many of the independent seed companies got bought up in the 90's .. there aren't very many actually doing seeds by their own name anymore
these were picture captions so if you want to look at pics go to the link
http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/inside-the-little-known-monsanto-campus-where-scientists-are-changing-the-way-you-eat/ss-BBzBDHK#image=1
Inside the little-known Monsanto campus where scientists are changing the way you eat
Business Insider Logo Business InsiderMelia Robinson
3 hrs ago
Monsanto is no one-trick GMO pony. Founded in 1901, the agricultural biotech company has fueled innovations in herbicides, pesticides, and ever-controversial genetically modified crops (GMOs).
But it may come as a surprise, even to people who are familiar with the $49 billion global giant, that Monsanto is also the world's largest supplier of vegetable seeds.
Most corn and soybeans grown in the US contain the company's patented seed traits. These days, Monsanto's bread-and-butter GMO business is supplemented by its work on non-GMO vegetables, which cleared $801 million in net sales in the company's 2016 fiscal year.
On a sprawling campus in Woodland, California, Monsanto chips away at making a juicier melon, a more shelf-stable onion, a tomato that doesn't go limp in shipment, and other foods made using traditional breeding techniques augmented by high-tech tools.
Business Insider recently toured Monsanto's global headquarters of vegetable R&D in Woodland to see how the company is working to create new kinds of produce.
IN 2016, MONSANTO WAS NAMED THE FIFTH-MOST HATED COMPANY IN AMERICA.
Source: The Harris Poll
Monsanto's bad rap comes from its work in GMOs, which are made by taking genes from one species and inserting them into the DNA of another. GMOs are the source of a never-ending debate among food-safety activists - with Monsanto at the center.
The National Academy of Sciences, a top scientific group, declared engineered foods safe to eat in 2016, but there are lingering social and environmental concerns.
BUT IN WOODLAND, ON A 212-ACRE CAMPUS SURROUNDED BY FARMS, MONSANTO IS FOCUSED ON BREEDING VEGETABLES THE OLD FASHIONED WAY — NO GENETIC MODIFICATION REQUIRED.
In 2005, Monsanto paid about $1 billion to acquire Seminis, a leading producer of fruit and vegetable seeds. Together, they formed the world's largest seed company.
"It was a natural evolution," says John Purcell, the global head of R&D for Monsanto's vegetables division.
Last year, Monsanto's vegetable seed business cleared $801 million in net sales - less than one-tenth of its revenue across GMOs, agrochemical products, and farming software solutions.
Though its vegetable division isn't as profitable as its two key GMO crops (pesticide-resistant corn and soybeans), the company invested $100 million into vegetable research and development in 2016, Purcell says. Monsanto spends about $1.5 billion a year on R&D in total
GLOBALLY, MONSANTO BREEDS 18 CROPS, INCLUDING TOMATOES, MELONS, ONIONS, CARROTS, BROCCOLI, AND LETTUCE, AND HAS OVER 2,000 VARIETIES ACROSS ITS VEGETABLE PORTFOLIO.
People who grow food have long manipulated their crops to get better results. In conventional breeding, farmers cross two parent plants with specific traits, in the hopes of those characteristics passing from parent to offspring through later generations.
Today, plant breeders still rely on classic methodologies to develop products that mature on time, last on shelves, look pretty, and taste good. But the process is time-consuming and costly, requiring farmers to plant multiple generations to achieve the desired effects.
OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, MONSANTO HAS DEVELOPED BREEDING TECHNOLOGIES THAT ALLOW SCIENTISTS TO KNOW WHAT CHARACTERISTICS PLANTS HAVE EVEN BEFORE THE SEED IS PLANTED.
MUCH OF THAT PROGRESS HAPPENS IN WOODLAND. THE FACILITY BRINGS TOGETHER SCIENTISTS, COMPUTER ENGINEERS, STATISTICIANS, AND OTHER TALENT TO FIND NEW WAYS OF GROWING PRODUCE.
THE CAMPUS IS LOCATED LESS THAN A 30-MINUTE DRIVE FROM THE STATE CAPITAL, BUT IT MIGHT AS WELL BE A RESEARCH FACILITY ON MARS. ROWS OF GREENHOUSES STRETCH PAST ENDLESS DIRT FIELDS.
AT WOODLAND, EMPLOYEES FIELD SUPPORT REQUESTS FROM FARMERS WHO BUY MONSANTO'S SEEDS. "JUST LIKE HUMANS, PLANTS CAN ALSO GET SICK," SAYS STACI ROSENBERGER, WHO LEADS THE PLANT PATHOLOGY TEAMS RESPONSIBLE FOR RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC ACTIVITIES ON VEGETABLE CROPS.
In a low-tech lab on campus, Rosenberger cracks open a plastic case of lettuce sprouts. Fuzzy white clusters dot the leaves - a symptom of a fungal disease called lettuce downy mildew.
