Inside Cornell AgriTech: Germplasm, Robots and Hemp

On this week’s podcast, we continue our trip to Geneva, New York, for part two of the Cornell story. I spend some time with Christine Smart, director of Cornell AgriTech, and her husband Larry Smart, professor of plant breeding and genetics and head of Cornell’s hemp program. Christine takes me through the history of the Agritech campus — from its 1882 founding to its living plant libraries and cutting-edge robotics labs. We talk Liberty Hyde Bailey, the USDA germplasm repository, and a future where UV light replaces pesticides and robots roam the fields. Then Larry brings us inside Cornell’s hemp research: from gene editing for disease resistance to the painstaking process of seed multiplication. He shares his work on a CBG-only hemp line with zero THC and CBD, designed to open animal feed markets, and explains why F1 hybrids could unlock hemp’s yield potential the same way they did for corn. And stay tuned, because next week in part three we’ll hear from two of the rising stars in Cornell’s hemp program — PhD students Jane Hamilton and Luis Monserrate. Learn More Cornell University – Hemp Program https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu Cornell AgriTech https://cals.cornell.edu/cornell-agritech USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/geneva-ny/plant-genetic-resources-unit-pgru/ Yu Jiang Lab – Agricultural Robotics & Sensing https://cals.cornell.edu/yu-jiang Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum https://www.libertyhydebailey.org News Nuggets, from HempToday Emergency rules take effect in Texas, restricting hemp intoxicant sales to adults over 21 https://hemptoday.net/emergency-rules-take-effect-in-texas-restricting-hemp-intoxicant-sales-to-adults-over-21/ French co-op, leading European supplier of hemp planting seed, has a new director https://hemptoday.net/french-co-op-leading-european-supplier-of-hemp-planting-seed-has-a-new-director/ Kazakh government backs China deal as foreign investors eye neighbor’s hemp sector https://hemptoday.net/kazakh-government-backs-china-deal-as-foreign-investors-eye-neighbors-hemp-sector/ Thanks to our Sponsors Kings AgriSeeds https://www.kingsagriseeds.com IND HEMP https://indhemp.com