Biodiesel Developing into Accepted Alternative Fuel

Second Carcass Disposal Paper Highlights Poultry

Alfalfa Gene Flow Focus of CAST Special Publication
Alfalfa is an introduced, cultivated species in North America and the fourth largest U.S. crop by land area. Although the majority of the domestic market is not sensitive to genetically engineered alfalfa, much of the export hay and seed markets are sensitive to adventitious presence. The new CAST Special Publication Gene Flow in Alfalfa: Biology, Mitigation, and Potential Impact on Production provides an overview of agronomic practices and biology to be considered in developing strategies that allow producers of conventional, organic, and biotechnology-derived alfalfa to coexist in the marketplace.  (September 2008) News Release

New CAST Commentary Addresses Respiratory Disease in Sheep
Disease has contributed significantly to the decline of bighorn sheep populations throughout much of western North America, imperiling some populations and subspecies.  Pasteurellosis Transmission Risks between Domestic and Wild Sheep is a new Commentary from CAST that reviews current knowledge on pneumonic pasteurellosis in domestic and wild sheep, the risks of transmission between these species, and approaches for lowering the overall risk of epidemics in wild sheep. (August 2008) News Release

CAST Releases First in Series about Carcass Disposal

Better Vaccines Will Benefit Animal Agriculture
Vaccine Development Using Recombinant DNA Technology is the seventh in a nine-part CAST series entitled Animal Agriculture's Future through Biotechnology.  Infectious animal diseases continue to rank foremost among the significant factors limiting efficient production in animal agriculture.  This new Issue Paper provides details about specific diseases and vaccines.  The authors offer an historical overview of vaccine development, evaluate the development of vaccines for many animals, describe commercially available vaccines, outline recent advances in recombinant vaccines, and discuss the future of vaccines for animal diseases. (May 2008) News Release

Water Quality is the Focus of New CAST Publication
Water Quality and Quantity Issues for Turfgrasses in Urban Landscapes, a new CAST Special Publication, is the result of a workshop at which scientists, researchers, environmentalists, and water specialists joined together to discuss the issues facing the turfgrass and water industries.  This publication addresses the science of turfgrass and other landscape materials, water use, and the related environmental concerns, while realizing that the ultimate goal is to provide quality urban areas for activities and recreation while conserving and protecting our water supply. (March 2008) News Release

Biotech Crop Gene Flow Featured in New Issue Paper
Implications of Gene Flow in the Scale-up and Commercial Use of Biotechnology-derived Crops: Economic and Policy Considerations identifies the nature of gene flow related to biotech crops and the limited conditions under which it can lead to economic problems.  The Issue Paper addresses regulatory, policy, and research topics in the context of gene flow of biotech crops. (December 2007) News Release

New CAST Commentary Evaluates Risk of Biofuel Crops Becoming Invasive Species
Several candidate biofuel feedstock species being considered for commercial production in the United States are invasive pests in other regions where they have been introduced.  This new CAST Commentary, Biofuel Feedstocks: The Risk of Future Invasions, describes the potential risk of dedicated biofuel species becoming weedy or invasive and provides a process to quantify and minimize this risk. (November 2007) News Release