Danforth Plant Science Center awarded $12 million to study drought as part of the effort to develop next generation bioenergy grasses

Danforth Plant Science Center awarded $12 million to study drought as part of the effort to develop next generation bioenergy grasses Grant supports expansion of research at the Enterprise Institute for Renewable Fuels ST. LOUIS, MO, July 16, 2012 – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a five year, $12.1 million grant to researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and their collaborators at the Carnegie Institution for Science, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, the University of Minnesota and Washington State University to develop a new model plant system, Setaria viridis, to advance bioenergy grasses as a sustainable source of renewable fuels. Drought is the number one stress crops endure which limits yield and is of growing concern due to the globe’s diminishing water supply and climate change. This year, extreme heat and lack of rainfall combined with the mild winter has resulted in an all-time low in soil moisture and is producing new challenges for our nation’s farmers. Reduced yields will likely spark a rebound in global food prices. Drought conditions also have a major impact on crops that serve as sources of bioenergy. Bioenergy grasses hold promise to provide a sustainable source of renewable fuels for the U.S. economy and reduce our dependence on foreign petroleum. These dedicated second generation bioenergy crops can be grown on marginal lands and with fewer inputs than traditional row crops such as corn, which requires energy intensive annual planting and the addition of chemical fertilizers. Bioenergy grasses require water just like all other crops and the next generation of bioenergy crops will need to be bred for important characteristics including drought resistance and other properties that will make them more productive. To engineer bioenergy grasses with the desirable traits needed for large scale production, it is necessary to develop model plant systems that are closely related to bioenergy feedstocks, but which are more amenable to genetic analysis. One of the most promising model species is the grass Setaria viridis. “What we learn in improving bioenergy grasses in many cases can also be applied to cereal crops to improve their productivity. Setaria viridis, the model species that will be used as the focus of our research, is closely related to corn and Brachypodium, another model grass of interest at the Danforth Center that has a genetic makeup similar to wheat,” said Dr. Tom Brutnell, director of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels who is serving as Principal Investigator on the grant. Brutnell and his colleagues will utilize genomic, computational and engineering tools to begin the genetic dissection of drought and density response in S. viridis. The research team will produce one of the most extensive molecular characterizations of plant growth in the field to date, generating several million data points that will be collected from physiological and molecular genetic studies. In doing so, they hope to discover the mechanisms that underlie drought responses and identify candidate genes and pathways for improving the closely related feedstock grasses. The ability of bioenergy feedstocks to use water efficiently and to produce abundant yields at high density will be major drivers in the development of improved varieties that can serve as a replacement for petroleum-based fuels. Co-PIs/Senior Personnel, Institutions on the grant include: Ivan Baxter, USDA-ARS/Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Asaph Cousins, Washington State University Jose Dinneny, Carnegie Institution for Science Andrew D.B. Leakey, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Todd Mockler, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Hector Quemada, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Seung (Sue) Rhee, Carnegie Institution for Science Daniel Voytas, University of Minnesota About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center invites you to visit its new website, www.danforthcenter.org, featuring interactive information on the Center’s scientists, news and research, including the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, the Center for Advanced Biofuel Research, and the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts. Public education outreach, RSS feeds and the brand-new “Roots & Shoots” blog help keep visitors up to date with Center’s current operations and areas of research. Follow us on Twitter at @DanforthCenter.

The Means to Help Producers Impacted by Drought

This week, we continued to see historic levels of drought grip much of our nation, impacting thousands of farm families. Although the hard work and innovation of our producers has fueled a strong farm economy in recent years, President Obama and I understand the major challenges this drought poses for American agriculture. As of July 20, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 1,055 counties across the country as disaster areas due to drought. Significant portions of many crops are impacted – for example, according to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor report, 88 percent of our nation’s corn and 87 percent of our soybeans are in drought-stricken areas. Rising grain prices are threatening livestock and dairy operators with high input costs. Our farmers and ranchers are no strangers to uncertainty – but it’s even harder to plan for the future when we don’t know how much more severe the drought will be. Over the years, American producers have constantly innovated to meet new demands and adapt to new conditions, embracing new methods and utilizing new technology. The same innovative spirit that has positioned American agriculture as a global leader has helped to reduce the impact of the drought. Nevertheless, the uncertainty of drought means this is a very difficult time for many. At President Obama’s direction, USDA is doing all it can within the Department’s existing authority to help. Last week, I announced a final rule to simplify the process for Secretarial disaster designations – both to speed the process for producers and to reduce the burden on State government officials, who are also hard at work to help producers around the country cope with this disaster. I reduced the interest rate for Farm Service Agency Emergency Loans, effectively lowering the current rate from 3.75 percent to 2.25 percent to help ensure that credit is available for farm families who are hit by drought. And finally, I announced that USDA has lowered payment reductions for Conservation Reserve Program lands that qualify for emergency haying and grazing in 2012, from 25 to 10 percent. USDA officials are traveling to states around the country to see firsthand the impact of the drought, and we will continue to look for ways to help. But the fact is USDA’s legal authority to provide assistance remains limited right now. That’s because the 2008 Farm Bill disaster programs, which were implemented under President Obama, expired last year. Prior to the expiration, these programs helped hundreds of thousands of U.S. producers during disasters. If Congress doesn’t act, USDA will remain limited in our means to help drought-stricken producers. That’s why President Obama and I continue to call on Congress to take steps to ensure that USDA has the tools it needs to help farm families during the drought. Disaster assistance for producers is also one of many reasons why we need swift action by Congress to pass a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill this year. I know that many producers are struggling today with the impact of this historic drought. The President and I are committed to doing all we can to help farmers and ranchers in this difficult time. As all of us across America hope for rainfall, and while USDA does all it can to assist America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities, I hope that Congress will do all it can to help us get the job done.

