.​

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Alltech Ireland named “Agricultural Laboratory of the Year”

Submitted by aeadmin on Wed, 05/31/2017 - 00:00

[DUBLIN, Ireland] – Alltech Ireland has long been a leader in both the Irish and European agriculture industry. Located in Dunboyne, Co. Meath, it became the first Alltech office to be established in mainland Europe in 1981 and serves today as Alltech’s European headquarters and Bioscience Centre. Last week its research team celebrated being awarded the Agricultural Laboratory of the Year by the Irish Laboratory Awards, the benchmark for those demonstrating excellence, best practice and innovation within Ireland’s lab industry.

Richard Murphy, director of research at Alltech, praised his dedicated team members on achieving such recognition.

“At Alltech, we strive for success,” said Murphy. “Our innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies deliver for our customers and farmers and so this award is a tremendous achievement for us as a research team.

“We are very thankful to the Irish Laboratory Awards as they celebrate not only science but also innovation and leadership, all of which are very highly regarded by our team here at Alltech. We would like to dedicate this award to not only the Irish Alltech team but also to our customers who are the inspiration for our work.”

Alltech’s European Bioscience Centre serves as Alltech’s pivotal research centre in Europe. The research work carried out at the centre specialises in cellular biotechnology, and the team of 20 scientists based in Dunboyne have developed unique insights into specific focus areas such as yeast cell wall architecture, trace element chelation, bio-marker detection and microbial population dynamics. This work has resulted in the development of new solutions, services and analytical tools that improve producers' profitability and efficiency

“We have approximately 20 full-time scientists on-site in Dunboyne,” said Murphy. “We are very proud of our highly educated team and close links with Irish universities. The majority of the team have earned their Ph.D. or master’s degree with Alltech. Since redevelopment work in 2013, the team at Alltech are very lucky to work in labs of exceptional quality and standard thanks to Mrs. Deirdre Lyons, Alltech’s director of corporate image and design, who is responsible for designing our labs to provide a state-of-the-art platform that enables young scientists to work with Alltech's expert team of biochemists, microbiologists and nutritionists.”

Alltech’s European Bioscience Centre is one of three major bioscience centres around the world and each centre has its own focus. The centres are complemented by more than 20 research alliances with leading universities globally. Alltech’s research team are responsible for over 500 patents awarded to Alltech globally.

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Conor O’Flaherty, Alltech crop science specialist, accepts the award for Agricultural Laboratory of the year at the Irish Laboratory Awards 2017 on Alltech’s behalf alongside Matt Moran, Director, BioPharmaChem Ireland. Alltech Ireland was also nominated for ‘Academic or Research Laboratory of the Year’.
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<p>Conor O’Flaherty, Alltech crop science specialist, accepts the award for Agricultural Laboratory of the year at the Irish Laboratory Awards 2017 on Alltech’s behalf alongside Matt Moran, Director, BioPharmaChem Ireland. Alltech Ireland was also nominated for ‘Academic or Research Laboratory of the Year’.</p>

Jack Bobo: Disrupting the discussion

Submitted by vrobin on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 09:12

To listen to our entire conversation with Jack, click on the player.

Tom:              Can agriculture save the planet before it destroys it? That's the question addressed by Jack Bobo, senior vice president and chief communications officer for Intrexon, a synthetic biology company focused on food, energy and health. And we thank you for being with us, Jack.

Jack:               Thank you.

Can agriculture save the planet before it destroys it?

Tom:              So, “Can agriculture save the planet before it destroys it?” That's a heavy and somewhat ominous question. Let's begin with the destructive nature of agriculture. What do you see?

Jack:               Well, in many ways, there's nothing we do that has a bigger, more negative impact on the planet than agriculture. And yet, there's nothing more critical for our daily survival. The challenge that we have is how to minimize those negatives and grow the benefits.

                        In terms of land, 40% of all the land on Earth is already devoted to agriculture, and that's a huge amount. The amount of crop land is the size of South America; the amount of pasture land, the size of Africa. So that is a really, really big footprint. If we were talking about water, well, 70% of all the freshwater we consume goes to agriculture. So, again, a huge demand on the planet. We can talk about greenhouse gases and all the other things.

Tom:              We hear an awful lot about the "rising billions," the rise of the middle-class in Asia, in India, in those areas of the world, meaning more demand, which means the need for more capacity.

Jack:               Yeah, so on one hand, we're going from 7 to 9 billion people, and so that's adding a couple billion more people. But perhaps even more important than that is the fact that their incomes are increasing, and so it's not that they're just more mouths to feed, but they're people that want more protein and better nutrition and better products. All of that means that we're not just going to need 30% more food, but we'll need 60% to as much as 100% more food in many places.

Tom:              So that's just going to put more pressure on those resources.

Jack:               Absolutely true.

Tom:              Well, let's flip the coin. What can save the planet?

