The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates 85.1 million acres of soybeans planted in the United States this year, up two percent from last year and setting a new record high. In contrast, growers planted an estimated 88.9 million acres to corn, the lowest corn acreage since 2010. Record high soybean planted acreage is estimated in …
AGree Report Calls for Food & Ag Research Reform
A new report calls for reforms in food and ag research. AGree, a group that’s supported by leading foundations that fund food and agriculture, international development, and health and well-being, unveiled its comprehensive report on food and ag research, “Research & Innovation: Strengthening Agricultural Research,” which includes nine recommendations to strengthen the impact of public research dollars by reforming the …
Calling All Drone Buffs – Interdrone
Got Drone? Want Drone? Then plan to attend Interdrone! It’s Interdrone, the International Drone Conference & Expo, taking place in Las Vegas, September 9-11. AgWired is a media sponsor for Interdrone and I hope to attend the show to provide coverage right here and on Precision.AgWired.com. I talked with Ted Bahr, President/CEO, BZ Media, the company that is conducting the …
July 4th Cookout is Less Than $6 Per Person
The American Farm Bureau reports that all your favorite cookout foods will cost you less than $6.00 per person. If you like hot dogs, cheeseburgers, pork spare ribs, potato salad, bakes beans, lemonade and chocolate milk, you’re in luck. The cost of of $5.58 is actually a 3-percent decrease from prices a year ago. “Based on our survey, food prices …
TPA Signed With Eye Toward New Agreements
President Obama signed two trade bills passed by Congress on Monday, one authorizing Trade Promotion Authority and one renewing Trade Adjustment Assistance. The president pointed out that while the bills will help negotiations move forward on trade agreements such as the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), they are not the actual agreements. “We still …
American Agri-Women Present ‘Champion of Ag’ Awards
The American Agri-Women (AAW) presented Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota and Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas with its “Champion of Agriculture” awards. This news release from the group – the nation’s largest coalition of farm, ranch and agribusiness women – says the the award goes to outstanding members of the U.S. Congress for their steadfast courage in upholding the …
NCBA CEO Forrest Roberts Moving On
After six years of serving as the Chief Executive Officer for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Forrest Roberts has announced his resignation, effective July 31. Roberts is leaving NCBA to “pursue other opportunities in the cattle industry and agribusiness” but will remain with the organization until the end of July to help with the transition of staff leadership and …
U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Assembly
The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, started in March of this year, announced today the first general assembly meeting. When: July 14 and 15, 2015 Where: Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center 650 15th St., Denver, CO 80202 Program here. Registration here. USRSB’s mission is to advance, support and communicate continuous improvement in U.S. beef sustainability through leadership, …
Zimfo Bytes
On June 16, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially announced its long anticipated regulation to revoke the “Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)” status of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) – a source of artificial trans fatty acids (TFAs) – for use in food. Thousands of FFA members from throughout the country are converging on Washington, D.C., this summer to analyze …
2015 Golden ARC Winners Announced
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) has announced its Golden ARC Awards 2015 Winners. This elite awards program added 23 Golden ARC Awards members and 18 Merit Awards recipients. For the fourth consecutive year a Golden ARC de Excellence Awards was given. “The quality of this year’s entries again surpassed previous years’ submissions, and judges provided valuable comments and critiques for …