Farmers and ranchers will need the force to be with them as the EPA has struck back with an even more extreme version of the Waters of the U.S. Rule. Known as the Chesapeake Blueprint, the new rules will severely regulate and burden farms, possibly removing thousands of acres from production agriculture. The American Farm Bureau Federation is once again …
AEM Ag Chair at #NFMS16
Jim Walker with CASE IH, who serves as chairman of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Ag Sector board, talked about what he expects for the future of the industry during an Ag Executive Outlook panel at the National Farm Machinery Show this week. Walker says increasing profitability with precision will be key. “Really the technology of precision farming is …
Farm Income & Land Values Fall in Midwest, Midsouth
The fourth quarter of 2015 continued to show a decline in farm income through the Midwest and Midsouth. The survey, conducted by the Agricultural Finance Monitor and published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, was comprised of responses from agricultural banks in the boundaries of the Eight Federal Reserve District. That area includes all or part of Arkansas, …
New Holland Ag Introduces PLM RTK+
During this week’s National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, New Holland formally introduced the PLM RTK+ correction program, the first cellular-delivered RTK correction signal on the market, and several representatives were on-hand to discuss the diverse array of features and benefits this technology will offer producers across North America. “The big idea is that as our farmers and producers …
Thanks New Holland for the Bird’s Eye View
For the best view at National Farm Machinery Show, America’s largest indoor farm show, you must climb high. For this opportunity I turned to our friends at New Holland Agriculture. J. Cole Sanford, New Holland product specialist, climbed their CR6.80 combine with me to share the latest on the new model launched late last year. “The smaller machine really goes …
Preview of CIRB Annual Meeting
Leaders in the crop insurance business are gathered in California for the annual meeting of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau. To get a preview before the activities started I spoke with Michael Torrey, Michael Torrey Associates. His company represents and manages CIRB. Before looking ahead Michael talks about the challenging last year for the industry when critics were trying …
Top Equipment Manufacturer Issues at #NFMS16
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) hosted an Ag Executive Outlook panel during the opening day of the 2016 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY. AEM’s Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, Nick Yaksich, sat on the panel and hit on key policy issues impacting the ag equipment industry. Yaksich mention the Renewable Fuel Standard first and its role …
Mud Pie
Today Aunt Jeanette writes: When I was a little girl, making mud pies was great fun! They were flavor-enhanced with gravel, twigs and leaves. I baked them in the sweltering sun on an old, discarded board until they were a delicious slate gray. However, finding a newly born mud pie in the dead of winter, treading water, and trying to …
#NFMS16 is Big Show for FMC
Even though it’s called the National Farm Machinery Show and equipment is king, the people who provide the products for planters to plant and sprayers to spray also have a place at the show. FMC Corporation has carved out a nice niche for itself at NFMS, sponsoring the media room and exhibitor lanyards, and having a premium exhibit space right …
Time to Talk Crop Insurance
The Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau kicks off its annual meeting today in Indian Wells, CA. I am going to guess that the President’s budget will once again be a topic of discussion. During the next couple days I’ll be meeting members and speakers to learn the potential impact of proposed changes to the budget affecting crop insurance and what …