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54 SEEDWORLD.COM JUNE 2016 Exploring ideas and views on all aspects of the seed industry. INTERNSHIP HELPS STUDENTS FIGHT HUNGER POVERTY A program created by Norman Borlaug and John Ruan will send 24 high school students abroad for internships at renowned international research centers and non- governmental organizations this summer. During the eight-week internship students will study issues relating to hunger and poverty in Africa Asia and Latin America. The Borlaug-Ruan Internship seeks to inspire the next generation of agricultural scientists as well as expose them to a wide array of fields related to global food security. To date more than 250 students have participated in the internship program. Nearly 1 billion people go hungry every day says World Food Prize President Ambassador Kenneth Quinn. As the world faces a growing population climate volatility and other global challenges the next generation will be charged with continuing the battle against hunger and finding new solutions to feed the world. NEW BILL PRESENTS MORE BAD NEWS FOR CORN MARKET In mid May Reps. Bill Flores R-Texas Peter Welch D-Vermont Bob Goodlatte R-Virginia and Jim Costa D-California introduced a bill to cap ethanol blends to no more than 9.7 percent by volume. Paul Jeschke a farmer from Mazon Ill. and chair of the Ethanol Committee of the National Corn Growers Association calls the bill a step backward for both farmers and consumers. Americans want cleaner air affordable choices at the gas pump and a strong economy that fosters investment in new technology and improves our energy independence Jeschke says. Meanwhile American corn farmers are struggling with prices below the cost of production and the largest carryover stock in two decades. The Renewable Fuel Standard was created to promote American renewable energy while creating a steady market for corn. This bill would undercut the RFS and negatively impact corn farmers and with it the entire farm economy. U.S. BEEKEEPERS LOST 44 PERCENT OF BEES IN 2015-16 The Bee Informed Partnership according to its most recent survey of commercial and small-scale beekeepers reports that beekeepers across the United States lost 44 percent of their honeybee colonies from April 2015 to April 2016. Rates of both winter loss and summer loss were worse than the year prior. This marks the second most consecutive survey years that summer loss rates rivaled winter loss rates. Some winter losses are normal and expected says Dennis vanEngelsdorp an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Maryland and project director for the Bee Informed Partnership. But the fact that beekeepers are losing bees in the summer when bees should be at their healthiest is quite alarming. Survey respondents reported they lost 44.1 percent of their colonies over the course of the year which is a 3.5 percent increase from the previous year. Winter loss rates increased from 22.3 percent in the previous year to 28.1 percent this past winter while summer loss rates increased from 25.3 percent to 28.1 percent. The researchers note than many factors contribute to colony loss including Varroa mite. Pesticides and malnutrition caused by changing land use patterns also likely take a toll especially among commercial beekeepers. AMERICAN CORN FARMERS ARE STRUGGLING ... THIS BILL WOULD UNDERCUT THE RFS AND NEGATIVELY IMPACT CORN FARMERS AND WITH IT THE ENTIRE FARM ECONOMY. Paul Jeschke Welch D-Vermont Bob Goodlatte R-Virginia and Jim Costa D-California introduced a bill to cap ethanol blends to no more than 9.7 percent by volume. Paul Jeschke a farmer from MazonIn mid May Reps. Bill Flores R-Texas Peter Welch D-Vermont Bob Goodlatte R-Virginia Welch D-Vermont Bob Goodlatte R-Virginia by volume. Paul Jeschke a farmer from Mazon