Big Hairy & Audacious - Ag Biotech Goal of 30 in 10

I recently attended the Biosciences Networking Event for alumni of NC State University's College of Ag and Life Sciences (CALS). Besides hobnobbing with NC Biotech Center President and NCSU alum Norris Tolson, CALS Dean Johnny Wynne, and my former Master's thesis advisor Dr. Eric Miller, I learned about the NC Biotechnology Center's commitment to add $30 billion to North Carolina's economy within the next 10 years by combining its strengths in traditional agriculture with new technologies from the biotech space. I'm not sure how you even measure adding $30 billion to the State's economy, but it certainly seems to be a big number.

To that end the NC Biotech Center has recently brought in Gwyn Riddick to lead the Ag Biotech program and Amber Shirley as Biotech Crops Director (interesting tidbit...Dr. Shirley did her Ph.D. work at Purdue University, under the guidance of current NCSU Chancellor Randy Woodson). Gwyn and Amber certainly have their work cut out for them. But if there is anywhere that has the chance to develop ag biotech, the Triangle area, with many of the major ag bio companies located here (Syngenta, Bayer CropScience, BASF, Monsanto, Pfizer Poultry), should have some good shots on that big hairy audacious goal.