The case is similar to ones her team receives when a customer's crops show signs of disease. They send samples to the lab at Woodland in the hopes of altering the crop for resistance.
WHEN THE SAMPLES ARRIVE AT WOODLAND, SCIENTISTS FIRST IDENTIFY IF IT'S A KNOWN DISEASE OR A NEW ONE CAUSING THE CLUSTERS. THEN THEY TURN TO A DATABASE, CALLED THE GENE BANK, TO FIND A VARIETY OF LETTUCE SHOWN TO BE RESISTANT TO THE DISEASE PLAGUING THE FARMER'S LETTUCE.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SEEDS ARE STORED IN ONE OF SEVERAL "SEED LIBRARIES" ON CAMPUS, WHICH ARE STAFFED BY TWO FULL-TIME LIBRARIANS. THEY ARE ORGANIZED BY SPECIES.
ROSENBERGER'S TEAM SENDS DISEASE-RESISTANT SEEDS TO THE FARMER, WHO CAN BREED THEM KNOWING THAT THE PAIRING WILL BE SUCCESSFUL. "IT'S MATCH.COM FOR LETTUCE," PURCELL SAYS.
THE COMPANY'S BREEDING EFFORTS ARE BOTH REACTIVE AND PROACTIVE. THEY MAKE CROPS MORE RESISTANT TO DISEASE, BUT ALSO CREATE NEW TYPES PRODUCE WITH DESIRABLE TRAITS.
In 2011, Monsanto gave broccoli an upgrade. Beneforté combines a wild broccoli variety that produces antioxidants in abundance with commercial broccoli to create a nutrient-rich hybrid.
Monsanto has also engineered a non-GMO onion that doesn't make you cry, called the EverMild; a lettuce that crunches long after you bring it home from the store (the Frescada); and a bell pepper reduced to a single-serving size (the BellaFina).
THE COMPANY'S FIRST CHALLENGE IN MAKING A SWEETER WINTER CANTALOUPE, FOR EXAMPLE, IS FIGURING OUT WHICH GENES IN THE MELON ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BRIX, A MEASURE OF SWEETNESS.
Source: Wired
In order to achieve this, Monsanto takes the seeds of one melon variety believed to taste sweeter and the seeds of another melon, thought to be less sweet, as a control.
A MACHINE CALLED A SEED CHIPPER, A PROPRIETARY MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY, SHAVES A SMALL SLICE FROM EACH OF THE TWO MELON SEEDS. IT SEPARATES THE SHELLS WITH A BLAST OF AIR.
Source: Popular Science
THE SEED CHIPS GO INTO TRAYS THAT CONTAIN SMALL BEADS, WHICH PULVERIZE THE MATERIAL INTO A FINE POWDER. THEN THE CHIPS CAN BE READ BY YET ANOTHER MACHINE FOR GENOME SEQUENCING.
THE CRUSHED SEED CHIPS ARE TRANSPORTED BY MACHINES INTO TINY WELLS. A CHEMICAL DYE THAT BINDS TO THE PLANT'S DNA IS ADDED. THE MATERIAL CHANGES COLOR IF IT TURNS UP THE DESIRED TRAIT.
17/24 SLIDES © Melia Robinson/Business Insider
ONCE THE TRAIT (WHICH IN THIS EXAMPLE IS SWEETNESS) HAS BEEN MAPPED IN THE PLANT'S DNA, MONSANTO SENDS A REPORT OF THE DATA TO ONE OF 60 VEGETABLE-BREEDER EMPLOYEES LOCATED AROUND THE WORLD. THEY ADVANCE THE EXPERIMENT IN REAL LIFE.
JEFF MILLS, A MELON BREEDER AT WOODLAND, OVERSEES A GREENHOUSE OF ABOUT 1,200 MELON PLANTS. HE BREEDS THEM WITH OTHER VARIETIES CONTAINING SEEDS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE SPECIFIC TRAITS BASED ON GENETIC TESTING DONE IN THE LAB.
MILLS SAYS IT TAKES ABOUT SEVEN YEARS TO BRING A NEW VARIETY OF MELON FROM DEVELOPMENT TO GROCERY AISLES. INCREMENTAL CHANGES ARE KEY. "THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT," HE SAYS.
WHEN A NEW VARIETY APPROACHES RETAIL LAUNCH, IT UNDERGOES RIGOROUS CONSUMER TESTING. CHOW-MING LEE, CONSUMER SENSORY LEAD AT MONSANTO, OVERSEES DOZENS OF TASTE TESTS IN THE US AND EUROPE EVERY YEAR. HE GATHERS 100 TO 150 CONSUMERS EACH TIME.
