Syngenta Group announced that Saswato Das is appointed as Chief Communications Officer, effective September 1, 2023. Das joined Syngenta Group in November 2020 as Head of Media Relations and has successfully built up a professional external communications function of the then newly established Syngenta Group. He has over twenty-five years of experience in communications, with previous leadership positions at IBM, ABB and SAP, among others. Das will join the extended Syngenta Group leadership team and report to the CEO.
Pro Farmer, a division of Farm Journal, shared its much-anticipated production estimates today for the 2023 U.S. corn and soybean crops after analyzing information from the 31st annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour and other sources. The estimates are informed by Crop Tour data and observations collected this week through an exceptional effort by scouts in thousands of fields across seven key Midwestern states.
Major U.S. agriculture organizations including Farmers For Free Trade implored all 2024 presidential candidates to prioritize new market access trade agreements as a means to strengthen U.S. agriculture and decrease reliance on China. The organizations also called on the presidential candidates to hold China accountable in a responsible manner that does not endanger U.S. food and agriculture’s largest export market or threaten American farmers with new retaliatory tariffs.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented on the Biden Administration’s revised Waters of the U.S. Rule. “EPA had a golden opportunity to write a Waters of the U.S. Rule that’s fair to farmers and stands the test of time, but instead chose to continue government overreach and revise only a small slice of the rule that was rejected by the Supreme Court. We’re pleased the vague and confusing ‘significant nexus’ test has been eliminated as the Supreme Court dictated. But EPA has ignored other clear concerns raised by the Justices, 26 states, and farmers across the country about the rule’s failure to respect private property rights and the Clean Water Act. Farmers and ranchers share the goal of protecting the resources they’re entrusted with. They deserve a rule that respects farmers as partners in that effort.”
In response to Tuesday’s announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of a final Waters of the U.S. rule, the National Cotton Council (NCC) released the following statement: “We are concerned that the EPA is continuing to expand their jurisdictional authority with this latest rule. Their revisions do not appropriately comply with the recent Supreme Court decision which sought to bring clarity and simplicity to a complicated regulatory regime,” said NCC Chairman Shawn Holladay, a Texas producer. “Furthermore, the EPA published this final rule without allowing for public notice and comment which could have shed light on areas of concern and strengthened the final result. This action may end up in the courts, once again leaving regulators and growers in a confused state regarding legally appropriate ways to protect our nation’s waters.”
Competitive Markets Action (CMA) announced the hiring of Vinnie Trometter, as Director of Government Affairs. Trometter most recently worked at Cassidy and Associates, one of Washington, D.C.’s top lobbying firms, and is a native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, located in the 15th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, a seat held by U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, R-State College.
Farm Foundation, an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture, will host its next virtual Forum, What to Expect From the 2023 Farm Bill Now, on Tuesday, September 26, from 9 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Central.
Torrey Advisory Group (TAG) is proud to welcome Heath Brandt to the policy team. The Washington, D.C.-based firm offers effective government relations, strategic communications, and issue advocacy as well as full-service association management to a growing number of clients in the food, agriculture, and forestry sector.
The annual Ag Outlook Forum is a chance to get a comprehensive preview of what lies ahead from leading experts. Presented by the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City and Agri-Pulse, this “must attend” event brings together USDA’s Chief Economist and other industry experts to share key insights on existing and new market opportunities. Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS-3) has joined the speaker line up to discuss the 2023 Farm Bill.
American Agri-Women will hold their 48th Annual Meeting in the heart of downtown Sacramento, California, Nov. 1-5, 2023. The host group, California Women for Agriculture, has planned colorful tours and informative speakers for convention attendees.
POET, the world’s largest producer of biofuels, has reopened its bioprocessing facility in Cloverdale, Indiana, signaling the bioeconomy’s bright future.
