The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation has been awarded a $3 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement the Pesticide Inspector Residential Training Program. This funding, effective Aug. 2, will significantly expand the nationwide educational training provided to pesticide inspectors and enforcement staff over the next five years.
Registration is now open for the 2025 Independent Professional Seed Association Annual Conference in Palm Springs, CA. This year, keynote speakers include Shawn Hackett, renowned Ag commodities expert; Chris Voss, former FBI hostage negotiator; and J.J. Cummings, celebrated for his transformative leadership in the U.S. Navy.
EarthOptics and Pattern Ag have merged, creating a category leader in soil digitization to power advanced crop management and climate sustainability. The newly combined soil intelligence company will operate under the name EarthOptics and be the authoritative source of soil insights and the leader in Predictive Agronomy.
Bushel, an independently-owned software technology company focused on developing digital tools for the agricultural supply chain, announced the addition of Tony Morosini to the Bushel leadership team to further expand adoption and accelerate innovation within digital payments in agriculture. Morosini joins Bushel as Chief Digital Payments Officer, bringing over 20 years of experience in the payments and fintech industry. Morosini will lead the growth and development of Bushel’s digital payment solutions, focusing on growing the adoption of digital payments on Bushel Wallet among agribusinesses and farmers.
Kirby Green of Daviess County, Kentucky, veteran agribusiness professional, has joined Mutiny Crop Performance as National Sales Manager. Green will immediately take responsibility for carrying out the Mutiny mission of providing quality products and prescriptive crop production solutions for farmers demanding change, as well as further build-out of Mutiny’s dealer network.
Ceres Imaging announced its rebranding to Ceres AI. This rebrand highlights the company’s foundation and leadership in computer vision and machine learning, which are crucial in enabling all participants in the agricultural industry – in particular large agribusinesses and financial services customers – to access quality data to make faster and more accurate data-driven decisions.
Syngenta Biologicals and Provivi announced a collaboration to develop and commercialize new pheromone-based biological solutions to effectively and more safely control detrimental pests in corn and rice in Asia – Yellow Stem Borer (YSB) in India and Indonesia and Fall Armyworm (FAW) in Thailand. The YSB Eco-Dispenser for India and Indonesia, and the FAW Eco-Granules for Thailand will be available to farmers starting in 2026.
Bayer’s national flagship brand DEKALB is proud to announce its new partnership as the Official Corn Seed of the Field of Dreams Movie Site. DEKALB DKC64-64RIB brand blend surrounds the filming site of the iconic 1989 Field of Dreams baseball movie while it continues to make dreams come true for countless baseball fans around the world. Rahe Farms of Dyersville has farmed the Field of Dreams Movie Site for more than two decades and takes great pride growing legendary corn seed at one of the most famous fields ever known.
Bayer announced that the company has selected Genvor Inc., a US-based crop protection business, as the recipient of its first Golden Ticket award. Genvor will receive year-long access to lab space and equipment at Bayer’s LifeHub California @AgStart, one of the premier U.S. AgriFoodTech innovation ecosystems. This will allow Genvor to connect with Bayer mentors and experts in Bayer’s global innovator network.
As harvest begins across the country, the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) reminds farmers about the importance of taking precautions to ensure treated seed does not enter the grain supply. Seed treatments provide farmers with an economical means of protecting seeds and seedlings against early-season insect pests and diseases—resulting in stronger and more uniform stands, healthier plants and higher crop yields. Farmers and applicators know the importance of proper management throughout the entire life cycle of the seed to minimize the risk of pesticide exposure to humans and the environment. This includes removing all treated seed left in containers and equipment used to handle harvested grain.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it would deregulate the HB4 drought-tolerant trait from Bioceres Crop Solutions. The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) is thankful for the USDA’s decision to provide a robust, science-based process that affords a pathway for the cultivation of the HB4 trait in the United States, which has the potential to benefit both farmers and consumers. Access to drought-tolerant wheat like HB4 could help with global supply challenges and further enhance the sustainability of wheat by using less water and other inputs.
