The corn earworm is considered one of the costliest pests for crops in North America. Alonna Wright hopes to find a cure that can stop the menace and keep farmers around the U.S. happy.

Wright, a rising senior at the University of Kentucky (UK), won the 2016 undergraduate Alltech Young Scientist (AYS) award with her research on the biological control of agricultural pests.

“Winning the AYS award was a very surreal experience, and one of the most memorable of my life,” said Wright.

Wright said she entered the competition just hoping to get an honorable mention to put on a resume. She never imagined winning.

“It means so much to me personally, but also to be able to share my research on a global platform and bring awareness to this problem, which costs our farmers billions of dollars in damage each year, is a privilege that some scientists may not ever be able to have, and one that I don't take for granted,” she said.

Fighting corn earworm with a nudivirus

Wright conducted her research at Paratechs, a privately held biotech company in Kentucky

“Virology is a field that continues to captivate me with each new thing I learn about it,” she said.

Virology is a branch of science that deals with the studies of viruses and viral diseases. According to Wright, viruses are very important to study and continue to study “in order to prevent harmful viruses and utilize the capabilities of other viruses to benefit the greater good.”

Wright’s research specifically dealt with the Heliothis zea nudivirus.

“This virus affects some populations of the corn earworm, or Helicoverpa zea, which is an agricultural pest that causes billions of dollars in damage to the crops they feed on; they feed on 123 known hosts,” she said.

In nature, the virus causes approximately one-third of the corn earworm population to become sterile.

“What we have done here at ParaTechs is we have mutated the virus to cause 100 percent sterility in the population,” said Wright.

“My specific project was determining the interaction between those viruses, using a superinfection research model, to determine if the presence of the wild-type virus would prevent our mutant virus from causing the high rate of sterility that we expect,” continued Wright. “Our results showed that presence of the wild-type virus would not decrease the rate of sterility in the insects due to our mutant virus.”

With this research, Wright hopes to market this mutant virus as a substitute to some pesticides used for corn earworm control and to supplement the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) plants that are currently on the market.

What’s next for Wright

Wright, who is an agricultural biotechnology student at the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment with minors in psychology and microbiology, believes agriculture is very important for the future.

“Agriculture is a very prevalent field of study in America, especially in Kentucky,” said Wright.

She believes that “home-grown” pride has brought agriculture back into the spotlight, and she encourages the younger generation to pursue a career in agriculture.

Wright’s plans are to utilize the full funding that she received from Alltech as part of her AYS award to complete her Ph.D. in a genetics-related program. Afterward, she plans on working in the industry on cutting-edge technology to help advance agricultural products and techniques. 

Wright’s dream would be to work as a research scientist in a research company.

“I really enjoy being in a lab and the thrill that molecular research can bring on a daily basis, and I'd love to be able to do what I enjoy every day when I go into work,” said Wright.

 The following is an excerpt from a post by Chief Innovation Officer Aidan Connolly on LinkedIn.

For the first time, perhaps in history, the biggest challenges facing the food chain involve not just productivity, but the environmental impact of production and the social impact of both production processes and the food itself. A paper published by Alltech five years ago and is about to be republished, uses the acronym GLIMPSE™ to summarize the seven factors (Government, Losses, Infrastructure, Markets, People, Science and Innovation, and Environment) that limit farmers from producing the food we will need.

A new in-depth study (Sodre et al) has been conducted with three distinct parts: 59 interviews with experts; a survey with 527 industry leaders; and an analysis of 1.3 million websites using different social media applications to determine public perception and to validate the initial research, which will determine if the same factors originally identified in the GLIMPSE framework still represent the major concerns and barriers for the agribusiness sector.

To discover the seven barriers farmers face in feeding the world, read the rest of Aidan's post.

As China’s middle class continues to grow and to migrate to urban areas, it is demanding healthier, safer and more nutritious food. To help meet this demand at a local level, Dr. Mark Lyons moved to China four years ago to lead Alltech’s efforts and serves as global vice president and head of Greater China.

