- The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for an increasing number of Iowans, including the most basic need of food security. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation announced a $100,000 donation to the Iowa Food Bank Association to help feed the need for Iowans across the state who are impacted during this unprecedented time.
- The 2020 California Antique Farm Equipment Show® has been cancelled due to COVID-19, but organizers will continue one of the most beloved show features: the tractor parade. To have your antique tractor, engine, farm truck, implement, or other ag related equipment featured in the virtual parade, please send the following information to marketing@farmshow.org.
- In response to continued growth and diversification of its business, FLM Harvest, a strategic consulting, communications and marketing agency, has expanded its senior leadership structure. Overall agency operations, work product and strategic direction are now managed by two leadership teams.
- Bushel, an independently owned software company and leading provider of software technology solutions for growers, grain buyers, protein producers and food companies, announced the launch of the Bushel Offer Management System, a full-service solution for creating and managing cash bids and offers, and performing hedge management.
- The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives urged that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic support all producers of fruits and vegetables in efforts to offset economic impacts to the specialty crop sector. The call came in a letter that the organization sent to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
- BASF announced VMLY&R as its new agency of record for the company’s Agricultural Solutions division. The agency will handle brand communications, marketing activity, public relations, trade events, and media planning and buying for BASF’s broad portfolio of crop protection, seed and seed treatment products for U.S. farmers.
- The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer recorded its largest one-month drop in sentiment during March. The barometer dipped 47 points to a reading of 121, as concerns over the impact of the global pandemic on the agricultural economy weighed heavily on farmers’ minds. The Ag Economy Barometer is based on a midmonth survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers and was conducted March 16-20, 2020, as the coronavirus crisis escalated in the U.S. and around the world. Read the full Ag Economy Barometer report at https://purdue.ag/agbarometer.
- Farm Foundation is pleased to announce that Martha King has joined the staff as Vice President of Programs and Projects. King has an extensive background in programs, information systems and publishing, and serves as corporate secretary on her family’s Illinois farm.
- Following ongoing monitoring of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the NAFB Board of Directors has announced the cancellation of Washington Watch 2020, slated for April 27-29, in Washington, D.C. This decision was made in keeping the safety, health, and well-being of all our members as the association’s top priority.
- Applications for the seventh annual Thrive #RootedinAg Contest are now open online at www.syngentathrive.com/contest. Syngenta will award three contest finalists with mini touch-screen tablets and one grand prizewinner with a $500 gift card, plus the opportunity to tell his or her story in Thrive magazine, complete with a professional photo shoot with the winner’s ag mentor. In addition, the company will make a $1,000 donation to the winner’s favorite local charity or civic organization.
- John Deere, in collaboration with the UAW, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, announced it is producing protective face shields at John Deere Seeding Group in Moline, Illinois. Deere employees will initially produce 25,000 face shields to meet the immediate needs of health-care workers in several of its U.S. manufacturing communities.
- Farmers across the nation are encouraged to sign up for the Monarch Challenge, a program created by the BASF biodiversity initiative, Living Acres. The Monarch Challenge is a program which seeks to restore the monarch population by planting milkweed habitats in non-crop areas of farmers’ land across the United States. With monarch populations in dramatic decline, BASF is calling on all farmers to sign up for the Monarch Challenge by visiting www.milkweedplease.com. Upon registration, participants will receive a starter kit containing 200 milkweed plants to build a butterfly habitat of their own. The deadline to sign up is April 24, 2020.
- The World Food Prize Foundation announced its first virtual series, the Digital Dialogue. The series will address critical issues in developing a resilient global food system. The first webinar will focus on the immediate challenges we face globally in the time of COVID-19.
