Add Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to those calling on the EPA to waive the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). In a letter to the EPA (available from the National Chicken Council website), Deal joins Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe and North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue asking for the waiver because of the impact the drought is having on corn. The EPA has …
AG CONNECT Previews Lineup at Ag Media Summit
It might be a few months off, but it’s certainly not too early to think about the coming AG CONNECT Expo, January 29-31, 2013 in Kansas City, MO. At the recent Ag Media Summit, I caught up with AG CONNECT show manager Sara Mooney, who says the show will include several co-located meetings and a chance to meet the Masters …
Monsanto Announces New Leadership
Monsanto Company recently announced Brett Begemann as their President and Chief Commercial Officer. He will lead the oversight and operational execution of the company’s near-term expansion and growth in key international markets. Hugh Grant will continue to serve as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, where he maintains ongoing responsibility for leading the company’s long-term corporate strategy. “Brett has served …
Come for Beach, Stay for Info at BIVI Swine Seminar
Lots of good information and a chance for plenty of questions at the recent 12th annual Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar held in North Carolina. I talked with Mike Neil with Murphy Brown in Virginia. While he (kiddingly) said he comes for the beach, it’s really the amount of information valuable to his company that brings him there. “It …
Wine Making in Sweden
Wine making in Sweden? You betcha. During the 2012 IFAJ Congress some of us toured Blaxsta Vineyard. We also sampled a merlot while we were there. The grapes for this particular wine came from Canadian vineyards of French stock. Blaxsta Vineyard is located near Stockholm and is about as far north as you can grow grapes to make some good …
It’s Agvocacy Time
It’s just about time for the 2012 AgChat Foundation Agvocacy 2.0 Training Conference. Things will kick off tomorrow with a board meeting of the AgChat Foundation followed by an Agtastic Tweet-Up which the attendees of the NAMA Boot Camp are invited to. Then the program kicks off in high gear on Thursday morning. Jamie Johansen and I will be on …
Organic Pig Farming
Here’s something you don’t see everyday. A group of agricultural journalists from many countries playing with some organic pigs. This is on the Asbergby Farm during the 2012 IFAJ Congress. We met Olle and Catharina Linder who are organic farmers raising pigs and cattle. You can see how they keep their pigs in the video. What do you think of …
2012 Citrus Expo
I remember attending Citrus Expo early in the ZimmComm agriblogging history and getting to know my first Nikon DSLR. This was back in 2006, an eternity in the advancement of technology, especially for agricultural communications. You can still see my photos from back then. Now, it’s seven years later and Southeast AgNet blogs it’s own show. Facebook is now an …
EcoTek Highlights Young Scientists at USB Event
A group of young scientists got to show off what they have learned in their lab during the recent USB Biobased Products Stakeholders Workshop in Dearborn, Michigan. “My focus is on innovation and how to use science as a way of improving society,” explained Keith Young, the founder of EcoTek Lab… a Detroit-based program for students from 2nd grade through …
Swedish Beef Cattle Farm – Stenhammar Estate
During the 2012 IFAJ Congress we split up into eight different tour groups. My group (Meat Wagon) visited Stenhammar Estate, a beef cattle farm run by the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf. He was not available but his farm manager, Anders Frederiksson was. Anders gave us a tour around the old and new barns and talked about the farm. I …