On behalf of Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research and the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, welcome to NABC 18. Perhaps there is no better time than the present to address the theme of this meeting: Agricultural Biotechnology: Economic Development through New Products, Partnerships, and Workforce Development. Biotechnology has already produced major successes in agriculture. As just one example, the global value of biotech crops was projected to be more than $5 billion during 2005. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Biotechnology has contributed tremendous economic value to animal agriculture, food processing, environmental efforts, basic breeding programs, and provided better understanding of fundamental life processes and human health. These developments have only been possible through collaboration of private and public partnerships and an educated workforce.

When the Morrill Act was passed to create the Land Grant University structure—whose mandate is to work for the public good—the United States was an undeveloped and agrarian country. Time has dramatically changed not only the United States, but the rest of the interconnected world in which we live. As Land Grant Universities search out new ways to fulfill their mission of serving society in the twenty-first century, they are increasingly using modern science and biotechnology, which has led to new products, economic development and job creation, main themes of governments throughout the world. How we bridge these themes to our evolving Land Grant mission is a central focus of NABC 18.

Tony Shelton
Chair, NABC 18 Organizing Committee