The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the appointment of Dr. Jaye L. Hamby as the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). As Director, Dr. Hamby will lead USDA’s efforts to advance agricultural innovation, community outreach, and fostering the next generation of agricultural leaders.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that starting on March 19 farmers can apply for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program. Corn growers are eligible for the program with a payment rate of $42.91 per acre for the 2024 crop year.
Stine® Seed Company is proud to announce that March 27, 2025, will be officially proclaimed Women in Agriculture Day in Iowa. For the sixth consecutive year, Stine has helped secure a proclamation honoring the contributions and accomplishments of women in agriculture. This year’s proclamation recognizes the more than 50,000 women leading, managing operations and making key decisions across Iowa’s 85,000 farms and those whose impact extends far beyond the farm. These women excel in agribusiness, research and development, education, international trade, advocacy, and community engagement, shaping Iowa’s agricultural success.
Bayer announced the opening of a new maize seed facility in Kabwe, Zambia. Through the 32-million-euro facility alongside further investments in organization and the grower network, Bayer triples its existing capacity for high-quality maize seed production in the country in 2025.
Kenny Kuhn has joined Stratovation Group as Vice President of Insights. He will play a pivotal role in expanding the firm’s capacity in agricultural marketing and stakeholder research, consulting and strategic communications.
CNH announces the appointment of Cameron Batten as Chief Communications Officer effective March 31, 2025. Mr. Batten will join the Company’s Global Leadership Team (GLT), which is empowered to carry out the fast and effective delivery of CNH’s strategic priorities for profitable long-term growth.
The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) announced the results of a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) showing significant progress in the sustainability of U.S. wheat production. The study highlights substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water usage, land use, and soil erosion on a per-bushel basis over the past several decades.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture announced the hiring of Logan Moss as Associate Director Public Policy. As Associate Director, Moss will lead NASDA’s Animal Agriculture and Natural Resources and Environment Policy Committees.
Farm Credit Administration Board Member Vincent Logan will retire from federal service effective March 31. Mr. Logan was appointed to the board by President Joseph Biden on Oct. 3, 2022, and was named chairman a few weeks later, on Oct. 21. He led the agency as board chairman and CEO until Jan. 20 of this year.
Farm and ranch families from across the nation donated 34.8 million pounds of food and raised $658,606 to help fight hunger and assist in other community service outreach in 2024 through Farm Bureau’s “Harvest for All” program. Combined, the monetary and food donations totaled the equivalent of 29 million meals.
The application window is now open to apply for 2025 NAFB Foundation scholarships. This year, the NAFB Foundation will offer five $7,500 college scholarships and one $10,000 scholarship (the latter sponsored by the Robert E. & Patricia A. Schmidt Foundation). Applicants must be a college junior, senior, or graduate student for the fall 2025 semester and enrolled in or transferring to an agricultural communications curriculum. Strong consideration will be given to candidates with concentration and/or application in broadcast media (includes internet/online media distribution). Applications for 2025 scholarships are due Monday, June 2, 2025. No late applications will be accepted.
Global demand for food, feed, fiber and fuel continues to grow, meaning that innovative solutions have never been more important for agriculture. To clearly represent the value that we deliver, Crop Protection and Seeds are uniting under one brand – Nufarm. Nufarm will continue to deliver through specialized Seeds and Crop Protection teams, bringing innovation across multiple categories while maintaining depth of expertise. Nuseed moves forward as Nufarm, operating the Seeds platform, while the Crop Protection platform continues to supply solutions to its full range of segments, spanning broad acre and specialty crops, vegetation management, turf and ornamentals.
