- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has confirmed that he will appear in person as the luncheon keynote during the March 20 Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit. Registration for the day long event at the National Press Club remains open with virtual options available.
- The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) has released its policy recommendations for the 2023 Farm Bill. The recommendations fall under the following priority areas: 1) conservation; 2) agriculture research; 3) trade; 4) innovation; and 5) risk management
- Early registration for the 2023 Water for Food Global Conference has been extended through Monday, March 27. A discount of $100 is available to those who register on or before this date. The conference, held May 8-11, at Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, will focus on innovative ways to improve water and food security by increasing farmers’ resiliency to a changing landscape.
- It’s time for the 2023 Livestock Publications Council awards contest! New this year are tiered entry fee deadlines. The early deadline is April 18 and the final deadline is May 9, 2023. Save money by entering early!Find rules, fees, deadlines, entry instructions and other information here.
- Nominations are now open for the newly established American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Mentorship Award. The award will recognize ASTA members who have made significant and sustained contributions to the career development of trainees and to the profession through outstanding mentoring.
- The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) and G&S Business Communications selected McKenna Greco, a senior at Rutgers University studying animal science, with a minor in business and technical writing, as the 2023 ARC/Gardner & Gardner Communications intern. As the intern, she will also serve as the student adviser to the ARC board of directors.
- The Renewable Fuels Association is pleased to welcome ArrowUp LLC and Hanigan Law Group PLC as its newest associate members.
- Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX™) reported February 2023 trading volume of 253,274 contracts, representing an 18.8% year-over-year (YoY) decrease from the same period in 2022 and a 52.9% increase from January 2023.
- 400 farm and industry groups signed onto a letter shared with congressional leadership on agriculture’s budgetary needs in the 2023 Farm Bill. That letter sent to the chairmen and ranking members of both the House and Senate Budget Committees is a strong example of “united, we stand,” a phrase popular amongst the country’s founding fathers.
- The American Soybean Association presented several awards at Commodity Classic last week. Les Seiler of Fayette, Ohio received ASA’s 2023 National Conservation Legacy Award. Willard Jack, retired ASA director and soy farmer from Belzoni, Mississippi, was the Pinnacle Award honoree this year in recognition of a lifetime of work. Parks Wells of Tennessee, was the Distinguished Leadership Award recipient and Ryan Bivens, Hodgenville, Kentucky, won the Outstanding State Volunteer Award.
- GROWMARK, Inc. announces a revamped scholarship program for 2023. The GROWMARK Foundation will provide 55 scholarships of $2,000 each to students pursuing agriculture and business-related degrees or certificates at colleges, universities, and technical schools in the United States and Ontario, Canada.
