Good news for the soy-based adhesive introduced in 1997. The adhesive, developed to bond finger-jointed wood together, has a new use. Now, instead of just joining studs (vertical), it works for horizontal joints, too. And, greener wood now can be joined. Before, wood had to be dried before the adhesive was applied.
The product allows mills to recover more useable wood fiber from each log, which translates into fewer logs needed to make the same amount of lumber.
Soy-based adhesives may eventually consume more than 150 million bushels of soybeans a year.
Stacked Hybrids
An April Soybean Digest article, "BLT Hybrids Eat Weeds' Lunch," reported that Garst Seeds offers hybrids that combine genetic resistance to Lightning and Liberty herbicides, plus Bt protection against European corn borer. Novartis Seeds sells two hybrids that offer the same resistances, according to Marc Hennen, corn marketing manager. N42-B7 is a 100-day hybrid; N77-N3 is a 115-day hybrid.
For more information, contact your local Novartis Seeds dealer.
Ethanol Is Sweet
Corn fiber that's left over from ethanol production could be turned into a high-value, low-calorie sweetener for niche markets, based on a process being developed by USDA's Agricultural Research Service.
The sweetener is a white crystalline powder called xylitol. Makers of some specialty brand sugarless chewing gums now pay about $3/lb for xylitol, which gives their products a minty-cool taste.