Jack:               Well, one thing that can save the planet is innovation and new technologies. Because we need to produce all of that new food using the same amount of land or less, the same amount of water or less. We need to do everything better tomorrow than we're doing it today. But our rivers and lakes are already running dry, and so it's a huge challenge. But the only way we will ever be able to do it is to have science and technology help us to solve these problems. We need to get to 2050 without screwing up the planet and sustainably feed those 9 billion people.

                 Far from the farm: Consumers care more, know less

Tom:              As food shoppers, consumers, have we become disconnected from the origins of what we're eating and feeding our families?

Jack:               Absolutely, and it's inevitable. If you go back 200 years, pretty much everybody was a farmer or engaged in farming or knew a farmer, and today, it's 1% of the population is involved in farming, and most of us, it's a very distant activity. It's not really surprising that people are less aware of what goes into our food system today.

Tom:              Innovation versus Change. Do people revere one, loathe the other?

Jack:               Yeah. Well, I do like to say that people love innovation almost as much as they despise change. And there's nothing that they despise change in more than in the food they eat because food is what brings us together as family, as friends. It brings us together around the table. When you mess with my food, in many ways you're messing with my family, and people just don't like it.

Disrupting the discussion about food

Tom:              We're in an era of disruption. In fact, the theme of the conference is "Disrupting the Disruptors." What are the consequences of not being able to roll with those changes?

Jack:               I have a lot of confidence in the science and technology that we will in fact be able to address these challenges, if given the opportunity to do so.

                        What I was really talking about is disrupting how we communicate about food and agriculture, and that's really the challenge that we all have: figuring out how do we bridge the divide between those who think we should produce food the way we did a hundred years ago and those that think we need to produce food more intensively, because they all have something to contribute to this conversation.

Tom:              What about the emerging technologies that are bringing data to the platform and data that could be accessible, even all the way down the food chain to the consumer?

Jack:               Well, I like to say big data reveal small differences, and this is a really exciting aspect.

                        Imagine if you're an organic farmer today. For the last 50 years, you’ve probably been planting something called cover crops, which you plant in between growing seasons to maintain the soil and add maybe some more nutrients back into the soil. You've been doing it because you believed in your heart it was the right thing to do. Well, today, big data allows us to tell what's the return on my investment of planting a cover crop? And for the first time, a lot of big conventional farmers are planting cover crops because big data told them, yes, in fact, you get a return on your investment. That's just an example of how organic practices become mainstream practices as a result of this data.

Tom:              On a scale of one to 10, 10 being the best, how would you rate the public's level of trust in the food industry today?

Jack:               Well, it's certainly not very high. And that's really unfortunate. Because the only way we're going to save the planet is if the food companies are part of the solution. And there's no way we can do it without them. And if we make them the bad guy, if we make them the villain in the story, why are they going to work with us to try to solve these problems? Why are they going to care what the consumers think if the consumer just thinks that they're out to somehow undermine them?

                        The reality is that we need to gain the trust. It's not the consumers' fault. As a food company, you need to be trustworthy in order for people to trust you. That's something that is earned. It's not something that's given.

Tom:              What have you observed the industry doing that, if you were given the opportunity to change it and to improve it so that it became more credible, “it” being the industry, you would make that change?

Jack:               Well, I mean one of the things I worry about is food fads. There's always a new fad coming along — a new superfood or a new diet or other things. And food companies tend to just jump in, and that's because the marketing guys are saying, "Hey, everybody wants gluten-free. We need to produce a gluten-free product." Even if the company itself doesn't believe that product is going to benefit the consumer.

                        So you can actually find gluten-free water now, and you can find non-GMO water. Well, as far as I know, there's never ever been any water that's had gluten in it or was GMO. They're really selling a concept to the consumer, and consumers no longer understand. What is gluten? Most people don't even know. Unless you have celiac disease, you probably don't need to be avoiding gluten at all. And yet, when people go to the grocery store and they choose between two products, one is gluten-free and the other isn't, they think that contributes to their health. And the company knows it does not contribute to their health, and yet, they're willing to take that premium.

                        I really think that when consumers have a false belief, it's more often in the interest of industry to cater to the belief than to try to eradicate it. And that's really short-term thinking. The companies that are going to be around a hundred years from now are those who are in it with the consumer, not out to get the consumer.

Tom:              What, in your estimation, is the best, most effective way to deliver important, complex information to the public?

Jack:               It's an interesting question, because, in fact, in many ways, science doesn't matter. If people don't trust you, science doesn't matter. And if people do trust you, science doesn't matter. Because if you trust me, you don't need to see my science; and if you don't trust me, you don't care to see my science. So it's really about building that relationship, and that's a long-term relationship.

                        Information follows trust. It can't precede it.

Tom:              Here's a question for the times. It kind of has little to do with what we've talked about so far, but you're a communicator and I'd like to get your opinion on how we go about, in these times, engaging people who have different opinions about things.

Jack:               I think we need to start with ways of connecting with people. Where are our shared values?

