For Seminar 3, we escaped to beautiful Kaua`i! Our first stop was to Pioneer's research facility in Waimea. Sarah Styan gave us a very informative presentation on plant biotechnology, which brought back memories of science class. A market-driven company, Pioneer responds to the needs of farmers. We learned that Pionneer sells genetically modifed as well as non-genetically modified seeds. Sarah gave us a quick tour of the research facilities where we saw how they carefully sort corn seeds. It's a very detail-oriented job! We also peeked into the molecular marker lab. The seed industry in Hawai`i is growing, valued at $222 million in 2010. A new factoid: seed industry is one of the biggest users of Fedex and UPS in the state!
No comments:
Post a Comment