A TYPICAL TASTE-TEST TRAY INCLUDES SEVERAL SAMPLE CUPS CONTAINING BITE-SIZED PIECES OF VEGETABLES, A BOTTLED WATER, A "SPIT CUP," AND A CLICKER FOR SUBMITTING A RATING PER SAMPLE
DURING A DEMONSTRATION, LEE FOUND THAT A SUGARY GRAPE TOMATO VARIETY RECEIVED A "SIX" FROM THE GROUP. (I VOTED SIX BECAUSE IT WAS TASTY, BUT NOT SO GOOD THAT I WANTED SECONDS.)
A six sounds modest, but Lee says that's a great score for a tomato. "It's not chocolate," he says.
WHILE MONSANTO PURSUES INNOVATIVE WORK AT WOODLAND, CRITICS WORRY ABOUT ITS HOLD ON THE VEGETABLE SEED INDUSTRY
If Monsanto loses interest in certain seed varieties, they may virtually disappear.
In 2000, Seminis bought several smaller seed suppliers and dropped more than 2,000 hybridsfrom production. The majority of these varieties were proprietary, so they ceased to exist.
Critics worry that too few players hold the power in the vegetable seed industry in general. That could threatenbiodiversity, hurt small-time breeders, and sap the market of competition
BUT WITH ITS FREE-FLOWING CAPITAL, TALENT, AND HOLD ON THE SEED BUSINESS, MONSANTO HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WAY WE EAT.
All I know is that all this fiddling with genomes has bred the flavor out of fruits and vegetables.
It isn't worth it. Thank God for heirloom seeds and The Vault.
Quote from: Irene on April 09, 2017, 07:13:13 PM
All I know is that all this fiddling with genomes has bred the flavor out of fruits and vegetables.
It isn't worth it. Thank God for heirloom seeds and The Vault.
Absolutely tasteless, not like the olden days when I was a youngin.
well Biggs if you would like to try gardening at your next place let me know and i can get some seeds to you..
a friend had some tomatoe seeds in the frig for two years he had been given them by an old itilian fellow who brought them to this country..
he didn't think they would grow
but of the 42 seeds i scraped off of the paper towel.. so far 30 of them have germinated...just goes to show how the old ones (heirlooms) are hardy
omg,i hope that aint woodlands texas,as my part time employer is ex monsanto employee.
as for me.i hacked plants,whatever you want in your plants,just add by sprouting the seed of that plant and letting it die.then mix them in the soil.i had cannabis crawling like water mellons and i had others with staggered leaves like alfalfa.
thats how these new strains of pot are being created.i know how og and white widow were actually created and the bullshit they say about years of selection is just that,bs.
if you want the hardiest tomatoes ive ever seen,arkansas travelers.hands down the best.floods,drought,mildew,these things are tough.
Robo you crack me up
i hope your garden does well for you this year
Quote from: space otter on April 13, 2017, 10:42:12 PM
well Biggs if you would like to try gardening at your next place let me know and i can get some seeds to you..
a friend had some tomatoe seeds in the frig for two years he had been given them by an old itilian fellow who brought them to this country..
he didn't think they would grow
but of the 42 seeds i scraped off of the paper towel.. so far 30 of them have germinated...just goes to show how the old ones (heirlooms) are hardy
Thank you honey, they should do well up there, last time I was up there I think I smelt a pocket of fresh air, I think it was anyway. xxoo
I took one tomato. Sliced it up and planted the slices in fresh potting soil. Covered them up and two weeks later I've got tomato plants out the yang yang.
thankyou sky,congrats sarge.
10 inches of rain 2 days ago,almost washed out culvert behind my house.i had got on to commisioner about bad roads and he topped culvert.if he hadnt,culvert would be gone right now.it washed over enough to wash out opposite side like dam in cali.
i was halfway done covering taters when it started.worst lightning ive ever seen.i suspect anti nuke test.harvard boys.
https://www.facebook.com/tastyvegetarian/videos/1831668737095008/
wow nice find A51.. the tomato slice and the lemon that little tree make me chuckle though
currently i am holding everything waiting for the rain to stop..unreal weather
(http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t522/robomont/garrisob%20family/20170424_090039_zps7twqwwvs.jpg)
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Quote from: Sgt.Rocknroll on April 14, 2017, 03:11:53 AM
I took one tomato. Sliced it up and planted the slices in fresh potting soil. Covered them up and two weeks later I've got tomato plants out the yang yang.
That works
Onions and green onions, lettuce... you can eat them but save the little nub that grows ropts in te fridge You can plant those again and again :D
Some seed companies these days put growth inhibitors into the seeds they sell but you can beat that by letting those plants grow as they will in your yard and harvesting those seeds. The new seeds will not have the growth inhibitor AND have gained 'soil memory"
I can elaborate on these later but I did before somewhere in here
My problem is birds and rats :P and HEAT Last year my nectarines cooked on the tree and the birds got them all The pomegranites barely turned red were dry inside even those I watered a lot (at 200.00 a month) The rats got what did grow
When I can afford it I will get a green house built Has to be glass with a swamp cooler though
My tomato slice experiment went ok, but I didn't have any blooms and was thinking that the inhibitors my be the cause and all I'd get was pretty green bushes.
