Purdue University researchers have found a genetic mutation that allows a plant to better endure drought without losing biomass. The discovery could reduce the amount of water required for growing plants and help plants survive and thrive in adverse conditions.

A new USDA report says no-till farming continues to grow across the U.S., although adoption rates didn’t go up in every state or for all crops.

In the battle over who gets to rent farmland today, no-tillers should show landlords that they will make improvements to their property.

No-tillers will be able to buy corn, soybean, wheat and field-bean seeds based on seed counts starting Jan. 1 after the National Conference on Weights and Measures recently approved standardized testing methods and procedures to verify seed count labeling.

Lagging sales of Monsanto’s new SmartStax corn hybrids and Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean varieties have led the company to lower some seed prices as second quarter earnings dropped 19%.

The new CEO of the National Association of Conservation Districts is Jeff Eisenberg, who has previously represented ranchers and conservation organizations on natural resource issues and also served as an attorney for USDA.

Long time conservationist Jim Gulliford — a top official with the Environmental Protection Agency from 2001 to 2008 — is the new executive director of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS).

Main has been the only state in the U.S. that doesn’t permit the planting of Bt corn, but that might be about to change. The state’s Board of Pesticide Control licensed the genetically engineered corn this past summer and recently held a public hearing on proposed rules regulating its use in the state. Bt corn could be used for the first time in Maine as soon as 2008.

Biotech crops have spurred the use of conservation tillage and provided clear economic and environmental benefits worldwide, according to a peer-reviewed study.