Happy Birthday Ag Innovation News

By Cindy Green
Managing Editor

This January, we celebrate the 15th birthday of Ag Innovation News — a publication that has remained true to its original intent: to engage, inform and enlighten our readers about the latest developments in ag-based products.

We never wanted to be a typical organizational newsletter written for insiders: the staff, advisors and directors — in other words, our choir. We wanted to appeal to those outside AURI: farmers, businesses, investors, ag groups, researchers and others interested in entrepreneurial, innovative developments in ag products.

Innovation built rural Minnesota in the 19th century and innovation carries us into the 21st century. AURI has helped numerous entrepreneurial ventures test their feasibility and likelihood of market success. When you take risk, not everything can bear fruit. Otherwise, you just protect the status quo. But every success exceeds attempts abandoned — that’s why AURI and agricultural
innovations thrive today.

Ag Innovation News has evolved over the years but the originators remain. I was AURI’s communications director when we started publishing 15 years ago and hired Charles Smith-Dewey (otherwise known as Uncle Hyggly and pounce.com) to be our designer. Rolf Hagberg became our chief photographer in July 1992 and E.M. (Liz) Morrison debuted as our primo feature writer in January 1994. Many other talented writers: Marianne Zarzana, Joan Olson, Greg Booth, Andrea Frazeur Jorgenson, copy editor Deborah Hoeldtke and AURI staff have contributed to Ag Innovation News’ excellence.
 

In March 1995, I hired the skilled and affable broadcast journalist Dan Lemke to be AURI’s communications specialist. In June 1996 he was promoted to director, as I left to start my own communications business. By then, the publication that began with a 4,000 circulation had grown to 16,000 as subscription requests poured in from individuals, organizations and companies throughout the United States and abroad. We have always been proud of the look and content of our news-driven publication and strive to be one of the best reader-friendly news sources for agproduct developments.

A few years ago, faced with significant funding cuts, we had to scale back the paper’s content and distribution. But our energy and commitment to offering readers the latest and best information on commodity uses has not diminished.

As we look back over 15 years of Ag Innovation News, we see that many developments AURI saw as promising years ago, and put time and money into developing, are bearing fruit.                                                                                     

AT RIGHT:  The cover of Ag Innovation News' first issue, January 1992.

Here’s a look back at some old headlines that are still relevant today:

Cenex/Land O' Lakes Introduces corn, soybean-based surfactant
January 1992
Agriliance, a subsidiary of CHS, Inc., continues to produce and market this product, developed in conjunction with AURI.

Coarse ground beef adds value
April 1992
Minnesota Beef Industries continues to be a valuable and innovative beef processor in Minnesota.

Biofuels help ag economy, environment
October 1992
This article featured an alternative new fuel called soy diesel. Thirteen years after this article was published, Minnesota opened three producer-owned refineries.

Biomass: Energy of the future
April 1994
Sound familiar? Biomass continues to draw serious interest as a fuel today.

Fire up the corn future
April 1994
Development of biomass burners, en vogue today, started over a decade ago.

Saving the unsavory
April 1996
This focus on using ag waste, now called coproducts, is one of the areas that makes AURI unique.

How Swheat it is
October 1996
Pet Care Systems wheat-based cat litter has become one of the nation’s best selling alternative litters sold in thousands of stores nationwide.

Pulp future
October 1997
Ag-based biomass, including straw, was examined for possible use in paper production. Today cardboard is also emerging as a possibility.

Rinse and chill technology catching on
January 1998
This innovative meat-processing safety technology is approved and in use in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Plenty of poultry power
October 1999
The Fibrominn concept is now reality with a 50 mw turkey-litter-powered plant nearing completion in Benson.

Byproducts boost ethanol profits
April 2000
Whether it is dried distillers grains or liquid solubles, coproducts are still drawing interest as additional revenue streams for Minnesota’s ethanol industry.