- Discovery Park of America announced that it will open an exhibit dedicated to telling the story of innovation in agriculture. Opening Oct. 22, 2020, “AgriCulture: Innovating for Our Survival” will be located in the 8,900-square-foot building that currently houses the museum and heritage park’s tractor barn.
- “A Berry Good Project,” a free downloadable book geared toward third-to fifth-grade students, is now available from Feeding Minds Press.
- Growth Energy announced that Nathan VanderGriend has been elected to the organization’s board of directors.
- Leslie Cummings, an award-winning communications strategist, has joined the staff of Farm Foundation.
- The American Sugar Alliance is recognizing Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Mike Conaway (R-TX) for their work on behalf of agriculture after both have announced they will not seek re-election in 2020.
- The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer reading jumped to 153 in July, up 27 points from June, and up 52 points from May. Results are based on a survey of 400 agricultural producers across the U.S. conducted from July 15 through July 19, 2019, which was prior to USDA’s announcement of 2019 MFP payment rates. Read the full July Ag Economy Barometer report at https://purdue.ag/agbarometer.
- More than a decade ago, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) selected a biobased transformer fluid to avoid contamination of soil and groundwater in the event of a petroleum-based transformer fluid spill. Though they have never experienced a spill, the agency is confident that the biobased alternative is the best choice and continues to use it in the two transformers on its North Carolina campus. When the NIEHS environmental team met with United Soybean Board (USB) representatives at an agency Earth Day event in 2019, they learned about additional soy-biobased products that could be used for operations, maintenance and construction on the NIEHS campus.
- The next Agricultural Relations Council webinar is scheduled for Thursday, August 15, 2019 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM (EDT) as J.J. Jones, Co-Founder, Roots and Legacies, shares how to develop an approach to communicating that makes a connection and helps make change happen.
- From the stage of the 30th Anniversary celebration of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in India, Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize, announced that Dr. Madhura Swaminathan has joined the Foundation’s Council of Advisors.
- A limited number of seats are still available for the 2019 Nebraska Water & Natural Resources Tour. The tour runs September 15-19 and begins and ends in Billings, MT. Learn more and register here.
- The American Farm Bureau Federation, in partnership with Farm Credit, has opened online applications for the 2020 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge. In its sixth year, the Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge is a national business competition for U.S. food and agriculture startups. Entrepreneurs will compete for $145,000 in startup funds.
- Swanson Russell welcomes Jake Allen, Megan Bird, Chloe King, Amber Olderbak, Lauren O’Malley, Maddy Patten and Abby Stonehocker.
