Calling all aspiring agvocates. The 2014 AgChat Foundation, Cultivate and Connect Conference will be held in Austin, TX, on August 21-22. It has been said that everything is bigger in Texas. The AgChat Foundation’s 2014 Cultivate & Connect conference to be held at the Radisson Hotel & Suites in beautiful downtown Austin, Texas, August 21-22, 2014, will be no exception. …
ASA Honors Lifetime Achievements
The American Soybean Association awarded two lifetime achievement awards during the annual banquet at Commodity Classic. One was presented to a long-time friend of ours. Dave Drennan received the Lifetime Achievement Award – Membership Focus, which honors individuals who have provided outstanding leadership and dedication to ASA and helped further the interests of soybean farmers. Drennan started his career with …
BASF Celebrates Corn and Soybean Farmers
BASF Crop Protection helped corn and soybean growers celebrate the achievements of the past year as sponsors of the big association banquets during the Commodity Classic last week. At the National Corn Growers Association banquet, BASF Manager for Plant Health and Seed Treatment Dr. Gary Fellows talked about how corn growers are living Howard Buffett’s “40 Chances” challenge to make …
Bayer Brings in Bloggers for Panel
During the Ag Issues Forum ahead of Commodity Classic last week, Bayer Crop Science brought in a panel of bloggers for a session called “Welcome to MY World: Consumers and Growers Seek Common Ground,” a conversation between three bloggers. The panel answered questions such as “What do your followers want to hear, how are they getting their information, and how …
Soil Health Partnership Update at Classic
Since the health of a farm depends largely on healthy soil, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), with support from the Walton Family Foundation and Monsanto, recently announced the formation a new Science Advisory Council and the Soil Health Partnership (SHP). During a press conference at the Commodity Classic, members of the partnership discussed plans to help farmers enhance soil …
New Holland Auto Command Lesson
My first lesson during the New Holland Operation Blue Force field training event was in a T7 210 Auto Command CVT transmission tractor. My teacher was Luke Zerby. He says this tractor is perfect for hay and forage work. Luke talked me through the control stick which is mounted on a Sidewinder II comfy armrest. The controls allow you to …
Facts on Ethanol’s Side in Fight with Big Oil
It’s not always fact-based arguments proponents of ethanol are up against when battling Big Oil. But that’s why it’s all more important to make sure you have good facts on your side in the fight. Farmers who attended the recent Commodity Classic in San Antonio were able to sit in on a session titled, “Biofuels and the Renewable Fuels Standard, …
Seed Treatment Stewardship Promoted at Classic
We first heard about “The Guide to Seed Treatment Stewardship” last year at Commodity Classic. The second phase roll out of the guide – produced by the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) in collaboration with organizations like the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association and American Farm Bureau – began this year and we heard more about it from …
Zimfo Bytes
During the annual meeting of its voting delegates at last week’s Commodity Classic in San Antonio, the farmer members of the American Soybean Association plotted the association’s policy course for the coming year during the open resolutions process. Farmer and rancher members of Farm Bureau from around the country officially kicked off the organization’s new “Our Food Link” program in …
More Time to Enter Golden ARC Awards
So, what are you doing this weekend? How about working on your Golden ARC Awards entry? After receiving requests from multiple Commodity Classic attendees, the Agricultural Relations Council folks decided to extend the deadline for the 2014 Golden ARC Awards Contest to next Tuesday March 11, 2014. The 2014 Golden ARC Awards competition includes 35 categories for agricultural public relations …