                        It doesn't really matter where you are on the political spectrum or on the food spectrum, you probably worry about the negative impacts of agriculture, you care about the future of our planet, you want people to be healthier and better fed, and so there are a lot of things that we have in common. The question is how we get there. The only way that we're going to figure it out is by talking to each other, not talking at each other. Ultimately, what will determine whether or not agriculture can save the planet is, do we have a conversation that allows us to make those choices?

Tom:              Back to the food industry, are there any particular trends that you have your eyes on these days?

Jack:               Well, one of the exciting ones that my company is involved in relates to something called the Arctic Apple. It's a non-browning, genetically engineered apple. I'm hoping that it will actually change the nature of the conversation around GMOs. Because what we haven't had up until now is a product that people choose because it's a GMO. Once you choose a product because it's a GMO, you're not really going to think very much about soybeans and corn and other things like that. And people often say, "It's just an apple," but the apple is the third most wasted food item in the United States.

Tom:               Really?

Jack:               It's an important one. And the great thing about our apple is, if you're a grower of apples, you have less finger bruising and loss. If you're a shipper, less bruising and loss. If you're a retailer, less bruising and loss. And if you're a consumer, your kids will eat the apple slices that you put in their lunch bags.

Tom:              Well, I have to ask. Apples are really good, why do we waste them so much?

Jack:               Well, we don't really have a choice. When apples are bruised, they're not going to fit the quality demands to go to the store. I've talked to some people and they'll say, "I still eat bruised apples." And that's fine, but do you buy bruised apples? You're not intentionally going out there and looking for them. And so it just undermines the quality, and at the end of the day, the apples that have slight bruising are going to get tossed.

Tom:              So what about your work, Jack? What do you enjoy the most?

Jack:               Well, I'm passionate about trying to figure out how are we going to solve this huge problem that we all face, and do it in a way that actually makes everybody better. I'm hopeful that we have some of the tools. Now we just have to find the right dialogue that allows us to get there.

Tom:              Jack Bobo, senior vice president and chief communications officer for Intrexon. We thank you for joining us, Jack.

Jack:               Thank you.

Jack Bobo presented at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17). To hear talks from the conference, sign up for the Alltech Idea Lab. For free access, click on the button below.

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Lisa Bodell: Moving from mundane to meaningful work

Submitted by vrobin on Wed, 05/24/2017 - 09:04

To listen to our entire conversation with Lisa, click on the player.
 

Tom:                           As founder and CEO of futurethink, Lisa Bodell has transformed teams within organizations like Google, Novartis, Accenture, HBO, Cisco Systems, Citigroup, Merck, Fidelity, even the U.S. Navy.

Best-selling author of “Kill the Company,” her latest is “Why Simple Wins: Escape the Complexity Trap and Get to Work That Matters,” which is what we will do right now.                                    

Thanks for joining us, Lisa.

Lisa:                            Oh, thanks for having me.

Tom:                           And do we humans have this tendency to complicate everything?

Lisa:                            We definitely have a tendency to complicate things. And one of the things that was interesting to me about doing the research in this book was that so much of the complexity that exists is self-imposed and unproductive, but most of it has actually been put on us unintentionally.

                                    We create the beast that we become a slave to all the time. And a lot of that is driven by risk and fear and power and control, and that’s what drives us to want to have just one more metric to be safe; one more KPI; one more report, just to triple-check things; one more meeting to make another person help us with that decision, versus a lot more reliance on our gut, and we need to get back to that balance.
 

Clear away the clutter
 

Tom:                           You offer guidance on how to eliminate the mundane or the unnecessary from the daily routine and free up more time for work that matters. What are some key ways to clear away all that clutter?

Lisa:                            Oh, my gosh, I wish we had more time. The good news is that there are so many things that you can do that are very easy, and I’ll tell you a few of my favorites.

                                    One of the things that you can do for yourself or with your team is you can kill stupid rules. A lot of things that we put in place had a purpose at one point, but they may have outlived their time. Things changed. We don’t spend enough time going back and reviewing our work practices and the rules we put in place to see if they’re relevant anymore.

                                    So, what we do is we get people in the room and we say to them: “If you could kill any two rules to help you be more productive at work or be more innovative, what would you kill and why?” And what’s interesting is, that most people, they come up with rules, but most of the things they come up with are tools. They are cultural assumptions, they’re annoyances, they are those reports and meetings and e-mails. So, killing a stupid rule is great because it gets you in the process of subtraction, but also it gives people permission to eliminate. That’s one.

                                    Another thing is to look for redundancies in your work or the things that you do that are duplicate. Do things less frequently. Some people have meetings for an hour just because that’s the default on their Outlook calendar.

                                    We teach people a practice we call NNTR, and what this does is it helps clear (your) inbox. A lot of times, people get clogs in their inbox by people that are just responding with “thanks,” “got it,” you know, pleasantries, and those become annoyances. NNTR is called “no need to respond.” And when you put that in your subject line, people know that this is just an FYI e-mail, don’t feel the pressure to respond and, in fact, don’t respond, because I don’t want it in my inbox.   
 

