2011 has been a phenomenal growth year for MyWay RTK. The service was launched in the fall of 2010 to bring subscription-based Real Time Kinematic positioning and wireless Internet access to the state of Illinois. That has been more than accomplished with coverage throughout the entire state and base stations being added almost daily in other states from Iowa to …
MaxVisor Provides Personal Grain Market Consulting
It’s that time of the year when many of us are looking back at the past year and ahead to the new year, especially when it comes to our finances. Farmers who are making a New Years resolution to consider options for managing risk should check out MaxVisor for consulting with a personal touch. “It is sit down, one on …
GROWMARK Holiday Greeting
From all of us at GROWMARK – Have a wonderful holiday season with family and friends! We look forward to working with you in 2012!
GROWMARK Perspective on 2012 Farm Bill
2012 is likely to be a very interesting year for agricultural policy as we face the writing of a new Farm Bill during a presidential election year with a huge federal deficit. Since the GROWMARK cooperative system represents the interests of farmers on the federal level, I talked with GROWMARK government affairs director Chuck Spencer to get his perspective on …
AgGateway Helps Agribusinesses Work Together
You may not have ever heard of AgGateway, but this relatively youthful organization already has a membership that reads like a who’s who of agribusinesses and their important goal is to help efficiently share information between trading partners in the agricultural and food supply chains. GROWMARK was one of the founding companies of AgGateway just six short years ago, growing …
GROWMARK Essay Contest Underway
Appropriately for the International Year of Cooperatives, the theme for the 2012 GROWMARK essay contest is “Cooperatives in a Global Environment.” This is the 19th year for the program, sponsored by the GROWMARK System and FS member cooperatives, in conjunction with state FFA leaders, to help young people develop their writing skills, learn about current issues impacting agriculture, and understand …
UN Kicks off International Year of Cooperatives
On the same day the world was officially proclaimed home of seven billion souls, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives with the theme of “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World”. “This Day of 7 Billion – is not about one newborn, or even one generation,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. “This is a …
FS PARTNERS Pioneering QR Codes in the Field
FS PARTNERS in Ontario is pioneering a new use for QR codes in the field so farmers can access updated information about test plots. In case you are not yet familiar with them, QR is short for Quick Response and they are those bar code looking things you can read with a smart phone that are starting to pop up …
GROWMARK Offers Grain Bin Safety Tips
Every year there are dozens of grain bin accidents reported across the Corn Belt, with far too many ending in fatalities. GROWMARK grain systems operations manager Randy Holthaus says the harvest season is an especially dangerous time on the farm around grain bins. “During the harvest, with the need to get it in and get it done, people get in …
October is National Cooperative Month
Each October since 1964, cooperatives across the United States have been celebrating the cooperative difference, business model and the contributions of cooperatives to their communities, during National Cooperative Month. One of the best examples of an agricultural cooperative that makes a difference is GROWMARK, based in Bloomington, Illinois, and chairman of the board Dan Kelley says cooperatives touch our lives …