Thirty-three percent of the land’s surface is used for food production. That’s the figure that John Hoffman, Iowa farmer and President of the American Soybean Association puts out there. He says that 33 percent makes up 55 percent of the land that’s arable. So, we’re already using more than half the arable land out there to feed the world. Much …
Farmers get FIT with Mapping
Pioneer is offering a new, free service that it says can give farmers more: more information and more uses for that information. Pioneer Hi-Bred’s FIT mapping combines GPS data with a free mapping service offering farmers detailed information about their crops, where they’re growing their crops and whether they’re growing them in way that maximizes their resources. Did I mention …
Searching for an IRON Solution
At the Farm Progress Show I got to meet the Canadian farm boy who is now the President and CEO of IRON Solutions. He’s Darwin Melnyk and he comes from western Canada. IRON Solutions had some major activity this summer when they were acquired by StarVest Partners, a New York venture capital firm. Darwin says the firm has given them …
PERC Makes Progress
At this summer’s farm shows you’ll see the folks at the Propane Education and Research Council providing support to various state groups. Here at the Farm Progress Show, Mark Leitman stopped by the AgWired table in the media tent. He says that PERC is supporting the Iowa Propane Gas Association. Mark says that farmers are stopping by their exhibit and …
New Holland Tedder Gets It Dried Faster
While I’m on the subject of hay equipment from New Holland, let’s add one more item. This one is the new H5270 Tedder. In the haymaker’s race against the rain, a New Holland H5270 six-rotor pull-type tedder provides the edge by fluffing heavy, damp crop and distributing it evenly for faster drydown. Dave says one of the improvements in this …
New Big Balers From New Holland
Small square balers aren’t the only new balers from New Holland. How about those big square balers? I spoke with Colin Skoronski in the New Holland exhibit about this big BB9060. New Holland is certainly making some style changes which you can see in the rounded edges for example. Colin says they’ve made a lot of improvements in this line …
New Small Square Baler From New Holland
New Holland had a lot of new equipment on display. One item getting a lot of attention was their new small square baler. One of the reasons is a retro-vintage logo on the side. I spoke with Mark Long, Marketing Specialist in the Hay and Forage group. He says they just introduced the new small square baler and that it’s …
Golf Car Mania at Farm Progress Show
Since I started renting a golf car at shows like the Farm Progress Show, I’ve wondered why I ever did without. The golf car man at the Farm Progress Show was Chris Miller, M & M Golf Cars. They rent 2, 4, 6 seat cars as well as other vehicles. He says people started registering to rent cars the first …
Manage the Markets with DTN
There were a LOT of reasons about 1,000 Farm Progress Show visitors visited the DTN exhibit in Boone, Iowa this week. But, the biggest reason was probably the chance to win $25,000. Aside from scoring the dough, though, visitors also had the chance to score some valuable marketing and weather tips from DTN experts. DTN representative Teri Thiele says visitors …
BASF From Brazil
The Farm Progress Show had a lot of international visitors like these guys from Brazil. I just happened to walk in to the BASF tent and met them. Several of their group actually work for BASF in Brazil. Their tour leader is Fernando Dellazari (3rd from right). He says they had 17 guys on this trip. I asked him what …