Tom:                           I’m going to thank you for that, right now.

Lisa:                            [Laughs]

Making simplicity practical

Tom:                           I found on your website, futurethink.com, a simplification toolkit, which seems to carry forward the ideas that you were just talking about. Tell us about that?

Lisa:                            One of the things I really like to do is not just talk about a theory, but really about practice. This is kind of the Midwesterner in me. I really like the practical “get things done.” 

                                    When I wrote this book, I decided I didn’t just want to talk about why simplicity is important. I have a full chapter dedicated to tools people can do right away.

                                    We created a whole toolkit that people could actually use with facilitation instructions and worksheets with their own teams to really make it stick because simplicity can’t become a habit if we don’t change behaviors and the tactics that drive them.

                                    So, the idea of the toolkit was: “Don’t take my word for it, try it, use it; one of these will help you get to the work that matters.”

Tom:                           And that can be downloaded straight from your site?

Lisa:                            It can be. It’s actually available on the site for purchase. They also have it on Amazon. So, if you get the book, you can get the toolkit, and it’s the perfect marriage.

Tom:                           What sorts of complexities do you most often encounter when you begin looking into a client’s structure, their culture, their problems?

Lisa:                            Well, you know, it’s interesting because when you ask people what complexities really hold them back, here’s what they’ll say: regulation. We’ll regulate it, so we have regulatory complexities. Well, there are people that are regulated that operate with simplicity more than others, so that can’t be the only thing.

                                    And then, they start to talk about organizational complexities. Those are the things you put in place to manage, right? Regulation like new structures or charts reporting things. But, those aren’t really the culprits, it’s two other things you don’t expect. It’s tactical, everyday complexities that really bother people; the things you put in place to manage the organization. So, it’s PowerPoints, it’s meetings, it’s e-mails, it’s decision-making. Those are the things that really bother people.

                                    The habits are driven by very human things. It’s human behavior that drives these risks, fear, power and control. So, if we really acknowledge the fact that we’re operating from a place of fear, of power, etc., if we get comfortable with doing less, we’re subtracting; we’re saying no. A lot of those tactical complexities — one more resource, one more PowerPoint, one more meeting — they’ll start to fall away and people will have more time in their hands.

Success from simplification

Tom:                           Is there a particular outstanding outcome after you’ve taken a company through the process of simplifying?

Lisa:                            Yes. Yeah. People have more time. That’s really what it is to do meaningful work. So, it’s interesting when you ask people what they want, they say they want to do more meaningful work — and I’ll get to that in a second; they don’t know what that is. That’s the problem. They have a bunch of stuff, they just need to learn how to clear it out.

                                    Teaching people how to clear out the non-meaningful work is really the most important thing because that’s what sucks up their time. When I look at a company and I figure what is the most important metric that I measure success by, a lot of people say it’s creating a culture of innovation. “The more innovative we are, the better off we must be.”  That’s not it. The metric I want to really move the needle on is the ability to get things done because my saying is, “If you get the work right, you get the culture right.” So, if I give you the right work and we don’t focus on mundane stuff but more meaningful things, you’re focusing on the right stuff, then you can get things done. That’s where real culture happens. That’s meaningful.

Don’t complicate simplicity

Tom:                           Is achieving simplicity a complex endeavor?

Lisa:                            It can be. It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. I think it can start on the individual level, and that’s the good news, which is, you have a lot of things you can do with your sphere of influence, your sphere of control. You can say no to meetings. You can look at your own work and figure out what’s redundant. You can spend less time on e-mail throughout the day and you can bunch them. You can communicate with more clarity, versus jargon. So, there are things you can do.

                                    There are also more structural things that can be put into place like cut-the-crap committees that are in charge of looking at things and eradicating complexity. I guess my key takeaway is: It doesn’t have to be complex.When people start to look at redoing the organization and re-managing IT systems, I think they’re going about it at too high a level and making it much more than it needs to be to start.

Tom:                           What kinds of complications that are ripe for simplification have you encountered in highly regulated businesses?

Lisa:                            The interesting thing is, regulated businesses, when it comes down to it, aside from the regulation part, are not that much different than other industries because the things that drive people crazy are the day-to-day complexities.

                                    So, what are some of the things I’ve seen? Let me take Merck for an example. They have a simplification team in Canada, and they had so many things that were complex much like, frankly, a lot of other industries.

                                    What they decided was that they needed to tackle simplifying meetings. So they focused on one thing and they created a code of conduct for how meetings were going to be run and everyone had to adhere to those simplified behaviors. There had to be a decision maker, there had to be less than an hour. They couldn’t be repeated unless everybody agreed to it. You know you can’t have those zombie meetings. There had to be an agenda.

                                    All these kinds of behaviors that everybody started to adhere to caused people to use their time better and use the time they got back in more meaningful work. Focus on one thing. Agree to behaviors. Give yourself more time.

Is digital technology the savior of simplicity or the blockade?

