(Washington, D.C.) Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of the House version of the fiscal year 2011 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. There are 192 projects in the bill, costing taxpayers $143,890,000, which is a 40.4 percent decrease from the 322 projects in fiscal year 2010 and a 34.5 percent decrease from the fiscal year 2010 cost of $219,700,000. House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) added $9,155,000 for nine projects, a number surpassed only by House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who added nine projects at a cost of $9,439,000. (more…)

(Washington, D.C.) American farmers continue to enthusiastically choose genetically engineered (GE) crops over their conventional counterparts, according to a new USDA report. (more…)

(Washington, D.C. and Research Triangle Park, N.C.) The 5th annual North Carolina Leadership Award in Industrial Biotechnology was presented to BASF Plant Science LP during the World Congress for Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing. (more…)

(Raleigh, N.C.) On Tuesday, Gov. Bev Perdue suited up in beekeeper attire and approached a job perhaps no other North Carolina governor has tackled – pulling honeycombs from beehives with thousands of honeybees buzzing nearby. “That’s a lot of honey!” Gov. Perdue exclaimed, as she removed a narrow honeycomb literally dripping gold. (more…)

(Research Triangle Park, N.C.) The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has hired Gwyn Riddick, director of its Piedmont Triad Office, to a newly created position: vice president, Ag/Bio Initiative. Riddick will help launch an initiative from the Biotechnology Center and partners statewide to grow the state’s agricultural economy to $100 billion during the next 10 years. (more…)

(Apex, N.C.) NCTechNews, North Carolina’s technology news source, is accepting submissions from business and organizations to be listed in the publication’s North Carolina Technology Resources Guide. (more…)

(Raleigh, N.C.) Twenty teachers from middle and high schools across North Carolina who merge biotechnology and agriculture in their classrooms are honing their knowledge and skills this week, with an eye on feeding and fueling North Carolina’s agricultural future. (more…)

(Charlotte, N.C.) VR Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions Charlotte, a leader in the sale of privately held companies, has just completed a capital raise for Organic Plant Health, located in Matthews, NC. Nationally recognized organic experts, Organic Plant Health produces, distributes and sells organic based natural fertilizers and landscape care products for the wholesale industry and retail client. (more…)

(Research Triangle Park, N.C.) One of the most effective ways to combat resistance issues in vegetation management is to rotate or combine herbicide treatments, using products with different modes of action and a broad spectrum of control. Vegetation professionals looking for a new way to manage difficult bareground areas can now add Frequency™ herbicide from BASF Professional Vegetation Management (ProVM) to the line-up of management tools. (more…)