The company established Alltech Crop Science China, and Dr. Xue Kai serves as its technical and product manager. Dr. Steven Borst, general manager for Alltech Crop Science, is responsible for global product registration. These three experts shared their insights on how the company is helping local producers increase production efficiency in a sustainable way.
 

Why is there an emphasis on China?

Dr. Lyons: Globally, China is the second largest producer of potatoes, wheat, corn and other commodities. For years, there has been much discussion about who will feed China. The answer is: China will feed China.

As Chinese consumers travel globally, they are becoming aware of cutting-edge technology and expect that same level of knowledge in China. Alltech is committed to providing technology at a local level to meet growing global needs and will provide the best staff to support local producers.

Which crop science products will help serve this market?

Dr. Kai: Alltech Crop Science China has worked to gain product approval for two of the company’s natural plant and soil activators. The company is now finalizing registration of its unique products, designed to streamline processes for optimal performance and help revitalize soils.

The excellent results from the registration and demonstration trials conducted thus far make us extremely excited about the future of this technology in China and the role Alltech can play to support the development of new agricultural practices in this country.
 

How is Alltech supporting other efforts in China?
 

Dr. Lyons: Alltech’s China Now program is a strategic five-year plan and includes numerous educational and research initiatives in China. The company has been operating in China for 22 years and has recently partnered with Nestlé in the creation of a world-class training center, the Dairy Farming Institute in Shuangcheng, Heilongjiang province. In addition, 10 of the company’s 30 research alliances are focused on providing local support for this growing region.
 

What are future challenges and opportunities in China?
 

Dr. Borst: As Chinese producers work on continued production efficiency, they are also awakening to the same issues we are successfully addressing in the U.S. and Brazil. Common issues include addressing nutrient management needs not only for soil health, but as part of integrated crop and livestock systems.

Across the globe, farmers are working to become more precise with nutrient management. With our global expertise, we can share best practices with producers and others involved in Chinese agribusiness.

Consumers and producers alike are demanding more natural alternatives and products that fit into sustainable management systems. We are focused on providing new solutions that meet environmental sustainability and food safety standards.
 

Have a question or comment?

Our species is experiencing a technological inflection point, according to David Hunt, co-founder of Cainthus.

“Science fiction is becoming science fact,” he said.

In just the last few years, we have landed the rover Curiosity on Mars, discovered the Higgs boson particle and discovered gravitational waves. Hunt, a self-proclaimed science fiction fan, seemed especially impressed by the harpooning of a comet in 2015.

Technological advances on the farm

Hunt has worked for years on some amazing, but slightly more down-to-earth than comet capture, technologies. He and his twin brother co-founded Cainthus, a company dedicated to digitizing agriculture. He described some of the company’s projects in breakout discussions on dairy and the future of farming at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference.  

Facial recognition for cows

The audience got a glimpse into a few fascinating technologies, some of which are here now and others that are right around the corner. Digital cameras are at the core of many of these advancements. Cainthus has developed facial recognition software for dairy farms that can memorize the face of a cow in six seconds and monitor the activity of an entire herd without wearable tracking devices. They are creating algorithms that will allow their software to alert a farmer when cows show early signs of lameness or when they fight over the best feed. When cows fight, it typically disrupts the entire herd and interrupts them from feeding for up to two hours, which certainly has an impact on milk production.

Scouting fields with drones

Drones are being adopted at a rapid rate on the farm, and Hunt talked about both the potential and the limitations of their use. Self-flying drones are already very successful for monitoring crop growth. Hunt looks forward to a day when farms are photographed twice a day. He warned farmers not to accept any offers from companies offering to fly drones over their farm manually. The cost is prohibitive and would not allow frequent enough flyovers to be beneficial. Current drones are disruptive for use in animal agriculture and will not be fully effective until they are small enough to go unnoticed by animals or can fly high enough that they won’t be seen.

The future of agricultural robotics

Robots will have an enormous impact on agriculture in the next several years. Hunt showed a video of two dog-like robots walking side by side. One was large and clumsy looking, the 2010 model. The other was sleek and graceful and was released just four years later.

“Imagine what they will look like by 2050,” said Hunt.