Tom:                           Is digital technology aiding and abetting simplicity, or the opposite?
 

Lisa:                            [Laughs] The answer is “yes.” The problem with technology is, you ask people if it’s helped or hindered, and the answer is “yes.” Technology has helped us get more things done and many things more easily. Kickstarter lets us get funding more easily. Airbnb, we can get, you know, access to a hotel room more easily. Uber, you get a car more easily. So, technology can be a great thing. Unfortunately, we don’t know when to stop, and the problem with human nature is, just because you can does not mean you should. And so, that’s where it kind of goes over the edge where, you know, you want one more metric, you want one more report because it’s just so easy to generate.

                                    And so, we spend all these times drowning in mundane internal tasks, versus relying a little less on those things so you can focus on what’s important, the external customer-facing stuff.

Simplicity skepticism

Tom:                           What are some typical pushbacks, resistance to change and simplify, even if it is in the best interests of the client?

Lisa:                            Well, it’s interesting. How I would answer this question is, I don’t get a lot of pushback in terms of people wanting simplicity. In fact, it’s the best question I could ask people and get the answer I want. You know, “Who would like more simplicity in their lives?” Everyone raises their hand, and they’re so excited about it. What I get instead is skepticism. They don’t really believe that they’re allowed to make it happen, that their bosses will let it happen, that they’re able to do it, and there’s a few reasons why. We are conditioned around more. We are valued, we are awarded for doing more, not less, so it seems almost counterintuitive. A lot of our bosses operate out of risk, fear, power, control, so that’s why they put these things on us. And, a lot of it is, I’ll get down to habit, because I tell people that they — they need to just try not doing something. 

                                     You know, “What if I didn’t?” is a great question to ask because you think you’re in a groove, but you may be in a rut, and it’s very hard to tell the difference and to try and change one behavior and stop doing something.

Tom:                           I wonder if a lot of people are like this. I find that in my case, I’m a morning person.

Lisa:                            Yeah.

Tom:                           I get a day’s worth of work done in the morning.

Lisa:                            Me, too.

Tom:                           Yet if you are employed somewhere where you must clock in and put in your eight or nine hours. You feel guilty if you’re not applying nose to grindstone all eight or nine hours.

Lisa:                            So, here is the difference, right? It’s that simplicity is a time versus value equation. I want to get people off the time and get to the value. So, simplicity is not about time management. I’m sure you — just like you just said — you are really good at getting stuff done. You can look at a to-do list, and you can check things off. I get great satisfaction from doing that. I admit to people that I’m the person that, after I got stuff done — just for that satisfaction — I will create my to-do list and then check all the things on it that I already did because it makes me feel so good. But, it’s not about getting things done on your to-do list; it’s about what should have been on that to-do list in the first place. And that’s the habit we have to get into, which is not “How much am I getting done?” but “Am I doing the right things?”

Tom:                           Well, it’s very obvious, Lisa, that you enjoy this work, but what would you say you enjoy most?

Lisa:                            Oh, my gosh, I’ll try to focus on one thing. I get a lot of satisfaction in showing people how to get their time back, how to do more meaningful things. So, what that says to me is, people come to work to do meaningful things, and they are drowning in mundane work. And if I can teach them one or two simple things that can make them more fulfilled at work or frankly have more time at home with their kids, I will feel like I’ve done a good job.

Tom:                           Lisa Bodell is founder and CEO of futurethink, and we thank you for being with us.

Lisa:                            Thank you for having me.

Lisa Bodell presented at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17). To hear talks from the conference, sign up for the Alltech Idea Lab. For free access, click on the button below.

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Disrupt or be disrupted in an exponential world

Submitted by aeadmin on Wed, 05/24/2017 - 00:00

Breakthrough technologies discussed at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference

33rd annual event attracted a record 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] — During ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17), 70 speakers, including the brightest international minds in science, agriculture, technology and business, highlighted technologies that have the potential to revolutionize agriculture and make the next big leap in productivity possible.

Across all agricultural sectors, digital technologies and applications are emerging that are disrupting production systems and supply chains, creating radically different business models and enabling farmers and agribusiness to work with levels of precision and insight that were previously unimaginable.

“Technology will change beyond belief,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, founder and president of Alltech. “Things are changing at a rapid pace, and companies need to start thinking like startups: go and grow fast.”

Sharing his perspective from more than 36 years in business, Dr. Lyons listed his five key elements for success in this ever-changing marketplace:

1. Speed

2. Leadership

3. Culture

4. Training

5. A unique dynamic of “fun”

“We’re in the midst of an agri revolution — it’s happening right here, right now, and it’s exciting,” said Robert Walker, CEO of KEENAN, who addressed attendees on disruptive and data-driven technologies.

During his talk, Walker highlighted how KEENAN, an agriculture manufacturing specialist, partners with technology companies such as Vodafone and Intel to provide farmers with instant information on their herds’ feed ration through cloud computing.

