76 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2018 Exploring ideas and views on all aspects of the seed industry. DRONE MARKET ONLY EXPECTED TO GO UP The global agricultural drones market is anticipated to grow at a robust compound annual growth rate of 30.2 percent from 2017 to 2024, according to Research Nester. With revenue around $300.5 million in 2016, the global market of agricultural drones is expected to reach a valuation of about $3.7 billion by the end of the forecast period. The primary driver for this grown is the increasing awareness and need for precision agriculture. Drones help with crop monitoring, especially large swatch of arable land. Additionally, drones can help with crop scouting, field mapping and seed, fertilizer and pesticide spraying. Apart from this, technological advancements with drones are in progress to improve battery durability, efficiency and controlling. Key players include AeroVironment Inc., DJI Innovation, Israel Aerospace Industries, PrecisionHawk, Parrot SA, Trimble Navigation Ltd., MicroDrones GmBh, 3D Robotics, Aibotix, DragonflyInnovations, Coptercam and Cyberhawk Innovation Ltd. ST. LOUIS TO HOST ORGANIC & NON-GMO FORUM To be held Oct. 29-30, the Organic & Non-GMO Forum will cover topics from what’s new in gene editing tools, to the how the long-awaited U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard is shaping up, to what’s being done to stop fraud in the organic sector. Matthew Dillon, who serves as senior director of agricultural policy and programs for Clif Bar & Company, is a keynote speaker. Clif Bar believes in the power of business to drive more than profits, and the potential of food to do more than just feed us. Dillon will take participants on Clif’s organic journey, from the pioneering decision to create the first organic energy bar, to their approach to building a healthier food system, all while creating long-term value for farmers through organic source, research and investment funds. The event will be at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch and brings together producers, processors, manufacturers, buyers and more for engaging, informative discussions on practical issues in the supply chain and challenges in the industry. USDA’S ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE SHIFT DRAWS INDUSTRY CONCERN In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will move its Economic Research Agency (ERS) out of Washington, D.C., citing a cost savings to be gained by moving some agencies outside the beltway. ERS is ranked the No. 3 agricultural economics research institution in the world, employing 330 people who provide economic research on and analysis of emerging issues in agriculture, food, the environment and rural America. Interdisciplinary teams comprise economists, sociologists, statisticians, demographers and agricultural experts covering everything from global trade to food safety. This move has raised concern on a number of issues ranging from brain drain to food safety and the impact of this move on policy. Concern is so great about the damage the move will inflict on the nation’s ability to design and implement effective policy that 42 organizations, including the American Statistical Association, wrote to Congress urging that ERS: stay in the Washington, D.C., area; be protected as an independent statistical agency; and be given the resources needed to maintain the credibility and integrity of its research. “In a stroke, an agency that took a century to build, an agency that contributes absolutely vital knowledge about farming, agriculture and rural America, will be set back decades,” says Lisa LaVange, American Statistical Association president. “That is just too big a loss to evidence-based policymaking in our food, agriculture and the rural economy.”