June 16, 2010
Argus Leader
by Kelly Thurman
South Dakota is a farm state, with corn, soybeans and myriad other crops every year.
So it's not surprising that there are hundreds of agriculture-related research projects occurring here, ranging from making vaccines for livestock to creating soybean and corn hybrids to increase yields.
A lot of that research is taking place at South Dakota State University in Brookings, but other companies, such as Monsanto and Hematech, are doing research in the state as well.
At SDSU, there are 200 to 250 research projects under way at any given time, and the school spends $35 million a year on such projects, said John Kirby, director of the Agricultural Experiment Station.
"We are the leader in agriculture," Kirby said of the school's research. "Regionally and nationally, we have strong programs."
The amount of funding SDSU receives every year is growing in part because its researchers are becoming more successful in getting competitive grants, Kirby said. In 2006, SDSU received $11 million from outside agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This year, the number will be close to double, Kirby said.
"Our faculty are becoming much more competitive nationally," Kirby said, adding the university has been working in past years to create a competitive research environment. It has used federal money to stimulate research productivity and is investing in equipment at the university. That includes everything from DNA equipment in the genomics lab to updated farm equipment being used in the field.
Besides doing research using grants, SDSU also occasionally teams with companies such as Monsanto and Millborn Seeds that stand to benefit from the research being done at the university.
For instance, Monsanto recently gave SDSU $1 million to create a Ph.D. fellowship program in plant breeding.
Kirby said such relationships with producers are important.
"Our goal is to give producers and consumers the best possible products and the best possible knowledge that we can," he said.
While Monsanto has provided funding for a fellowship program at SDSU, it's also doing its own research in Harrisburg.
The company in 2008 announced its goal to double the yield of its corn, soybeans and cotton seed by 2030.
In Harrisburg, Monsanto researchers are busy producing corn and soybean hybrids to increase yields. They're also doing research on corn so that the hybrids can grow with less water during droughts, said Brian Ternus, testing and operations manager at Monsanto.
Monsanto has 18 to 20 full-time people working on the research and up to 80 temporary workers at various times during the year.
In Sioux Falls, Hematech has invested more than $100 million in its research to use genetically altered cows to produce human antibodies that can be used to develop drugs for uses such as fighting cancer. The goal is to manufacture the antibodies on a larger scale in Sioux Falls, said Eddie Sullivan, Hematech's president. That already is being done on a pilot basis in the city, though Sullivan said it will be several years before it is done on a larger scale.