The significance of robotics for agriculture is huge. Robotic harvesters could allow farming to return to polyculture, the practice of growing multiple crops side by side in the same field. Planting and harvesting with combines has allowed farmers to feed an ever-growing population by ramping up production, but it is dependent on monoculture planting. Polyculture is closer to the natural ecosystem, and proponents say that it results in better soil health and easier pest management.

Digitizing agricultural decisions

Digitizing agriculture will allow farmers to make decisions based on data rather than emotion or hype. Hunt stressed the importance of this, emphasizing the need to base decisions on what is happening on your own farm and not anecdotal evidence from another farm, even the one next door.

“Just because a product works incredibly well on your neighbor’s field doesn’t mean that it will work well on your field,” said Hunt. “If we have precision management observing what things work, what works, what does not work, on a meter-by-meter basis and a plant-by-plant basis, there is no emotion, there is no hype. There’s just good decisions and maximization of productivity.”

In closing, Hunt offered a challenge.

“We have an opportunity today to use the tools that are here to create a utopia by 2050,” said Hunt. “We also have the tools available today to have this planet being a desert by 2050. The choices we make today are going to determine which one we leave behind for our children.”

David Hunt was a presenter at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference. Audio recordings of most talks from ONE will be made available on the Alltech Idea Lab by mid-June 2016. For access, click on the button below.

As the distance between farmer and consumer closes around the world, we must continually adapt our methods to meet the ever-growing demand for high-quality, safe food. In the webinar, “The Path of Least Resistance,” we took a dive into the world of antibiotics, specifically how they have impacted and will continue to impact the agriculture industry. The key speaker, Dr. Richard Murphy, explained why we should worry about antibiotic resistance, where we are now with restrictions on antibiotics in livestock health and what opportunities exist for your operations.

Our three key takeaways were:

1. Worldwide, scientific evidence indicates an overall decline in the total stock of antibiotic effectiveness; resistance to all first-line and last-resort antibiotics is rising.
2. The livestock and poultry industries are not only facing increasing scrutiny from regulatory bodies such as the FDA and EFSA, but, worldwide, meat processors are starting to demand change.
3. Alternative growth promotion strategies are available that utilize strategic nutritional management practices as part of an antibiotic-free strategy for animal production.

To view the webinar and get the full story behind the takeaways, click on the button below:

More and more college students are realizing the value of work experience in their chosen field before graduation. In fact, the number of undergraduates participating in internships or co-op experiences during college has risen to a high of 65 percent, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Class of 2015 Student Survey. It also found that students who participate in paid internships have a greater chance of graduating with a job offer.

What better way to experience a future career than by interning with a potential employer?

More than 170 students have gained invaluable experience as interns at Alltech’s Center for Nutrigenomics and Applied Animal Nutrition since the world-renowned research facility opened in 2008. All these student researchers have completed projects impacting the company’s research program aimed at creating solutions for the global agriculture industry.

From traditional nutrition evaluation trials to evaluation and optimization of production processes, these students (the majority of them undergraduates) not only learn valuable information but also gain hands-on experience and training. Many have set themselves on paths to graduate school. Others have even found their career path with Alltech.

“The experience has opened a lot of doors to opportunities I had not imagined,” said Hayley Kincaid, a recent biology graduate of the University of Pikeville in Kentucky.

Kincaid joined the internship program right after graduation so she could begin gaining research laboratory experience. “I never expected to be here,” she said, “but I love working in the lab.” Kincaid is working with the poultry nutrition group during her time at Alltech.

“I didn’t know that companies like Alltech existed,” said Kincaid, who learned about Alltech and the internship program when a company representative visited her school. She is excited about future opportunities with companies like Alltech in Eastern Kentucky.

The only problem she has with her three- to four month-internship at Alltech is she would like it to be longer. “I just like it so much; I want to stay!” she said.

For many, an internship with Alltech is the type of experience needed before making a decision to pursue an advanced degree in a scientific field.

Megan Dudley, a psychology major at the University of Kentucky with an interest in neuroscience and genetics research, plans to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in the field. A professor mentioned a potential internship at Alltech could be advantageous.

“The experience in methodology will be invaluable when applying to grad school,” Dudley said.

The experience in the laboratory has not been the only benefit. “I think my confidence level has increased dramatically from being here,” Dudley said, explaining that she takes responsibility for her research project in a new way, which will be necessary for graduate school.

For others, an internship experience with Alltech is a determining factor in a career not just in research, but with the company.

Amanda Sberna is the senior lab technician and marketing specialist for the Analytical Services Laboratory at Alltech. She interned with Alltech before graduation.

“Through my internship I gained knowledge and skills that would help me to become the scientist I am today,” she said. “Alltech is an incredible company to work for, offering many different opportunities with your career.”

For more information about Alltech’s student research internship program, or to apply, please visit http://www.alltech.com/about/careers/internships.

Alltech’s 37+^™ mycotoxin analysis program has run more than 5,200 tests, each searching for over 37 mycotoxins in animal feed. In many cases, these mycotoxins can individually harm the animal when consumed, but many tests showed a combination of these toxins, which can cause harm to not only the animals but the overall performance and profitability of the farm. Of the thousands of tests run, 99.68 percent of samples contained at least one mycotoxin.

You could say that mycotoxins are a consistent opponent. On average, every feed sample contained 7.3 mycotoxins. Mycotoxins have been shown to reduce feed intake, damage gut integrity and cause poor fertility. Each of these issues can be a major cost to producers, so identifying and addressing these hidden challenges is very important.

With the 37+ program, mycotoxins can’t remain hidden for long. Alltech’s Mycotoxin Management program places high value on quality, efficiency, traceability, food safety and the environment. This program is designed to reduce risk and improve safety while ensuring that mycotoxins do not limit livestock performance and profitability.

Learn more about 37+ or Alltech’s solutions for mycotoxins by visiting us at alltech.com or contacting your local Alltech representative.

When you hear the word audit you automatically think of revenue or taxation auditors, but did you know that Alltech runs farm audits to help improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of your farm?

Alltech believes the key to unlocking greater profitability in a sustainable fashion is by increasing efficiency of production. This is the driving principle behind the Alltech E=P+S programme. Alltech can predict the probable outcome in economic value and also highlight the expected reduction in carbon emission from the added efficiencies projected. The programme helps to predict and monitor the benefits on-farm, as well as clearly demonstrating the advantages through Alltech’s unique “What if?” tool.

It’s simple, according to Kevin Dardis, global dairy marketing manager, “farmers look to the opportunities that abound in dairy and beef production, Alltech is uniquely positioned to help resolve inefficiencies and boost profitability in a more sustainable way.”

So how does it work? Alltech’s E=P+S programme is comprised of a number of components which when taken together provide farmers with a complete audit and recommendation package for any farm unit.

The first component is silage production and quality. This is combined with advice on feed formulation and mineral specifications. Then our technicians audit the management of the herd using the Alltech programme. And we carry out manure sieving to help identify the amount of undigested feed passing through the rumen in a wasteful manner.

“As farmers look to the opportunities that abound in dairy and beef production, Alltech is uniquely positioned to help resolve inefficiencies and boost profitability in a more sustainable way,” says Kevin.

Our technicians are fully trained in feed formulation using Plurimix, a dedicated formulations program. Plurimix models the existing diet and allows for a comparison of the potential benefits of alternative diets. All diets can be compared nutritionally, by cost and by carbon output of the herd’s diet. This information can then be transferred, along with the basic operating performance indicators of the farm, into the unique Alltech “What if?“ tool. Calculations indicate the degree of cost benefit from the resolved inefficiencies to the farmer with the added bonus of reduced herd carbon footprint, which is great news for the consumer who is more concerned than ever with how their food is produced.

All of these components are pulled together into a comprehensive recommendation for diet, mineral specification, alternative protein sources and if required, mycotoxin control. Following implementation, the results and performance are regularly monitored by technicians to ensure the predicted improvements are achieved or bettered. Sounds simple right? If you are interested in seeing if Alltech can help you today contact your local Alltech representative.