So I told my wife to go and by some tomato plants and I'd pull the experiment.
Well she did and lo and behold, the experiment worked, I have blooms. Just hope I get some tomato's out of them.
(http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m623/Sgt_Rocknroll/IMG_2862_zpsi1ltzh6q.jpg) (http://s1135.photobucket.com/user/Sgt_Rocknroll/media/IMG_2862_zpsi1ltzh6q.jpg.html)
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the growth inhibitor is not on seeds,just roots like tators and ginger.
ive been trying to grow both for years.
the ginger was the hardest but this last time i soaked the root in rain water for a day and scrubbed it of red dye.its now sprouting.pig even dug it up once and i replanted it.still goingbstrong.
i got red seed potatoes this year and from my images above.im loaded with taters this year.
potatoes are loaded with growth inhibitor but i did get some small gold russets from last year.i reburied them this year to see what they do.not seeing any real life responses yet.
Quote from: robomont on May 07, 2017, 03:27:58 PM
the growth inhibitor is not on seeds,just roots like tators and ginger.
Well several years ago Burntheships posted several articles about seed companies putting growth inhibitors into the seeds and she had a list of good seed companies like Heirloom Seeds (http://heirloomseeds.com/)
I don't have time to dig that up right now
Until I get a greenhouse built I gave up on trying to grow food I have the yard but the water bill is so high that it is cheaper to buy the produce by far
Quote from: robomont on May 07, 2017, 03:27:58 PM
the growth inhibitor is not on seeds,just roots like tators and ginger.
This is a topic I know nothing about, but I have heard that the potatoes that we eat are not the best to use as seeds, they use a different variety for that, called in Portugal "seed potatoes".
One place that I lived in Oklahoma, had wild garlic and wild onions in the backyard. Every time we mowed it smelled like an Italian restaurant.
I want to put a raised bed between the trees in my front yard this year, and make it a memory garden. I've lost too many loved ones, both biped and quadruped over the years.
Shasta
Quote from: zorgon on May 07, 2017, 11:19:21 PM
Well several years ago Burntheships posted several articles about seed companies putting growth inhibitors into the seeds and she had a list of good seed companies like Heirloom Seeds (http://heirloomseeds.com/)
I don't have time to dig that up right now
Until I get a greenhouse built I gave up on trying to grow food I have the yard but the water bill is so high that it is cheaper to buy the produce by far
Been there done that..with so many organic markets popping up in every town and city, it seems to me, especially around here, that organic food is taking a turn towards higher than ever affordability and accessibility.
Every week, we visit our local Farmers Market, and purchase about 40-50 dollars worth of great organic produce from local farmers and have found, it not only has a longer shelf life, but that flavor we all lament about missing.
If we vote with our dollars and suck it up a bit by buying from local farms and locally supplied markets and grocers, they will take notice.
If the cow only eats the greenest of grass, why would the farmer plant anything else?
Links to where I get my produce here:
http://www.wordenfarm.com
https://littlepondfl.com
www.Saturdaymorningmarket.com
Cheers!
Le
Quote from: Littleenki on May 08, 2017, 02:04:46 PM
If we vote with our dollars and suck it up a bit by buying from local farms and locally supplied markets and grocers, they will take notice.
The problem is that the great majority of people living in big cities do not even think about that, they just buy and eat whatever takes them less time, so the industrial production gets much more demand.
Quote from: ArMaP on May 08, 2017, 02:07:09 PM
The problem is that the great majority of people living in big cities do not even think about that, they just buy and eat whatever takes them less time, so the industrial production gets much more demand.
Here ,most of the farmers markets, all I know of which are bigger, are right in the center of the host city..Tampa has Channelside market, St Pete Downtown Market, Sarasota downtown market..all in the middle of the cities..and..theyre thriving on cityfolk..so much in fact Fresh Market and Wholefoods have both built huge stores downtown in these areas..its taking hold..slowly.
Quote from: Littleenki on May 09, 2017, 02:46:19 PM
Here ,most of the farmers markets, all I know of which are bigger, are right in the center of the host city.
I don't know how things are in the US, but here most people do not live in the centre of the cities, they live in the suburbs, and there's where we see the large stores.
I live in a rural area, but have a couple of fruit stands close by; one of these strives to have local produce for sale as much as possible 8)
Seeker
in rural areas here, one just drives a hundred feet and there is fresh produce abound in the Southern states, less so in the North...Publix, ALDI, and Safeway all have extensive organic sections..we are lucky.