The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/agriculture/page/3/)
“Whether Cornell’s agricultural programs contribute research, species hybridization, or innovative sustainable practices, there are endless opportunities for people of all experience levels to get involved.”
Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and its Center for Regional Economic Advancement, in partnership with the New York State government, are launching a food and agriculture business competition — Grow-NY — with the goal of bringing innovative startups to upstate New York food and agricultural industries.
Similar conversations are happening at café tables across New York. The lucrative potential of hemp is bringing people together: “Investors and businesspeople together with the farmers out there getting their hands dirty. [Hemp is] the best opportunity farmers have had in their lifetime. I don’t know of another crop as lucrative.”
On Monday afternoon, Prof. Frank Mitloehner, animal science at the University of California, Davis, discussed the latest research surrounding animal agriculture and its “surprisingly modest” contribution to global greenhouse emissions. Mitloehner pointed at food waste as the largest contributor to environmental damage.
Humanity is facing a difficult challenge: to “feed an estimated global population of 10 billion people by 2050,” states the website for the Cornell Initiative for Digital Agriculture, an initiative that hopes to tackle this challenge through sustainability and digital innovation.
The initiative is one of Provost Michael Kotlikoff’s eight “radical collaborations” — task forces that promote interdepartmental cooperation on modern issues.
“How do you feed 10 billion people by 2050 without destroying the world?” asked Prof. Hakim Weatherspoon, computer science.
“The long-term societal goal is to make farming more efficient, so its footprint is reduced,” said Prof. David Stern, plant biology.
The program provides veterans with scholarships and classes in everything from maple syrup tapping to mushroom cultivation to beekeeping.
Danquah was one of two winners for 2018, along with Prof. Rattan Lal, soil science, Ohio State University. Each winner was awarded $100,000 in prize money.