A new Vista for Bill Gates? Okay, that's not nice, but it was irrestible. Bill and Melinda Gates, through their foundation, are determined to work at increasing food production in developing countries, which will indeed open up new vistas for millions of hungry people.

Over the past three years, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $1.4 billion toward agricultural development, funding projects ranging from breeding higher-yielding plants to helping African farmers find new markets for their crops and assisting Indian women in managing their soil and water.

The Foundation is requiring independent analyses of its agricultural projects, to see which ones work and which ones don't. It was the first major speech on agriculture for Gates, presented at the annual World Food Prize Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa.

The prize was begun by the late Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug, and was presented this year to Dr. Gebisa Ejeta of Ethiopia, whose sorghum hybrids are resistant to drought and the devastating Striga weed. His hybrids have dramatically increased the production and availability of one of the world’s five principal grains, and enhanced the food supply of hundreds of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa.

A story about Gates's speech is here http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910150377

And there's a story about Dr. Ejeta here http://www.worldfoodprize.org/press_room/2009/june/ejeta.htm

So, Pennsylvania finally has a budget and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture continues to function, albeit with significantly fewer programs, dollars and people. In spite of having one of the biggest and most expensive legislatures in the country, the Capitol Circus Clowns fooled around for 100 days past their legally mandated deadline for delivering a budget. A significant cut was the ag research budget, which lost half-a-million dollars. Lancaster Farming special sections editor Charlene Shupp-Esbenshade reports on the budget situation from an agricultural point of view on page one of the issue due in your mailbox on Saturday.

It is parrot week here on AgScene. http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1690903558