Advancing Agriscience and the Bioeconomy

By Kylie Wolfe

Crops depend on climate in more ways than one. Appropriate sunlight, rainfall, and temperature all make your favorite foods grow. But keeping those items readily available on store shelves and in homes is much more complex.

As the Earth’s population increases, experts are looking for ways to support the world’s bioeconomy—a term that spans many industries, including our food systems. Because climate change is likely to affect the stability of crops and resources, researchers are exploring options to help maintain a sustainable ecosystem today and for years to come.

Regulations and Funding in Action

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) invested $772 million in 2022 to further research, development, and infrastructure projects related to fertilizers, crops, bio-based products, and more. This supports what’s known as a circular bioeconomy, where every step of the agricultural process is done sustainably. This also means doing so safely.

There are currently regulations in place to help mitigate risks associated with pesticides and fertilizers. According to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must approve and register all pesticides before they’re distributed. The same is true of biopesticide products, an area of the agricultural industry that's helping to improve crop yields with less environmental impact. Chemical fertilizers, also evaluated by the EPA, are regulated via the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Exploring Today’s Innovations

In this field, scientists are looking for solutions that improve crop yield, quality, and disease tolerance. Bayer, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, has a crop science division that's doing this by studying plant breeding and gene editing. Plant breeding is a common practice that’s been used to combat everything from drought tolerance to taste, while gene editing can improve a plant's structure and quality.

Bayer developed a precision breeding platform that combines genomics, data science, and artificial intelligence. According to their website, this is “empowering farmers to adjust to changing pests, weeds and diseases, and variable climatic conditions while decreasing the environmental impact in both the breeding R&D process and on the farm.”

Cargill, a global food corporation, is focused on bringing low-carbon biofuels to customers. Biofuels can help address carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation industry, including transporting food around the world.

In 2023, Cargill completed the construction of a plant that turns waste into biodiesel. Biogases like this are renewable, created by breaking down organic matter, so they contribute to the circular bioeconomy. In this case, Cargill is helping to lower their customers’ greenhouse gas emissions. According to their website, the plant has “generated 145,000 metric tons of advanced biodiesel” that’s used by trucks and ships.

"In this field, scientists are looking for solutions that improve crop yield, quality, and disease tolerance."

Support for Your Endeavors

If you’re looking for help with your own innovations in the agriscience space, you can lean on the Fisher Scientific channel for products in these categories:

Seed Traits and Plant Breeding: Find advanced genomics tools to help you build a better seed pipeline and develop new seed varieties, plus PCR and electrophoresis products, enzymes and inhibitors, incubators, and other essentials for trait research, development, and breeding.

Soil and Plant Nutrient Sampling and Analysis: Browse chromatography, electrochemistry, and spectroscopy instruments and chemicals for crop growth, health, and protection to help you achieve desired outcomes with confidence.

Fertilizer, Herbicide, and Pesticide Analysis: Explore analytical instruments, reagents, and organic compounds for developing and refining your biological crop protection and enhancement pipeline.

Biomass Feedstocks: Shop for filtration, fermentation, and Karl Fischer titration products, plus chemicals and more to determine composition consistency across your biomass feedstocks.

PPE and Facility Maintenance: Find a large selection of wipes, gloves, disposable garments, eye protection, and cleaning and organizing supplies to help you stay safe and meet environmental health and safety needs.

Kylie Wolfe is a Thermo Fisher Scientific staff writer.