A guest post by Agri-Pulse Editor Sara Wyant Current high rates of obesity in the United States and frequent discussions about eating healthy have many people counting their calories. But researchers say cooking and processing food can make a significant difference in the number of calories consumed – making current nutrition labels systematically misleading. The American Association for the Advancement …
Roberts Seeks to Cut Fat from SNAP
Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) has introduced legislation that he says would “restore integrity to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, to save $36 billion in taxpayer dollars while ensuring those in need still receive benefits.” Roberts found all kinds of little ways to cut SNAP spending waste and fraud that adds up to some substantial …
Thad Simons 2013 Agribusiness Leader of Year
The President/CEO of Novus International, Thad Simons, is the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) 2013 Agribusiness Leader of the Year. This award, which is NAMA’s highest honor, will be presented at the Opening General Session of the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference, “Forging New Frontiers,” April 18, 2013, in Kansas City, Missouri. I’ll be there to see Thad receive his award. The award …
Pigs Start Coughing Long Before Our Brains Hear It
Understanding how early in the production chain a disease actually starts will give veterinarians a better chance at stopping it before it becomes a problem. “Twenty percent of those pigs are coughing before our brain will let us hear that,” Dr. Jim Lowe, a private livestock veterinary consultant in Illinois, told attendees of the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health …
Iowa – 4th Largest Corn Producer in the World
Did you know that if Iowa were a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of corn in the world? Iowa would be behind the number one corn producer, the U.S. followed by China, who has about the same number of acres in production but only 2/3 the production. Number three is Brazil, who with the drought is ahead …
Twitter Doesn’t Always Reflect Views of General Public
I love Twitter but have wondered for some time how the “voice” you hear compares to the general public, most of whom are not using Twitter. I am no fan of The Pew Research Center but they just came out with some interesting results from a project on just this subject. The reaction on Twitter to major political events and …
Vaccination Sharply Lowers In Utero Disease Transfer
In utero transmission of Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease (PCV2) is more common than we might think, and vaccinations can make a world of difference to lower those transmissions from sows to their unborn piglets. That was the message veterinarians at the at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar heard in San Diego. Dr. Darin Madson, Assistant Professor of …
ENOGEN: Profitable Hybrid for Corn Farmers
Growers looking for a more profitable corn crop should consider planting ENOGEN corn. Ethanol producers looking for more gallons from a bushel of corn should look to farmers growing ENOGEN corn. I learned about the emerging corn trait designed specifically for ethanol production from Jeff Carver who is the ENOGEN Accounts Manager for Syngenta, when we spoke during the Iowa …
Monsanto Xtend’s Products for Growers
The team at Monsanto is excited to start talking about their new line of products called Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System. Their goal is to help maximize yield potential and weed control through effective and economical weed management. During the recent Commodity Classic, Chuck talked with Michelle Vigna, a Monsanto representative, about the product’s features and when growers can take …
Leaked USDA Email Makes News
*UPDATED WITH USDA STATEMENT* A leaked email from a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service field office is in the news today as evidence that the Obama administration wants to make the sequester cuts “as painful as possible.” According to the email, the USDA budget office directed the APHIS field office regarding flexibility of spending cuts for aquaculture, “However …