Zimfo Bytes 9/14

Carrie Muehling

  • American Agri-Women have named Allie Poole, Central City, Kentucky, the 2018 winner of their Daughters of American Agriculture Scholarship, High School Graduate. She is currently enrolled in the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn, Alabama.
  • National Farmers Union’s Beginning Farmer Institute convened this week in Washington, D.C., for the first of three learning sessions that will take place during the next year. Nineteen beginning farmers, representing demographical, geographical and production diversity in agriculture, traveled to the nation’s capital for the two-day session.
  • Indiana Soybean Alliance hosted an event for soybean farmers from across Indiana on Sunday, September 9th. The event, held at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, showcased a new use of soybeans — the newly added sports fields in the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legend Experience. The SYNLawn turf backing used in the sports fields were all created with soybean oil as a key component, a sustainable — and Indiana-grown — alternative to petroleum oil.
  • Todd Doehring heads up the new leadership team of the Farm Financial Standards Council elected at the Council’s annual meeting held recently in Champaign, IL. He will serve a one-year term as president.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has released three new books and two new videos to complement its updated My American Farm game, My Little Ag Me. These supporting resources focus on the many careers available in agriculture.
  • The 2018 Grow by FarmHer fall tour team announces its return to Iowa and Nebraska with a new stop in South Dakota. Events will take place in Brookings, SD on Tuesday, November 13; Lincoln, NE on Wednesday, November 14 and Ankeny, IA on Thursday, November 15. The Grow by FarmHer events are designed to inspire, encourage and educate young women, ages 16 to 22, to pursue their passion for agriculture through their future careers.
  • Over 80 of the nation’s leading trade associations representing thousands of businesses and workers today announced the formation of Americans for Free Trade, a multi-industry coalition aimed at opposing tariffs and highlighting the benefits of international trade to the U.S. economy. This new coalition will immediately join Farmers for Free Trade, the coalition backed by the nation’s largest ag commodity groups, in a multi-million dollar national campaign called Tariffs Hurt the Heartland.
  • Amidst an historic decline in net farm income and added disruptions in agricultural trade and biofuel markets, 350 family farmers and ranchers traveled to the nation’s capital as part of the National Farmers Union Fly-In this week to meet face-to-face with top Trump administration officials and members of Congress as they decide on a number of legislative and regulatory priorities for family farmers and their communities.
  • U.S. Sugar, in a partnership with Texas A&M AgriLife Research, announced a significant step forward in research efforts fighting diseases impacting food crops, including citrus greening. Early-stage research has demonstrated promise in rapidly-culturing and propagating fastidious pathogens and microbes including those that cause citrus greening, a disease that has devastated the Florida citrus industry, and enabling testing a broad range of antimicrobial solutions.
  • Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. announced three new Textron Off Road side-by-sides as part of its continuing Model Year 2019 vehicle introductions. Joining the Havoc X are the Havoc and Havoc Backcountry Edition, and the Wildcat XX receives more horsepower and sees the additio n of the Wildcat XX LTD to the line.
  • The American Soybean Association wants to give a scholarship to a high school senior interested in pursuing agriculture. The Soy Scholarship is a $5,000 one-time award presented to a high school senior who plans to pursue agriculture as an area of study at any accredited college or university in the 2019-20 academic year. The scholarship is managed by ASA and made possible through a grant by BASF Corporation. High school seniors may apply online Sept. 10-Nov. 19, 2018.
ASA, Trade, Zimfo Bytes