The American Clean Energy and Security Act – better known as the climate change bill – is heading to the House floor this week now that leadership has struck a deal with farm state opponents led by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN). Part of the agreement includes allowing USDA to have oversight for agricultural carbon offset programs instead of EPA. “The …
Pork Producer Dedicated to Sharing Ag Story
It’s certainly not news to anyone in the agriculture industry that livestock producers, especially pork producers, are hurting. According to the National Pork Producers Council, pork producers, who prior to the announcement of the H1N1 “outbreak” were already losing money, have seen losses accelerate to an average of $17.69 on each hog marketed since May 1, 2009. Total losses have …
New Novus Headquarters is Certified Green
The new global headquarters for Novus International in St. Louis has been awarded the Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Platinum certification is the highest designation available to buildings that demonstrate energy efficiency and sustainability. The building, which is located in Missouri Research Park, is only the fourth building in Missouri …
Greenpeace Is An Enemy of the Environment
Here’s a link to an article in NRC Handelsblad, a Netherlands daily newspaper that really hits the nail on the head about the damage being caused by wacko groups like Greenpeace. They really are terrorists who not only endanger the lives and hard work of people who are actually helping our environment while trying to increase food production but they …
Go Green Year Round
As sustainability initiatives move from fringe to mainstream many companies are wondering how to “go green” beyond Earth Day celebrations and recycling paper and cans. The Hondo Group, a marketing communications company based in Fort Worth, Texas, can actually help your company do just that with their new CO2 Management Initiative. Originally created to help The Hondo Group go green, …
Greener-Schnitzels
“Man & Cow” Greener-Schnitzels – Episode #1 – Since the domestication of animals, man and cow have always enjoyed a special relationship. However, in this new era of increased environmental awareness, this special relationship has gotten a bit strained. Put a man, a cow and some methane in a YouTube video and this is what you get: Feel free to …
Sustainability Practices Now Determined Via New Online Calculator
Sustainability is a hot topic and growers have often been put in the hot seat defending their use of the land. But today, sustainability practices can be assessed using the new online Fieldprint Calculator, created by Field to Market, The Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture. As the world population explodes, producing food, feed, fuel, and fiber in a sustainable manner …
More Global Warming Wacko-ism
Let’s see, it seems like last year I heard that the greatest threat to the livestock industry wasn’t input costs, ethanol or market prices but wacko animal rights activists. Yeah. There are a lot of them and they sure seem to have lots of money behind them. The latest, besides the post I did this morning, is from LetsActNow.org. These …
Transition to a Bioeconomy About to Begin
The latest in a series of Farm Foundation-sponsored meetings on how to transition the country to a bioeconomy is about to get underway this morning in St. Louis, Mo. Transition to a Bio Economy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts is taking place at the Hyatt Regency-Union Station today and tomorrow, and your intrepid blogger will be here to update you …
More Monsanto Sustainability
The potential for increasing yields exists everywhere if you ask Michael Doane. Michael is the Sustainability Team Lead for Monsanto. He spoke at the Monsanto discussion on sustainability on the 2008 Farm Progress Show last week. After his speech, I caught up with him and we spoke more about how he thinks the world will answer the global food demands …