Peter Diamandis, founder of the XPRIZE Foundation and co-founder of Singularity University, addressed attendees on disruptive innovations, highlighting that the only constant is change, and the rate of change is increasing.

“To stay ahead in any industry, companies and entrepreneurs must think in an exponential way, as it’s exponential technology that will transform every industry,” he said.

Diamandis was awarded the Alltech Humanitarian Award, which is bestowed annually to someone of strong character who uses their accomplishments to positively influence and inspire other people.

The three-day conference also heard from George Blankenship, former executive at Tesla Motors, Apple Computer and GAP Inc., Lisa Bodell, founder and CEO of futurethink, Jack Bobo, senior vice president and chief communications officer at Intrexon, and many more.

The program was closed by global phenomenon Riverdance, which performed traditional Irish dance on the main stage in Rupp Arena.

ONE17 attracted approximately 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries across the globe.

The conference will return to Lexington, Kentucky, USA, May 20–23, 2018.

Visit one.alltech.com for highlights from the event. Presentations will be made available in June on the Alltech Idea Lab. Sign up now for free access at ideas.alltech.com.

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During ONE 17 conference, 70 speakers, highlighted technologies that have the potential to revolutionize agriculture and make the next bi
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Dr. Pearse Lyons, founder and president of Alltech, shares his key elements for success in a disruptive marketplace during ONE17, which attracted approximately 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to its three-day conference in Lexington, Kentucky.
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<p>Dr. Pearse Lyons, founder and president of Alltech, shares his key elements for success in a disruptive marketplace during ONE17, which attracted approximately 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to its three-day conference in Lexington, Kentucky. </p>

Alltech Young Scientist award winners unveiled at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference

Submitted by aeadmin on Wed, 05/24/2017 - 00:00

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – Two students accepted the top global awards for the 12th annual Alltech Young Scientist (AYS) program, the world’ most prestigious agriscience competition for university students.
The AYS awards, recognizing pioneering research in the agriscience sector, were presented at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17), an event dedicated to inspiring innovation in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, held May 2124. Now in its 33rd year, the annual international conference is expected to draw approximately 4,000 attendees from nearly 80 countries to network and discuss disruptive ideas in business, technology, food and agriculture.

The global undergraduate winner was Joshua C. Gukowsky, who attends the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the U.S. Gukowsky was offered a fully funded Ph.D. position and $5,000 USD. The global graduate winner was Jonas de Souza, who attends Michigan State University in the U.S. De Souza was offered a fully funded postdoctorate position and $10,000 USD.

Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives and engagement at Alltech, and Victoria Liu, Alltech Young Scientist program manager, presented the awards in the famed Rupp Arena during ONE17.

“This year, we encouraged students to think about the ONE disruptive idea that will transform the way we think and work in agriculture in order for it to thrive and be sustainable,” said Lyons. “The international panel of judges, led by Irish professor Maurice Boland, was encouraged by this group of hugely talented students, all of whom place a huge emphasis on their scientific education.

“I speak for all of the judges on this year’s panel when I congratulate the 2017 winners,” continued Lyons. “The students not only exemplified great skill, but also aptitude and curiosity, which, in our minds, demonstrate their potential as the scientific leaders of tomorrow.”

This year, the program received more than 150 nominations from 134 professors, representing the world’s top 121 universities from 36 countries. To participate, students were nominated by their professors and submitted scientific papers on topics such as animal health and nutrition, agriculture analytical methods, food chain safety and traceability, human health and nutrition, and other agriscience-related sectors. Each student’s paper first competed within their own region of North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, or Europe and Africa. The first place regional winners, eight in total, were invited to an all-expenses-paid Alltech Discovery Week in Kentucky that culminated at ONE17, where a panel of leading judges selected the winners for the 2017 program.

“Thank you, everyone — this is a great honor to receive this prize,” said de Souza, the graduate winner. “Thank you to Dr. Aoife Lyons for putting this competition together to support new and young scientists. We are all winners in this program.”

De Souza’s research focused on altering the ratio of dietary palmitic, stearic and oleic acids, or fatty acids, in diets with or without whole cottonseed and the responses of dairy cows.

“Wow, thank you so much — I was really not expecting this,” said Gukowsky, the undergraduate winner. “First and foremost, I want to thank my parents and family.”

Gukowsky’s research featured detecting antibiotic residues in the foods we consume.

Entry for the 2018 program will open in September 2017.

For more information about ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, visit one.alltech.com. Join the conversation online with #ONE17.

