It’s official now – the 2012 Commodity Classic was a major record-breaker. Final attendance at the event surpassed all previous turnout records with a total of 6,014 attendees, up 25 percent increase from last year’s record of 4,826 attendees. Once again, farm families represented over half of the participants, with 3,505 growers, spouses and children attending. “We broke records in …
National Ag Day Morning Coffee Break
The start to today’s National Ag Day Activities was coffee in the USDA Atrium. We’ll be back here for dinner this evening and to hear from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The Secretary has become a regular on AgWired lately. This morning our program was moderated by Orion Samuelson and our speaker was Krysta Harden, USDA Chief of Staff. …
Agri-Pulse Holds Successful Reception
Agri-Pulse held another successful reception in advance of National Agriculture Day. The reception is held in appreciation not only of farmers but also all who work on behalf of the industry including lawmakers in Washington, DC. Sara says the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance Food Dialogues event held just prior to the reception was a good fit with what Agri-Pulse …
Time to Slow Down
I often wonder … how many minutes each day do I actually spend staring straight out my car windshield versus staring at the landscape around me? Then I realize how dangerous that thought is. But if I didn’t spend time taking in the beauty of what’s around me every day, I’d miss skies like this. Disclaimer: I adjusted the color …
Get Ready for the NASCAR Pioneer Hi-Bred 250
Pioneer Hi-Bred has been a major sponsor of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 for many years – now the DuPont business will be title sponsor for the May NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Iowa Speedway. The Pioneer Hi-Bred 250 will be held Sunday, May 20, at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. “This is a great event for the …
Our Food System Not Broken
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Is our food system broken?” Not according to you with 63% saying no and only 37% saying yes. During the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum held prior to the Commodity Classic, one of our speakers was Gawain Kripke, Oxfam America. He told us “our food system is broken.” I think the statement was made …
USFRA Hold Food Dialogues Prior to National Agriculture Day
In conjunction with the second annual agricultural appreciation reception held by Agri-Pulse the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance held a special edition of their Food Dialogues titled, “The Future of Food and Farming.” The panel tried to deal with the question, “Is technology in agriculture creating environmental improvements and economic growth or perpetuating public fears?” That seems like a loaded …
John Deere Announces Final Tier 4/Stage IV Engine
During a press conference at the 2012 Commodity Classic, John Deere unveiled its final stage Tier 4 solution, the John Deere Integrated Emissions Control System. Deere’s Barry Nelson said this is a major announcement that continues John Deere’s 175 years of innovation. “The past few years we have been spending millions and millions of dollars to develop new technology for …
Ag Leader Moves Into Precision Water Management
Ag Leader Technology is moving into the fast-growing precision water management market with new company acquisitions. To integrate water management into its expanding precision farming portfolio, Ag Leader has acquired Soil-Max, manufacturer of the market-leading Gold Digger tile plow, and the assets of Gradient, Inc., a related company which revolutionized the control of tile plows with the Intellislope GPS-based control …
GROWMARK Building Fertilizer Storage Facility in Iowa
GROWMARK is building a dry fertilizer storage facility at Stuart, Iowa that will have the capacity to hold 15,000 tons and will complement the acquisition of CF terminals made by GROWMARK in 2011. Construction will begin in spring 2012 and completion is expected in fall 2012. The facility will have rail receiving capability from the Iowa Interstate Rail System which …