Jill Sackville from Aldeo, Illinois has been announced the Illinois winner of the 2017 GROWMARK essay contest for FFA students. Sackville wrote an essay to answer the prompt: “What value do cooperatives provide to today’s farmers?” “Today’s cooperatives still play a pivotal role in farming, allowing members to obtain high quality seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and many more essential agricultural needs. …
Monsanto Shareowners Approve Bayer Merger
Monsanto Company held a special meeting of shareowners earlier this week to vote on the merger of Monsanto with Bayer Aktiengesellschaft. The agreement states that Monsanto shareowners receive $128 per share in cash. “We are pleased we received such strong support from our shareowners,” said Hugh Grant, Monsanto Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This is an important milestone as we …
USDA Announces New GIPSA Rules
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday announced updated regulations under the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). The “Farmer Fair Practices Rules” outline “common sense protections to restore fairness and reduce the burden for farmers seeking justice under the Packers and Stockyards Act.” “For years, American farmers have been calling for protections against the most damaging unfair and deceptive practices …
DuPont Pioneer Virtual Pressers Unveil New Products
With the theme of “Innovation Elevates Performance for Growers,” DuPont Pioneer used virtual press conferences this week to unveil new corn and soybean products by region, and pulled it off with technical perfection! Technical issues are common even in simple telephone press conferences, so it was amazing to see one incorporate a phone feed with a live web feed including …
Ag Coalition Signs Agreement with NRCS
Agribusiness and agricultural associations from across the nation, including the Agricultural Retailers Association, have joined together to promote and expand federal conservation programs. Members of the group signed a memorandum of understanding with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to expand the reach of technical and financial assistance to extend conservation adoption and increase the overall sustainability of farming, ranching …
Bayer Support at #ARA2016
The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) is respected throughout the agriculture industry as a support system for growers and retailers, and that support has been a key factor behind Bayer’s continued sponsorship of the organization. “ARA is very important to us as a supplier of products for farmers and growers,” says Bayer Strategic Business Lead Al Luke during an interview at …
Sorghum Yield Winners Announced
This year’s winners of the National Sorghum Producers Yield Contest have been announced and the top yield for 2016 comes in at 208.40 bushels per acre. “The future looks really bright for the sorghum industry because of the way we’ve seen our national average yield increase and as we get closer to the 250 bushel per acre goal in this …
Vilsack Receives Norman Borlaug Medallion
At a special ceremony at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines last week, the World Food Prize Foundation honored the USDA and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with the Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Medallion. Ambassador Ken Quinn explained that the Borlaug Medallion, which was created to recognize institutions not eligible to receive the World Food Prize itself, …
Bayer Partners with ASTA for Communications
Bayer’s Crop Science division announced a new partnership with the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) at last week’s ASTA CSS and Seed Expo in Chicago. David Hollinrake, VP Marketing for North America, says the partnership involves Bayer sponsoring the ASTA Communications Committee and sharing Bayer’s successful AgVocate initiative research and materials. “It’s really about engaging farmers and engaging all agriculturalists …
White is the New Black from @Clariant
Clariant used the ASTA CSS 2016 & Seed Expo to unveil their new Agrocer White 006 Dispersion pigment. As a leader in specialty chemicals, Clariant has created this new color using titanium dioxide to enhance the coverage of seeds and to be compatible with seed treatment pesticide formulations. The new addition makes the seventh important colorants for seed coatings offered …