Ethanol is the number one priority for the U.S. Grains Council today, according to USGC CEO Ryan LeGrand, who spoke at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference last week in Omaha. “There’s nothing more important to us right now than ethanol,” said LeGrand. The council has seven priority markets, with Mexico being one of the most significant. While the …
Zimfo Bytes 8/16
John Ochs, a 35-year honorary member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), passed away August 6, 2019, in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the age of 68. John was Special Assistant and Press Secretary to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John Block and helped cultivate the relationship between farm broadcasters and USDA during the Reagan administration. After his career at …
Nebraska Governor Thanks Ethanol Industry
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts welcomed members of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) meeting in Omaha this week by thanking them for what they do. “Ethanol is a very important industry, on a national and on a state level,” said Gov. Ricketts, noting that Nebraska is the second largest ethanol producing state in the nation with 25 plants employing 1400 …
FMC Offers Fall Residual Herbicide Program Advice
FMC is recommending growers aim for a zero tolerance policy when it comes to weeds, according to Brandon Schrage, technical service manager. Schrage said preventing weed growth in the seedbank is particularly important. “What we want to see is that fall residual being applied once soil temperatures are 50 degrees and falling. That’s going to ensure that our product is …
Precision Ag Bytes 8/14
AgroLiquid introduced the newest product in its microLink line-up. Micro 1000™ is a combination of eight essential micronutrients: zinc, nickel, molybdenum, manganese, iron, copper, cobalt, and boron; and two secondary nutrients: calcium and magnesium. Ag Leader announced a limited beta release of a new grain cart connectivity feature, CartACE. Powered by Ag Leader’s InCommand display, CartACE gives the grain cart …
Coming Soon from Farm Market iD
With a database of over 2.4 million active operations, Farm Market iD is already the leading provider of farm and grower data to inform and improve agribusiness strategy, marketing and sales efforts. But the company is aiming to launch a new product soon for even more specialized data. “What we’re essentially doing is monitoring fields on behalf of our clients,” …
Ag Media Summit Awards
Ag Media Summit is the annual awards extravaganza for LPC and AAEA. AAEA, The Agricultural Communicators Network, handed out communications awards for writing, design, mar-com, photography, digital and social media, in addition to the Lifetime Achievement and Andy Markwart Horizon awards. Jim Patrico and Jo Ann Alumbaugh were honored for their career achievements, and Cassie Yontz with Charleston-Orwig received the …
Recognition from Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow
I was very surprised and honored to receive an award during the Ag Media Summit from the National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow. Mandy Taylor, Oklahoma State and outgoing NACT President, presented me with their Distinguished Professional award. Cindy and I were able to conduct a session for the group that attended the NAFB convention last year and we thoroughly enjoyed …
USDA Updates Acreage and Production Forecasts
In the August Crop Production report released today, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) revised planted acres downwards, while at the same time increasing corn production to 13.9 billion bushels and raising the average national yield by more than 3 bushels to 169.5 bushels an acre in the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand (WASDE) report. NASS noted that survey …
Syngenta Strengthens Digital Tools for Growers
Syngenta is focused on building practical tools for growers and advisors when it comes to technology and data, according to Marcos Castro, business development manager for digital agriculture. Castro shared a number of those tools with those attending the 2019 Ag Media Summit in Minneapolis, including a partnership with Sony on the company’s Smart Agriculture platform, the Seed Selector tool, …