A guest lecture by David Mayonado, who was a technology development rep from Monsanto.  He briefly talked about some of the advancements in agriculture throughout history and that land grant universities are a big part of the innovation in the ag industry. On such universities, various research experiments can be carried out. However, a lot of technological advances also come from the private sector and corporations like Monsanto. He discussed what he does and the pros and cons of working in his industry, but he enjoys it because it is an exciting field and he gets to work with a variety of people.  David talked about some of the recent projects and advancements that his company was working on like applications for RNAi technology and gene silencing. He also talked about the regulations and safety measures that have to be met by companies before these technologies can be used widespread. Also, that some of these advances come with their fair share of controversy, a good example would be the GMO debate. These advances in the agriculture field are sure to be the way of the future in dealing with our increasing demand for greater crop output in the decades to come.