Small business owners available to comment on the July 24 anniversary of the last federal minimum wage increase and why a raise is right for our economy

This Tuesday, July 24, will mark the third year in a row without an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25. If the minimum wage had kept pace with the cost of living since reaching its highest value in 1968, it would be $10.55 today. There are proposals in Congress (Harkin and Miller) to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.80 in three annual steps and then adjust it for inflation. Business for a Fair Minimum Wage supported the last raise in the minimum wage and believes another increase is overdue. Here are some of the small business owners and business leaders available for comment: David Bolotsky, Founder and CEO of UncommonGoods in Brooklyn, New York, said, “Businesses don’t expect the costs of energy, rent, transportation and other expenses to remain constant, yet some want to keep the minimum wage the same year after year, despite increases in the cost of living. That kind of business model traps workers in poverty and undermines our economy. The minimum wage should require that all businesses pay employees a wage people can live on.” Camille Moran, Owner of Caramor Industries and Four Seasons Christmas Tree Farm in Natchitoches, Louisiana, said, “A minimum wage increase is long overdue. It’s not right or smart for any business to pay a wage that impoverishes not only working men and women and their families, but also impoverishes our communities and our nation. Boosting the wages of low-paid workers who could then purchase the goods and services they need is the best medicine for our ailing economy.” Lew Prince, Managing Partner of Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis, Missouri, said, “The evidence that trickle-down economics doesn’t work is all around us. People are falling out of the middle class instead of rising into it. Putting money in the hands of people who desperately need it to buy goods and services will give us a trickle-up effect. Raising the minimum wage is a really efficient way to circulate money in the economy from the bottom up where it can have the most impact in alleviating hardship, boosting demand at businesses and decreasing the strain on our public safety net from poverty wages. I’m sick of my tax dollars subsidizing money machines like Walmart and McDonald's that are dribbling out wages their workers can’t live on, lobbying against minimum wage increases, and draining the lifeblood out of our local economies.” Marilyn Megenity, Owner of Mercury Cafe in Denver, Colorado, said, “We opened our doors in 1975, and I know that raising the minimum wage is not only affordable to restaurants and other businesses – it’s crucial for our economy. It's important that all employees be able to make a decent wage, in order to pay rent and all the other costs of living. Our government needs to take charge of this now, just as it did in the past. We cannot continue a minimum wage that keeps even people who are working full time, year round in poverty.” Jim Wellehan, President of Lamey Wellehan Shoes in Auburn, Maine, said, “Our family business is nearly a hundred years old, and clearly our country does better when all believe that their hard work will bring good results for them and their loved ones. Now, as Bloomberg BusinessWeek Magazine reports, the USA has higher income inequality and lower social mobility than most industrialized countries. If you are born poor, you are quite likely to die poor. Raising the minimum wage is a step to correcting this worsening situation. And the ability of a broad segment of our society to have a bit more spending money will benefit every area of our economy. Our increasingly unequal economic structure has no long-term viability.” Brian England, Co-Owner of British-American Auto Care in Columbia, Maryland, said, “Have you ever wondered why every time you visit some businesses the staff has changed? Well chances are it is because they only pay an inadequate minimum wage. Instead of paying a fair wage, they are inviting costly constant turnover and unreliable customer service. In raising the minimum wage, we should be moving people away from just surviving. We should be moving working Americans as far away from needing the social safety net as possible. Raising the minimum wage raises everyone up.” Joseph Rotella, Owner of Spencer Organ Company in Waltham, Massachusetts, said, “As a small business owner and an American, I support proposals to raise the federal minimum wage to at least $9.80 by 2014, because I strongly support workers being able to earn a living wage. America should be a country where no one who puts in a fair day's work can't afford to make ends meet, and no business owner who offers a living wage has to be undercut by competitors who do not. Not only is increasing the minimum wage the right and fair thing to do, but it will also help stimulate our struggling economy by putting more money into the hands of workers who need to spend it.”