It is late July and here we are again in the U.S. crop forecasting season. During the next few weeks we will hear numerous predictions of the size of the corn and soybean crops based on formal and informal group and individual crop tours, producers' testimony, computer modeling and plain old "blue sky" guesswork. Crop forecasting is a staple for this time of the year, of course. However, this year -- with most of the U.S from the Plains to the Atlantic Ocean suffering the worst drought since 1936, and with old crop U.S. supplies of corn and soybeans already very tight -- forecasting the size of the drought-damaged 2012/13 crops takes on an entirely new significance.There have been and will continue to be almost daily crop production forec...
Kiwengwa/Pongwe Forest Reserve Kiwengwa/Pongwe Forest Reserve is located on the northeast coast of Unguja, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Town. The reserve is an important biodiversity spot in the coral rag zone. The forest reserve is rich both in faunal and floral species. The faunal species r...
Fabiana is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, native to dry slopes in western South America.[1] They are evergreen shrubs or subshrubs,[1] with needle-like leaves and profuse tiny tubular flowers in summer. The common name is false heath because the leaves superficially resem...
A pika (/ˈpaɪkə, ˈpiːkə/ PY-kə, PEE-kə[3][4]) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal native to Asia and North America. With short limbs, a very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears.[5] The large-eared pi...
Lobelia (/loʊˈbiːliə, lə-/[4][5][6]) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae comprising 415 species,[7] with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate regions.[8] They are known g...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.