Treatment for cystic fibrosis from corn? Potatoes that produce an antibacterial protein for use in cosmetics? Welcome to what could be the future of pharming. One of the growers at the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum was Bill Horan, COO of Horan BioProduction in Rockwell City, Iowa. Bill, who is also chairman of Truth About Trade and Technology, talked about …
BASF Personality Profile – AJ Woodyard
Just over four years ago, AJ Woodyard, joined the BASF team as a young, driven and enthusiastic scientist. Since then he has continued to bring his excitement for the agricultural industry into helping growers get every penny out of their investment. In this BASF Personality Profile, we get to meet AJ and learn more about his background and passion for …
Swanson Russell at 50 Years Old
2012 was a good year for Swanson Russell. The agency turned 50 and for the first time surpassed $100 million in capitalized billings. Capitalized billings are an industry standard used by agencies as a uniform means of comparing agencies that offer a variety of services. “In our industry, becoming a $100 million agency is a significant milestone,” said Dave Hansen, …
XL Solutions at Raven Industries
Experts in Raven Industries’ applied sciences division have been busy bringing new and innovative technologies to the door step of growers across the country. The 2013 Commodity Classic was the place to display these new products and Raven Industries was there to do so. I spoke with Paul Welbig who oversees a lot of the product management issues at Raven. …
Custom Harvesters in Great American Wheat Harvest
Let’s visit with a couple of U.S. Custom Harvesters leaders, Kent Braathen and Tracy Zeorian. I met them during AG CONNECT Expo earlier this year when a big announcement was made about the film documentary “The Great American Wheat Harvest.” The film is in production now with a hopeful release date of Ag Day in 2014. Tracy says that when …
My Field’s Been Droned Dude
Ever since we’ve been hearing about the whole drone issue in Washington, DC I keep hearing this phrase in my head. But of course farm fields are being droned, by farmers themselves, and for good reasons. Here’s a great story on the subject. Helicopters are just plain cool, especially if you can operate them by remote control. The Aerial Precision …
BIVI Panel: Observe, Be Patient & Help Others
All this week we’ve been hearing from some of the presenters at the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar for swine vets held in San Diego. A panel session that featured Dr. Darin Madson from Iowa State University; Dr. Jim Lowe, a private livestock veterinary consultant in Illinois; Dr. Edgar Diaz, associate director of swine for BIVI; and Dr. …
Roberts Seeks to Cut Fat from SNAP
Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) has introduced legislation that he says would “restore integrity to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, to save $36 billion in taxpayer dollars while ensuring those in need still receive benefits.” Roberts found all kinds of little ways to cut SNAP spending waste and fraud that adds up to some substantial …
Pigs Start Coughing Long Before Our Brains Hear It
Understanding how early in the production chain a disease actually starts will give veterinarians a better chance at stopping it before it becomes a problem. “Twenty percent of those pigs are coughing before our brain will let us hear that,” Dr. Jim Lowe, a private livestock veterinary consultant in Illinois, told attendees of the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health …
Iowa – 4th Largest Corn Producer in the World
Did you know that if Iowa were a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of corn in the world? Iowa would be behind the number one corn producer, the U.S. followed by China, who has about the same number of acres in production but only 2/3 the production. Number three is Brazil, who with the drought is ahead …