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The 2017 Alltech Young Scientist undergraduate winner, Joshua C. Gukowsky, with his award from Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives and engagement at Alltech. Students presented their papers on innovative agriscience ideas to a panel of international judges and a live audience during ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, held May 21–24. Gukowsky received a fully funded Ph.D. position and $5,000 USD.
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<p>The 2017 Alltech Young Scientist undergraduate winner, Joshua C. Gukowsky, with his award from Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives and engagement at Alltech. Students presented their papers on innovative agriscience ideas to a panel of international judges and a live audience during ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, held May 21–24. Gukowsky received a fully funded Ph.D. position and $5,000 USD.</p>

Peter Diamandis: Harnessing exponential technology to change the world

Submitted by vrobin on Tue, 05/23/2017 - 08:42

The world seemed convinced that 2016 was the worst year in history, a theme that media outlets from The New York Times (“2016: Worst. Year. Ever?”) to The New Yorker (“The Worst Year Ever, Until Next Year”) featured profusely at the end of the year. John Oliver, host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” even blew up a giant “2016” during his season finale.

When we take a closer look at the overwhelmingly negative stories filling the news — from war and disease to poverty and inequality — it’s not hard to understand why we feel so pessimistic about where the world is heading, because it’s all we seem to hear.

Peter Diamandis, however, couldn’t disagree with this paradigm more, pointing out that the technology currently in the hands of billions of individuals today illustrates a power that only countries and governments possessed 20 years ago.

“I want to give you a view of the world that impassions me,” Diamandis, founder of the XPRIZE Foundation and co-founder of Singularity University, said at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17). “It’s clear that the world is getting better at an extraordinary rate.”

What’s the key thing driving this lightning-fast change? Exponential technology.

Below are the five exponential trends that Diamandis says will change the world (and you).

1. The world is going linear

While humans have evolved to think and live in a local and linear fashion, putting one foot in front of the other in measured, baby steps, Diamandis said that today the world is global and exponential.

“Things are changing year to year, not century to decade,” he explained. “This can be disruptive stress or a disruptive opportunity, depending on your point of view.”

He pointed to the example of Facebook buying Instagram in 2012, the same year that Kodak, ignoring the digital photography trend, went bankrupt. Technologies are doubling in power every year, giving rise to increasingly powerful exponential technology. In fact, the rate of disruption is so fast today that the average life of the company has dropped to 15 years.

“The question is, as you’re starting companies and solving problems: Are you basing these on exponential trends?” asked Diamandis.

The technologies that are evolving today and changing the world are riding Moore’s Law, he said. In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore noticed that the number of transistors per square inch on circuits had doubled every year since they were invented. This trend is continuing and can be applied to all technology. In fact, it’s right on schedule and is enabling us to innovate and make progress at increasingly faster rates. 
 

2. 6Ds of exponentials

Diamandis described the way that exponential technology follows Moore’s Law and explodes onto the scene, much as apps such as Snapchat have done in recent years, in six steps, or the “6Ds of exponentials.”

He explained the first three steps in the following way:

 “In the early days of digitization, that growth is rather deceptive,” he said. “But all of a sudden, 30 doublings later, it’s a billion times better, and it becomes disruptive.”

After the initial three steps, technology reaches the last three critical steps:

  • Demonetized. Think Uber and Airbnb, which don’t have to create products from scratch.
  • Dematerialized: Technology that once filled entire rooms can now fit into your pocket, such as iPhones.
  • Democratized: Demonetization and dematerialization enable you to offer your products to billions of people around the world.

Importantly, Diamandis noted that by 2022, 3 billion new consumers will be online and consuming those products, representing tens of trillions of dollars flowing into the global economy. They will buy technologies that continue to connect the entire planet digitally via ventures such as Google’s Project Loon, further increasing the rate of exponential technology.
 

3. An explosion of sensors and networks

A key element driving exponential technology to new heights includes the sensors and networks connecting people, places and things globally, from drones and satellites to the smartwatch on your wrist, taking images and collecting data on everything imaginable. This connectivity is propelling us from a period of time when we’ve virtually been “blind” to one in which we have an unlimited supply of information.

“This, for me, blows my mind,” said Diamandis. “It means that these sensors will allow us to know anything we want, anytime, anywhere.”

Furthermore, this technology is experiencing massive price reductions. Huge sensors that were millions of dollars in the 1960s are only $1 today and are molecular in size. This trend is showing no signs of slowing down, and Diamandis predicts that soon we’ll all be proud owners of such tech, such as augmented reality glasses we simply can’t live without.
 

4. Exponential technology will transform every industry

Faster, cheaper computing power is leading to unexpected consequences, Diamandis said, in which technologies such as robotics, 3D applications, virtual reality and artificial intelligence are combining to produce even more groundbreaking products. This is causing a paradigm shift in which every industry will soon be revolutionized by more efficient technology, such as self-driving cars and Watson, an artificial intelligence (AI) program that won an episode of “Jeopardy!” in 2011.

Some skeptics are worried about the negative consequences these new technologies might have.

“I’m not worried about AI as ‘The Terminator,’” said Diamandis. “I’m worried that AI is going to transform job markets. It’s the rate of change that we need to deal with.”

5. Moonshot thinking

The last, and arguably most important, of Diamandis’ five exponential trends is “moonshot thinking,” or thinking about how you can impact more than a billion people with a single venture.

