- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue designated 18 Iowa counties as primary natural disaster areas, enabling producers who suffered losses because of the recent Derecho, that occurred on August 10, 2020, to be eligible for emergency loans. Additionally, Perdue reminded producers about the suite of disaster assistance programs available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including program flexibilities and a special signup through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
- Deputy Undersecretary for Research, Education, Economics Dr. Scott Hutchins announced that USDA has named Dr. Spiro Stefanou to lead the Economic Research Service (ERS) as its new Administrator.
- MGEX reports that August 2020 was the second-best month in history with a total monthly volume of 318,992 contracts. This past month was also the best August in Exchange history, beating the previous record holder, August 2017, by nearly 7,500 contracts.
- The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Board of Directors adopted a new strategic plan to guide the association for 2020-25. The months-long process was produced in coordination with Nuffer Smith Tucker Public Relations.
- The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) elected a new slate of officers for the coming year. Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles will serve as NASDA’s 2020-2021 President and will host the 2021 NASDA Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky on September 19-22, 2021.
- Agri-AFC, GreenPoint AG, Tennessee Farmers Cooperative’s wholesale agronomy business announce the formation of a joint venture combining their agronomy operations. The combination will include all operations of Agri-AFC, LLC’s wholesale and retail business, GreenPoint AG’s retail business, and Tennessee Farmers Cooperative’s wholesale agronomy business. The new venture will do business under the name GreenPoint AG.
- U.S. Hemp Growers Association has announced the organization’s Founding Board of Directors. Michael Bowman is the chair.
- Registration is now open for the American Seed Trade Association‘s CSS & Seed Expo virtual. Register by Sept. 15 for “First Access” including deeper discounts and the ASTA attendee roster.
- Syngenta Group opens its first major manufacturing facility since the formation of the Group in June 2020. This step marks a major strategic investment in the Group’s Crop Protection business. It is also an important building block in the Group’s overall strategy to drive growth, upgrade delivery and continue market leadership in crop protection. The plant had formerly been operated by pharmaceutical company Novartis and 70 employees will be retained within Syngenta Group.
- Start making your plans to virtually attend the 2020 NAFB Virtual Convention, set for November 18-20. Virtual Trade Talk is slated for Thursday, and there will be plenty of networking opportunities, newsmaker sessions, and more throughout the online event. Register here.
- The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI), recently held the Women Leaders in Water for Food webinar on August 27. Watch a recorded version of the full webinar here. To find a specific speaker’s remarks, click the corresponding timestamp by expanding the video’s description.
- Farmer’s Business Network, Inc. launched GRO Network™, which provides new technology and services that facilitate the scoring, sourcing, and pricing of Low-Carbon Grain from farm to fork, making environmental transparency in the grain industry a reality now.
- The Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data welcomes Lindsay Thompson as the new executive director.
