A new pest is popping up in soybean fields across the country – the orange gall midge. “It’s a very tiny fly that lays its eggs in the stem of a soybean plant,” said FMC Agricultural Solutions subject matter expert Bob Hooten during an interview at the annual NAFB Trade Talk last month in Kansas City. Bright orange maggots develop …
USGC Releases Latest Corn Harvest Quality Report
A warm and moist growing season resulted in near-record yields and good quality for the 2018 corn crop, according to the U.S. Grain Council’s (USGC) 2018/2019 Corn Harvest Quality Report. The report revealed the majority of 2018 corn crop conditions were rated as good or excellent during the growing season, leading to strong plant health, good kernel size and a …
Latest AEM Ag Tractor and Combine Report
The latest Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ (AEM) Ag Tractor and Combine Report from November shows overall sales remained positive. U.S. Sales of self-propelled combines gained 9.2 percent in November compared to last year, and U.S. sales of 4-wheel-drive tractors increased 60.7 percent month-over-month. November year-to-date U.S. sales showed a 16.6 percent growth for combines and 15.9 percent growth for 4-wheel-drive …
Beltway Beef on Farm Bill, Water Rule, and Trade
The latest episode of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Beltway Beef podcast features comments from the association on all the news that came down last week, including the new water rule and the new farm bill. Allison Rivera discusses the final 2018 Farm Bill that is on its way to the White House for President Trump’s signature, Scott Yager discusses …
USDA Launches ReConnect Program
USDA is offering up to $600 million in loans and grants to help build broadband infrastructure in rural America. Telecommunications companies, rural electric cooperatives and utilities, internet service providers and municipalities may apply for funding through USDA’s new ReConnect Program to connect rural areas that currently have insufficient broadband service. “High-speed internet e-Connectivity is a necessity, not an amenity, vital …
Ten Years of Ethanol Market Growth
Growth Energy is celebrating ten years of advocating for ethanol since it was created in 2008. This edition of the Driving Ethanol podcast is the final installment of our series on the 10 year anniversary of Growth Energy and how the market for U.S. ethanol has grown in the past decade. When Growth Energy was first formed in 2008, U.S. …
Animal Ag Bites 12/17
The American Feed Industry Association is proud to announce the launch of its new website to better communicate the animal food manufacturing industry’s key legislative and regulatory priorities to policymakers and the public. The revamped, mobile-responsive website will also feature an optimized search function and resource center that allows its roughly 5,500 monthly web visitors quickly find and share content …
Former Agriculture Secretaries Meet
Just days after the passing of former Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland, four former secretaries met with current Secretary Sonny Perdue to discuss the latest agricultural issues. Those in attendance included former Secretaries John Block (1981-1986), Dan Glickman (1995-2001), Ann Veneman (2001-2005), and Mike Johanns (2005-2008). The Secretaries discussed several issues including trade, wildfires, agriculture research, infrastructure, cell-based meat, and …
USFRA Announces New Chair, Board Members, and Podcast
Maryland crop farmer Chip Bowling, representing National Corn Growers Association, is the new chair for the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) elected last month at the coalition fall board meeting along with new executive committee and board members. Bowling, who is the fourth chairman of the group, is joined by a new executive committee: • Vice Chair: Scott VanderWal, …
Praise for Farm Bill Soil Carbon Pilot Program
Several organizations are pleased that the new farm bill includes a climate-friendly soil carbon pilot program. The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) thank the Farm Bill conferees for including language in the 2018 Farm Bill to establish an Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) pilot …