We’re getting a Saskatchewan Surprise in Saskatoon for the 2016 Canadian Farm Writers Federation annual meeting. Our reception and dinner were held in the Western Development Museum. The opening reception featured welcoming comments from the Honorable Lyle Stewart, Minister of Agriculture, Province of Saskatchewan. Stewart says, “Agriculture in Saskatchewan is part of our identity here. To some we’re known for …
USDA Announces Grants for Veteran Farmers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced $8.4 million in grants that will be used to provide training, outreach and technical assistance for the nation’s socially disadvantaged, tribal and veteran farmers and ranchers. “USDA was created to be ‘The People’s Department,’ and in the past eight years we have made tremendous progress in correcting past mistakes and creating a more inclusive …
Shake Up on NAFB Board
If you are a member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), you probably received an email yesterday from the organization that there will be a special election at the annual convention next month to replace Tony St. James as 2017 NAFB president. According to the email, This action is the direct result of the NAFB Board of Directors’ …
Where’s the #Peanut Emoji?
Most people who are active on social media know what an emoji is – those cute little images used in text messages, Twitter and Facebook posts. They started many years ago with the simple smiley or sad face made from the combination of colons and parentheses like this – 🙂 Now emojis are everywhere, and they’ve evolved well beyond facial …
Congress Ratifies Treaty Tied to Global Food Security
Congress made history last night by finally passing a broadly-supported international treaty to strengthen American agriculture and enhance global food security, an action endorsed by the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). First signed by President George W. Bush, and pending for nearly 15 years, the now ratified International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (“The Treaty”) will …
The Cuban Gold Rush
Few Americans can say they have stepped foot on Cuban soil. Even fewer can say they had the opportunity as a journalist and yet even fewer as an agricultural journalist. Luckily, I am one of those who can answer yes to all of the above. Thanks to the American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) and Alltech, I recently traveled to Cuba …
International Drone Expo to Host Drone Race
International Drone Expo (IDE), the largest gathering of the most innovative and leading members of the UAV community from around the globe, will hold its first annual Drone Race inside the Los Angeles Convention Center this December. MultiGP, the sanctioning body and leading drone racing league for first-person view (FPV) radio-controlled aircraft in the United States, will custom design the …
Zimfo Bytes
GROWMARK and Suncor have announced that GROWMARK will purchase Suncor’s 50 percent interest in UPI, Inc. in Ontario, Canada, bringing GROWMARK’s ownership of UPI to 100 percent. The two companies also entered into long-term supply agreements for GROWMARK’s petroleum needs in Ontario. Kent Nutrition Group and Deluxe Feeds announced an agreement where KNG will acquire the Deluxe organization on October …
Agworld Offers Farm Management Program
All the precision tech in the world isn’t going to do much good unless a grower can get them to work together. That’s were Agworld comes in. The global provider of farm management software and applications has introduced Collaborative Farming Solution (CFS), a cloud-based platform that allows growers and retailers to work together. Most farm systems were developed for specific …
Some Say Mega Merger Bad News
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What’s your opinion of the Bayer-Monsanto deal?” The mega merger is still in the news and a small majority of pollers seem to believe the Bayer-Monsanto deal is bad news for the industry. As the companies work out the kinks farmers will soon see what the future holds and how this consolidation will impact …