Page 58 - Breeding Edge ebook

For example, from 2010 to 2016, the National Institute
of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) funded over 75 gene
editing research projects, investing over $76.5 million.

One of the NIFA grants helped drive research
at Recombinetics, an animal gene-editing company
based in St. Paul, Minnesota. The firm is now a leader
in “naturally hornless” (polled) and “naturally cool”
(heat-tolerant) cattle. Both types of animals were bred
by copying naturally occurring traits already found in
cattle.

But even with NIFA’s new focus, “we’ve got fewer
dollars and we just can’t keep up with demand,” said
NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy. “Because of the
continued disinvestment in the public sector at the federal and state levels, public dollars are fewer and
fewer and it requires more private investment.”

Where are the new research funds going to come from? Farmer-funded commodity checkoffs,
which Ramaswamy described as “critically important” to land grants and other university

research programs, are one source. Donations from leading crop and livestock companies are also

key.

At the same time, newer companies like Caribou Biosciences, TargetGene
Biotechnologies, Cibus, Calyxt and Benson Hill Biosystems, funded by venture capital funds, are
sprouting up with promises to deliver significant breeding advancements for farmers and ranchers
around the globe.

Industry observers say the growth in new start-ups is fueled, in part, by the precision, the lower cost and
shorter development time available with innovative gene editing systems like CRISPR.

“Gene editing is a transformative game-changing type of approach that is going to allow us a step
increase,” Ramaswamy said.

“Gene editing, gene drive and things like that have really
democratized research” so that companies of all sizes can
participate, he added. “With gene editing, one can do it in your
garage. Now companies are trying to figure out what their best
action is.”

Gregory Graff, an associate professor in agricultural economics at
Colorado State University, who tracks start-ups in ag technology,
agrees that opportunities are opening up for new companies and
new types of crops, including some that have lacked research focus
in the past.

“For many years now, with transgenic crop traits, the big NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy
agricultural business companies with corn and soybeans were
the only game in town because of the cost of commercializing,”
said Graff.

56 www.Agri-Pulse.com