Raven Industries is helping farmers all over the world be more productive and efficient with precision agriculture solutions. At this week’s Raven Innovation Summit, I talked with Karl Erichsen of Effective Farming Solutions in Middleburg, South Africa who has been a distributor for 12 years. Karl says precision farming is very important in South Africa because of the wide variety …
My First Shot
One jar – that’s all I got – and it wasn’t even a full jar but it made me proud. This was my first attempt at stewed tomatoes from the fresh ones I harvested from my garden. And I’ve got about 20 more tomatoes ripening in the window by the washer and dryer. It’s been so hot outside that I …
MAPPing… Mobile App’ing… MapShots’ Software
Conferences are always great for seeing the latest and greatest in equipment and software, and the International Conference on Precision Agriculture in Indianapolis, IN was certainly no exception. Making the rounds through the vendors’ displays, Chuck caught up with Tim Taylor from MapShots, who told him about the latest apps his company has to work with their precision agronomy software …
USDA Apologizes for Meatless Mondays Gaffe
After an internal USDA newsletter promoting “Meatless Mondays” was made public Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack personally apologized to the president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and said the document was not only pulled from the website, it was edited and re-sent to USDA employees without suggestions that meat production was bad for the environment and human health. “We …
Ag Day Poster Art Contest Begins Aug. 1
The Agriculture Council of America and Successful Farming are encouraging young artists to celebrate modern agriculture through the first ever National Ag Day Poster Art Contest. A winning original piece of art will be chosen as the Official National Ag Day poster. The contest begins August 1 and is open to amateur artists enrolled in high school or college. The …
Most Favor Splitting Nutrition Out of Farm Bill
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Should nutrition programs be split out of the Farm Bill?” Our poll results: Seventy-seven percent said yes and twenty-three percent said no. What do you think? With all those nutrition programs is it really a “farm” bill? Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How will drought impact the Renewable Fuel …
USDA “Meatless Mondays” Uproar
An internal USDA Greening Update newsletter that promotes “Meatless Mondays” caused a bit of an uproar on Wednesday. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) sent out a news release linking to the newsletter and questioning USDA’s commitment to the livestock industry. The newsletter talked about various “greening” initiatives by the agency and suggested that “one simple way to reduce our …
Raven Makes Connections with Slingshot
Slingshot® was officially introduced by Raven at AG CONNECT Expo in January 2010. Just two and a half years later, this innovative use of wireless connectivity over cell phone networks is helping farmers all over the world get cost effective secure access to critical operating data. “It allows data to move from the tractor to the farm or to the …
No Hormones Used in Chicken/Turkey Production
Think chickens are raised by giving them hormones? You’d be wrong. Simply not true. The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association has put together a video you can share to set the record straight. One of the most common, and frustrating, questions for U.S. poultry producers is why hormones are used to produce today’s poultry products. Of course, the actual answer …
Zimfo Bytes
The USPOULTRY Foundation is now accepting applications from colleges and universities for industry education and recruitment funding. Members of the National Ag Center and Hall of Fame Board of Governors elected officers of the board of directors; and Charles Berkel, of Berkel & Company in Bonner Springs, Kan., was given the Friends of Farming Lifetime Achievement Award. Bayer CropScience announced …