One of the “high”lights of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., was a demonstration of using a crop duster to seed ground cover on a field still growing corn. Eric Smith with Pontiac Flying Service explained shortly after one of his pilots (in fact, Scott Petersen, the company’s owner/operations manager) flew over the field and …
GROWMARK: CTIC Support is Being Good Stewards
The Conservation Technology Information Center tour just completed with a theme of “Community 4 Conservation” this year. Dan Maggart with GROWMARK (pictured to the right, talking to bus load on the tour about what GROWMARK offers in way of agronomic services) explained why his company sees itself as such a good fit as a sponsor for the tour and its …
Finding Solutions From the Land
Prior to the start of the 2013 Conservation in Action Tour attendees learned more about Solutions From The Land from Project Coordinator Ernie Shea. This was part of the pre-tour seminar. Here’s what SFL is all about: “A national dialogue led by agriculture, forestry and conservation thought leaders to help landowners and managers make the most of the land’s potential.” …
InfoAg Conference App
In the lead up to the 2013 InfoAg Conference you might want to get the app so you’re ready. You can get the app for iOS right here or for Android right here. If you’re attending InfoAg I’d like you to have it before attending my session on Wednesday afternoon! The conference will be held July 16-18 in Springfield, Illinois …
Zimfo Bytes
Mosaic’s CropNutrition.com initiative is an integrated campaign designed to inform growers and retailers about key issues and trends affecting soil fertility. Syngenta and Lindsay Corporation formally announced a collaborative agreement to provide corn farmers with a more efficient way to grow and manage irrigated corn acres. Eco Agro Resources is proud to announce the appointment of Luciano Lucero as the …
Making Sense of Precision Ag’s Alphabet Soup
Precision farming tools are designed to simplify things for growers, and yet the terminology used in precision farming isn’t always so simple. But have no fear. The following definitions will guide you through the mysterious twists and terms found in the world of GPS (Psst … that stands for Global Positioning System). GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System is a navigation …
Farm Foundation Leads Talk on Trade
As the United States and the European Union open negotiations on trade, our friends at Farm Foundation will be hosting a forum on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The session, next Wednesday, July 17th at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., will focus on food and ag issues, especially tariffs, tariff-rated quotas and non-tariff barriers across multiple …
CTIC Tour Fosters EPA Watershed Understanding
Talk about some inter-agency friendliness. Here’s EPA’s Denise Keehner, Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds and Acting Chief Jason Weller, USDA-NRCS. They were attending the CTIC Conservation in Action Tour and met after luncheon remarks by Denise. I spoke with Denise after her remarks and on the subject of inter-agency cooperation she says it is the best she’s ever …
Groups Discouraged With Passage of Partisan Farm Bill
Agricultural groups are discouraged with the passage today of the U.S. House of Representatives’ H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (FARRM). The bill slid through with a tight margin of 216 to 208 after more than six hours of debate today and did not include food stamp authorization or nutrition programs, which the House …
Welcome to CTIC Community 4 Conservation
Community 4 Conservation is the theme of this year’s Conservation Technology Information Center tour that just completed. To provide an overview of what the 2013 Conservation in Action Tour would cover I spoke with CTIC Board Chair, Dave Gustafson, Monsanto. Here’s Dave getting things started at our first stop of the day. Dave says about this year’s tour, “It’s going …