Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
An international team of scientists, funded with $10 million in grant money from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and supported by at least two Iowa entities, has completed the first draft of the genome of a domesticated pig — a scientific advance that holds promise for both future swine production and human medicine.
“Understanding the swine genome will lead to health advancements in the swine population and accelerate the development of vaccinations for pigs,” said Roger Beachy, director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. “This new insight into the genetic makeup of the swine population can help reduce disease and enable medical advancements in both pigs and humans.”
A Duroc pig, similar to the sow above, was selected by researchers to have its genome sequenced. It is expected that the advance will be of benefit to both pork producers and humans. (Photo: Wikipedia)
NIFA, previously the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, provided the $10 million in funding in 2006 to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The total cost was about $24.3 million, with additional support from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and various American, Asian and European funders.
University teams selected a red-haired Duroc pig from a farm at the university to use for the sequencing project. Duroc is one of the older breeds of American domesticated pigs, and considered to typically be a more aggressive breed, that is a basis for many mixed-breed commercial hogs. The Duroc now will be among the growing list of domesticated animals that have had their genomes sequenced.
In addition to the USDA funding, funding and technical support were provided by the Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa State University and several other national and international organizations.
Researchers will announce the achievement today at a conference at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, located Hinxton, England, where most of the sequencing was performed.
Follow Lynda Waddington on Twitter
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter