Farmers and ranchers are concerned about President Trump’s “Taxpayer First” budget released this week but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue defended significant cuts to USDA in the name of balancing the budget. “I don’t think there’s any reason to sugar coat this,” Perdue said to reporters on a press call Tuesday. “But I believe the people knew what they were doing …
ZimmCast with @IFAJ Presidents at #ONE17
The most recent four presidents of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ), representing four different countries, attended this week’s Alltech Ideas Conference and Cindy’s Golden ZimmComm Microphone got a work out interviewing them for this week’s program. Cindy interviewed, in chronological order, past presidents David Markey of Ireland, Markus Rediger of Switzerland, and Mike Wilson of the United States, …
George Blankenship Receives Alltech Medal of Excellence
Alltech founder Dr. Pearse Lyons presented former Tesla Motors, Apple Computer and GAP Inc. executive George Blankenship with the Alltech Medal of Excellence at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington, Kentucky this week. Alltech’s highest accolade, the medal is awarded annually to someone of great accomplishment and leadership. Previous honorees include former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and …
Alltech Celebrates Joy of Disruption
Dr. Pearse Lyons has built a small empire from modest beginnings in Lexington, Kentucky in 1980 and he has done it all by being disruptive. “The question is what disruptive road are you on?” Dr. Lyons asked at the beginning of his presentation during the opening session of ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference 2017 – Disrupt the Disruptors. Lyons talked …
GROWMARK Foundation Announces Scholarship Recipients
Fifteen agriculture students have been selected as the first class of recipients of the GROWMARK Foundation scholarship. More than 125 students from across the United States and Ontario, Canada, applied for the award. Applications were evaluated by a panel of agribusiness professionals, and the funds are available for the fall 2018 semester. “We are pleased to provide financial support to …
SMART Farmer Scott VanderWal
In this episode of the SMART Farmer podcast we meet Scott VanderWal, a third-generation corn and soybean farmer and cattle feeder from Volga, South Dakota. In addition to operating the family farm with his father and brothers, Scott serves as vice president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau, and is a board member …
Monday Night Brewing Winner at Alltech Craft Brews Fest
Besides missing the Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17) this week I also missed the Alltech Craft Brews & Food Fest. It was another stand out event from the looks of it, with over 5,000 craft beer aficionados in attendance. The event took place Saturday at the Lexington Convention Center. This festival featured over 65 breweries from across the country, and food …
It’s Time to Disrupt the Disruptors
Disruption is everywhere. Disruptive ideas are impacting the way we farm. This year ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference is centered around creating a world-wide disruption of your own. We are just days away from the awe-inspiring event and spoke with Aidan Connolly, Alltech’s Chief Innovation Officer & Vice President, to learn what Disrupt the Disruptors really means. Aidan said the …
AEM Holds Rural Broadband Access Panel
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) hosted Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and representatives from equipment manufacturers John Deere and HammerHead Trenchless for a panel discussion on Capitol Hill on May 18th focused on the expansion of rural broadband access as part of lawmakers’ work this year on infrastructure. The event was in conjunction with Infrastructure Week 2017 and …
Farmers: Smart About Their Phones & Beyond
My morning inspiration today comes from a post on the Woodruff blog by Darlene Hanenburg, Senior Technical and Content Writer. Darlene writes about farmers consumption of digital media and makes some very good points. Here is an insightful excerpt. The truth is, the agri-marketing landscape continues to evolve as new media and technology are introduced and become more widely accepted. …