Krista Lottinsville is the grand prize winner of Syngenta’s Drive to Thrive contest. The contest asked growers to describe how agriculture drives their communities to thrive. Lottinville won the challenge with her essay and video submission describing how agriculture nurtures the talents of young women with leadership skills and how it helped her grow professionally. “I love agriculture, and I …
USDA Names New Deputy Under Secretary
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Lanon Baccam as the USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, overseeing the Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency, and the USDA’s Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison. Baccam is a U.S. Army and Iowa National Guard veteran and replaces Karis T. Gutter. “Throughout his career in military and public service, Lanon has …
Young Ag Journalists Develop Leadership in New Zealand
Ten young ag leaders representing ten countries are gathered in New Zealand to continue to develop their leadership skills and further their professional development in ag journalism. The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) boot camp is sponsored by Alltech and provides the journalists with opportunities for presentations, interactive group sessions, and even a visit to a local dairy. Matthew …
USDA Releases Farm to School Program Data
Data from the 2013-2014 school year for the USDA’s Farm to School Grant Program has been released. The results show that a strong farm to school program encourages students to purchase breakfast and lunch at school, increases students positive food choices, and reduces waste. The census also showed a 55 percent increase in the amount of food purchased locally by …
Hunger Levels Remain High in 52 Developing Nations
The World Food Prize and Borlaug 101 Dialogues was a place for global leaders to gather and come together to solve the problems of world hunger as well as how to safely and nutritiously feed the growing worldwide population. During the event, the International Food Policy Research Institute, Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide released the 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI) and …
DOT Announces Registration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that recreational users of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, must register their systems with the federal government. A task force will be created to develop recommendations for a registration process for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and responsibility, especially …
Total Factor Productivity Can Increase with Precision Ag
Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is a way to measure outputs versus inputs and the key tool of the annual GAP Report produced by the Global Harvest Initiative. This year’s report, “Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Building Sustainable Breadbaskets,” was released during World Food Prize and John Deere’s Kelly Winquist provided a preview of how countries are doing with TFP. “So its …
White House Announces Companies’ Climate Pledges
The White House has announced additional commitments from companies across the U.S. who are joining the American Business Act on Climate Pledge to reduce their environmental footprint and use of natural resources. Eighty-one companies have signed on the dotted lines including many in the agricultural arena including Cargill, Campos Brothers Farms, Coca Cola, General Mills, Hershey’s and more. The companies …
Ag Biologicals Can Play Starring Role in Productivity
Colin Bletsky, Vice President of BioAg, Novozymes was a participate in the panel discussion following the 2015 Gap Report release during World Food Prize. In an interview, he says that Novozymes came on board with Global Harvest Initiative because the company has a mission to help develop sustainable technologies. Bletsky is also passionate about this mission in his role as …
USFRA Chooses New Director of Communications
Kevin Aandahl has been announced as the new Communications Director of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). The Alliance, an organization that fosters dialogue on food issues to build trust in America’s agriculture is excited to welcome Aandahl on board. “I’m very pleased that Kevin is on our team since he brings more than 25 years of diverse expertise …