The phrase, coined by Google, is the idea that today, any one of us can think about achieving 10 times more growth while the rest of the world is only focused on growing by 10 percent. Diamandis said that this requires a shift in mindset, since we have been trained to accomplish 10 percent more by merely working hard.

“When you ask yourself to go 10 times bigger, it forces you to think in a radically different fashion,” he said. “It forces you to throw out all that you’ve done before.”

He said that, personally, he focuses on “What’s the moonshot?” at the beginning of all of his new ventures, such as Human Longevity Inc., which aims to make being 100 years old the new 60 years old.

“I think, ‘OK, this is impossible; now let’s figure out how to make it happen,’” said Diamandis.

The news may continue to beat us down with up-to-the-minute, anxiety-inducing doom and gloom, but by using exponential technology, we can take matters into our own hands to change the world for the better.

“We’re living in the most exciting time in human history, a time when you as an individual have access to more capital, more computational power than experts in any time, ever,” said Diamandis. “You can solve any problem you put your mind to, and, ultimately, it’s the power of your passion and your mind that’s the most powerful thing on the planet today.”

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10 agri-tech disruptions that could shape the future of farming and food

Submitted by vrobin on Tue, 05/23/2017 - 08:37

“It turns out that in agriculture, we have some big problems we’re trying to solve, and we have some people with technologies that could really help us,” explained Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer at Alltech. “But we really have to help them to help us.”

With the population steadily rising, it is important to find sustainable ways to nourish the masses. At ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17), 10 ready-for-market companies took the stage by telling a crowd of 4,000 potential investors and business partners what their plans are to disrupt the industry.

How can these companies change the way we farm and the way we eat?

Agrilyst: Determined to help indoor farmers save money and increase yields through data collection, Agrilyst aims to be an at-home digital agronomist pushing farmers to achieve year-round revenue.

AgriWebb: Optimizing farm efficiency and looking to solve a $25 billion issue in agriculture, AgriWebb supports farmers by tracking their data and accreditation needs.

 “I wanted to solve real problems for real people,” Kevin Baum, co-founder and CEO of AgriWebb, told the crowd.

Alesca Life: As a company that allows commercial-scale farming anywhere, Alesca Life saves water, promotes urban farming and meets the demand of fresh produce and organic food. Because farms are available in a shipping container, Alesca Life CEO Stuart Oda said that his company provides “local food production by anyone, anywhere.”

eFishery: Overfeeding at shrimp and fish farms is a big issue in aquaculture, especially when 80% of the total cost at farms is feed. eFishery senses a fish’s appetite, adjusts the amount of feed needed and automatically distributes it to reduce a farmer’s cost by up to 21%.

Greengage: When light can affect a chicken’s physiology, behavior and productivity, farmers should look to Greengage for a solution. Their LED lights that can last 60,000 hours can reduce mortality rates, increase yields and lead to more productive chickens.

Hargol FoodTech: As the world’s first commercial grasshopper farm, Hargol FoodTech is disrupting the industry by proposing a new, sustainable grasshopper protein. With 72% protein, essential amino acids and a neutral taste, it has the potential to become a power protein player in providing solutions to our world’s future food crisis.

MagGrow: An astounding 70% of what is sprayed does not reach the target crop, and as the CEO of MagGrow, Gary Wickham, said, “It’s waste,” particularly when 80% of the world’s available water is being used for agriculture.  By using a magnetic spraying system, MagGrow disrupts the status quo by reducing water drift by over 80%. It is “truly using less to grow more, and that’s what the world needs,” explained Wickham.

Moocall: Using calving sensors to measure contractions, Moocall can predict when a cow is going into labor. This innovative device will text and email a farmer an hour before the cow gives birth, marginalizing the $2 billion loss farmers experience per year due to cow and calf death during birth.

SkySquirrel: Utilizing the disruptive technology of drones, SkySquirrel has created a technology used for monitoring crop health. This invention can save the wine industry $15 billion per year by detecting diseases in the vineyard.

Tevatronic: “What do you think will happen with a system that will decide for you?” Oleg Koral, Tevatronics CEO, asked the crowd. The company, which is revolutionizing the future of irrigation, has developed an autonomous system that knows when to start and stop irrigation on crops so they receive just the right amount of water at the right time.

The culmination of a 15-week program called The Pearse Lyons Accelerator, the 10 companies (which were chosen out of almost 200 applicants) have been provided with mentorship and new industry connections. They also received over €300,000 in software perks from Google, Amazon and Softlayer.

“Since starting The Pearse Lyons Accelerator 100 days ago, we have doubled our revenue,” Agrilyst CEO Allison Kopf enthusiastically told the crowd.

Connolly, one of the mentors of The Pearse Lyons Accelerator program, gave future and current entrepreneurs a piece of advice before ending the session.

“You have to be passionate about what you do, but the focus is absolutely critical,” he said. “The business is not going to come to you; you have to go and find the business.”

One thing is clear: with disruptive ideas from around the world and a growing interest by investors in agriculture, a sustainable future seems more possible than ever before.

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