The U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council (USAEDC) has named a new Chair at their annual workshop in November. United States Potato Board’s (USPB) John Toaspern, International Marketing Vice President, has been a member of the Executive Committee and an officer of USAEDC for the past six year. He move’s from serving as Vice Chair to taking over the reins from …
Enter to Win Bayer’s 2013 Cotton Belt Challenge
The Cotton Belt Challenge is in its second year, and Bayer CropScience is encouraging FiberMax and Stoneville cotton growers to enter to win great prizes. Growers with the highest yields and highest overall loan values in 12 regions will be recognized for both irrigated and dryland cotton. In addition to regional awards, there will be two grand prize drawings for …
Research, Promotion & Education at Pork Board
The National Pork Board is the entity that conducts research, provides education and promotes the product. They were at the recent NAFB Convention and I caught up with them during the always busy, yet fun and exciting Trade Talk. Dale Norton, Vice President of the National Pork Board, farms with his brother in Michigan and has been a part of …
FedEx Delivers Early Christmas Present for Troops
FedEx Corp. is spreading holiday cheer to America’s service members and their families this season with a special delivery of more than 17,000 live Christmas trees. For the past nine years, Trees for Troops has brought together FedEx, the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation and tree farmers from across the country to ship real Christmas trees to service members overseas and to …
Merck’s Attack on BRD
Merck Animal Health is dedicated to spreading the awareness of one of the most common diseases found in the cattle industry. Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) continues to take an economic toll on herds across the country. During NAFB’s Trade Talk I spoke with Dr. Brent Meyer, technical services veterinarian for Merck. He shares what the company is doing to tackle …
Bison – The Fastest Growing Meat Industry
The fastest-growing sector of the meat industry may not be what you think. The National Bison Association is the answer and they were present at NAFB’s recent Trade Talk to show that they are dedicated to maintaining their position as a niche in the marketplace. I spoke with Dave Carter, Executive Director of the organization and he talked about their …
Update From NCBA at NAFB
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Trade Talk gave us the opportunity to chat with leaders of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). President Elect for NCBA, Bob McCan, is from Victoria, TX and he operates a 5th generation purebred commercial herd of Brafords. I spoke with him during the event and he shed some light on trade, immigration and …
Climate Corporation’s Growth by Tracking Weather
Another ag based company who attended this year’s Trade Talk at the recent NAFB Convention was the Climate Corporation. They are focused on applying data science to production agriculture and take all the environmental data, weather, soil conditions and current and seasonal projections and apply it to the production agricultural decisions growers make on a daily basis. Greg Smirin, CEO …
Rabo AgriFinance Report From NAFB
Rabo AgriFinance was present for the recent Trade Talk during the 2013 NAFB Convention. The company is the leading U.S. ag lender and specializes in protein to produce and inputs to oilseeds. Their expert team monitors and evaluates the global market that influences agriculture around the world. I spoke with two of the team’s analysts at the event and they …
American Agri-Women Elect New Officers
The American Agri-Women (AAW) have elected officers and recognized outstanding contributors at their 38th annual convention recently in Niagara Fall, New York. AAW is the nation’s largest coalition of farm, ranch and agribusiness women representing more than 50 state, commodity and agribusiness affiliates. The convention included meetings in Niagara Falls as well as meetings and tours in Ontario, Canada, which …